Europese leiders vergaderen in Salzburg over patstelling rond Europese Grondwet (en)

EUOBSERVER / SALZBURG - European leaders and intellectuals are gathering in the Austrian city of Salzburg for a high-profile conference on European identity, meant to mark the start of the Austrian presidency's bid to revive the debate on the EU constitution.

The conference on Friday and Saturday (27-28 January) coincides with the 250th anniversary of the birth in Salzburg of the composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, which the Austrian presidency hopes will inspire EU leaders to find a new common "tone" amid deep divisions on the future architecture of the bloc.

"The sound of Europe," as the event is termed, should kick off a broad debate on Europe's identity and values, meant to lay the basis for a fresh consensus on the fate of the shelved EU constitution.

The prime ministers of the two countries voting "no" to the constitution last year, France's Dominique de Villepin and the Netherlands' Jan Peter Balkenende i, will meet supporters of a resuscitation of the text, such as German foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier and the Austrian chancellor Wolfgang Schussel.

The Finnish prime minister Matti Vanhanen, Latvia's president Vaira Vike-Freiberga, European commission president Jose Manuel Barroso i and EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana i also form part of the line-up, along with intellectuals, scholars and artists.

The debates at the Salzburg conference carry titles with musical metaphors such as "The European crisis. A sad sound?" and "Conducting Europe."

Mr Schussel, who was depicted as Mozart himself by one Austrian tabloid on Friday morning, is conducting the conference.

The Austrian leader told reporters on Thursday evening at a joint press conference with his French counterpart De Villepin "At the centre of the conference are the identities and values of Europe. I say 'identities' in plural, because the sound of Europe is not a solo instrument but an orchestra."

But a jarring note could already be heard a few minutes later, when Mr De Villepin referred to "identity" in the singular, saying "Europe is based on a strong identity and this identity must be reinvigorated."

French enlargement scepticism

Under the surface of the abstract Salzburg discussion on "identity" lie deep divisions between EU states over the political course of the bloc, centred around the question of how much further the EU should integrate and enlarge.

Mr De Villepin on Thursday reiterated French scepticism to further enlargement, stating "Europe has no vocation to enlarge indefinitely."

He signalled France is not keen to support any further expansion of the EU before the bloc's own institutional integration is carried forward.

"A balance has to be found between widening and deepening and now the priority lies with deepening," the French politician stated.

He declined to answer reporters' questions on what this meant for the EU's existing enlargement commitments to the Balkans.

France plans to hold a referendum on every single enlargement of the bloc after the accession of Croatia.

Paris initially blocked the granting of formal EU candidate status for the Former Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) in December, only lifting its blockade after EU leaders clinched a deal over the bloc's 2007-2013 budget.