UK Foreign Secretary Robin Cook has warned Austria to stand by its declaration of human rights, as a European Union meeting appears set to be dominated by fears of the country's new coalition government with a far-right party.

Speaking ahead of the EU meeting to launch a year of discussions on expanding the union to the east, Mr Cook said that member states would be carefully watching Austria - and that it had the power to act against it if necessary.

The warning came as Austria asked its European Union partners to call off attacks on the new coalition government with the Freedom Party, whose leader Joerg Haider has been accused of being a Nazi sympathiser.

Austrian foreign minister Benita Ferrero-Waldner will ask her counterparts at the Brussels meeting to judge the coalition on its performance.

The government, which also includes Austria's conservative party, insists that while Mr Haider may be a right-wing populist, he has apologised for his Nazi-related comments and any anti-EU comments were rhetoric which he has since regretted.

But Mr Cook said: "Mr Haider's values of xenophobia, racism far-right extremism and his affection for the SS all strike at the values of the European Union.

"His party was elected to the Austrian parliament by 27% of the voters. The issue is whether the 73% who did not vote for him want his party in government."

Mr Cook said that it was important that the EU continued to make clear that the Freedom Party's policies - which have been characterised as anti-foreigner and anti-European Union - had no place in a modern Europe.

And he added that the European Union has to take a tough line in the name of eastern European states which would be beginning negotiations to join the club.

"There is provision within the Treaty of Amsterdam for the European Union to take action against Austria if there is a violation of the principles of the EU," said Mr Cook.

"We will be holding the Austrian Government to its very bold and clear statement on human rights, a statement that is flatly in contradiction to everything that Mr Haider has so far said.

"What we expect to hear today from the foreign minister of Austria is a commitment to that declaration."

EU sanctions

Austria's 14 EU partners have already introduced bilateral sanctions including a downgrading of diplomatic relations and a pledge not to support any Austrian candidate for a post on an international body.

Israel has withdrawn its ambassador and the US, has temporarily withdrawn its representative for consultations.

Under Article Seven of the Treaty on European Union, one of the key legal texts of the body, the European Council, (the heads of government and the president of the European Commisson), can determine "a serious and persistent breach" of the rules by another member if one third of the members propose that such a breach has taken place and the European Parliament agrees.

In such circumstances, the council may then decide by a qualified majority to suspend the rights of the offending member state - including voting rights in ministerial councils.

That decision would be taken after submissions from the state in question and lergal advice.

Even if a member state loses all voting rights, effectively suspending it from the political arm of the European Union, it is still obliged to adhere to the treaty.