Austria welcomes 'wise men'

Prodi (left) and Schuessel want a speedy conclusion

The Austrian Government has welcomed a decision by the European Union to appoint a three-man panel of experts to examine its human rights record.

The move was taken as a possible step towards ending political sanctions imposed on Austria after the far-right Freedom Party joined the government coalition in Vienna five months ago.

Austrian Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel praised the three "wise men" named to the posts on Wednesday, and said he was confident they would give "Austria a clean bill of health when it comes to human rights".

He also promised that Austria would never use its council veto to "deliberately" block or slow important processes such as EU enlargement, and said he hoped the panel would report back by early autumn.

The entry into the coalition of Joerg Haider's Freedom Party shocked Europe

An early end to the diplomatic boycott of Austria by its 14 EU partners would remove the need for a planned referendum on how to respond to the sanctions, he said.

He was speaking after talks in Brussels with the European Commission President, Romano Prodi, who is also opposed to the boycott.

"I do not think in general that sanctions in such cases give better results than those achieved in a serious in-depth dialogue," Mr Prodi told a joint news conference.

The sanctions were imposed individually by the EU countries without the approval of the European Commission, the executive arm of the EU.

Panel named

The three men appointed by the European Court of Human Rights to review the human rights situation in Austria are

• the former Finnish president, Martti Ahtisaari
• the former Spanish foreign minister, Marcelino Oreja
• the former vice-president of the European Commission of Human Rights, Jochen Frowein.

Martti Ahtisaari - already busy with Northern Ireland

Mr Ahtisaari is the best known of the trio, having played an important role in negotiating a peace deal in Kosovo last year, and for his involvement in monitoring IRA arms dumps as part of the peace process in Northern Ireland.

Mr Oreja was Spain's foreign minister between 1975 and 1980, when the country was developing into a democratic nation following the death of General Franco.

Professor Frowein is a leading human rights lawyer and the director of Germany's Max-Planck Institute for Comparative, Public and International Law.

The three men are expected to study the rights of minorities, refugees and immigrants in Austria and the political nature of the far-right Freedom Party.

Referendum

No deadline has been set for the group to complete their work, which will be presented to the EU presidency currently held by France, one of the most vehement supporters of the sanctions.

The report will serve as the basis for the possible lifting of diplomatic sanctions on Austria.

The "wise men" initiative for Austria was established last month by the Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Guterres, during his term as EU president.

The outspoken former leader of the Freedom Party Joerg Haider has said Austria should block any EU reforms or expansion plans if the country's isolation is not ended.