'New Thoughts' From Austria As It Takes EU Helm

In an interview at his office at the chancellery, Schüssel was generally upbeat about Europe's prospects. But he warned that Turkey might never become a full member of the EU and said that the services directive, a bill making it easier for European workers and companies to offer services abroad, should be probably be scrapped and rewritten. "We shouldn't wait too long to revive the debate on the European future," Schüssel said. He said he aimed to have a timetable and road map for ratification of a new European constitution ready by mid-2006, when Austria hands over the EU presidency to Finland. French and Dutch voters rejected the previous constitution in referendums last spring, effectively killing its chances of ratification. The dense and lengthy document had been drafted by about 100 European notables headed by Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, the former French president. http://www.iht.com/bin/print_ipub.php?file=/articles/2006/01/02/news/austria.php

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