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R 081402Z FEB 06
FM AMEMBASSY VIENNA
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INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 VIENNA 000383 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EUR/ERA AND EUR/AGS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV EUN AU
SUBJECT: "SOUND OF EUROPE" CONFERENCE: THE EU IN ANALYSIS 
 
 
¶1.  SUMMARY: Austrian Chancellor (and current chairman of 
the European Council) Wolfgang Schuessel invited more 
than 400 European political and cultural personalities to 
a January 27-28 conference on the "Sound of Europe."  The 
conference, which took place in Salzburg, examined the 
European identity and the future of Europe.  The 
conference continued attempts in 2004 by the Dutch EU 
Presidency to conduct a cultural/philosophical discussion 
on Europe.  In their analysis of what ails the EU, 
participants voiced various diagnoses.  EU Commission 
President Jose Manuel Barroso and several others argued 
the EU was not in crisis.  High Representative Javier 
Solana commented that there had been a crisis, but the EU 
was now rebounding.  Some euro-skeptical intellectuals 
saw little chance for success of the "EU project," 
arguing it was too removed from EU citizens. 
Participants included Commission VP Margot Wallstroem, 
RelEx Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner, French PM 
Dominique de Villepin, Dutch PM Jan Peter Balkenende, 
Finnish PM Matti Vanhanen, Latvian President Vaira Vike- 
Freiberga, and other European political, cultural and 
intellectual leaders.  Ambassador McCaw attended the 
conference as well.  End Summary. 
 
Diagnosing the EU's Problem 
--------------------------- 
 
¶2.  Many speakers said the EU's primary problem was that 
it had raised the expectations of its citizens to a level 
it could not meet.  Europeans had forgotten the EU's 
success in forging peace and democracy in Europe.  They 
were now afraid of the dominance of a centralized EU, 
particularly in the economic area.  People feared that 
they, and their national and local governments, were 
losing influence in the decision-making process.  As a 
solution, panelists proposed more emphasis on the 
"subsidiarity" principle (i.e., devolving decisions to 
national or regional governments), and better, simpler 
and more direct communication with European citizens. 
 
EU Reform 
--------- 
 
¶3.  In his opening speech, Schuessel urged participants 
to examine and analyze the unease among European 
citizens, which he saw in the rejection of the EU 
Constitution.  French Prime Minister Dominique de 
Villepin, who delivered the keynote speech on January 27, 
stressed that Europe should resume the debate on its 
future.  He asserted that France had not said "no" to 
Europe, but was simply expressing the fears and concerns 
of many in Europe.  He felt it was now evident that 
Europe had rushed to enlargement without sufficiently 
deepening and strengthening its institutions, especially 
on the economic side.  The EU had been built "in 
reverse," defined more by motion than by limits. 
 
¶4.  EU High Representative Javier Solana noted 2005 had 
been a difficult year, but the EU was now rebounding and 
had demonstrated that it could make decisions "at 25." 
He said the EU was now more forward-looking and 
pragmatic.  The economy was also improving, but the EU 
had to sustain this.  He thought it essential to restate 
the case for Europe in clear, simple terms, noting that 
member states together could shape the global agenda; 
alone, they could not.  In order to have a Europe that 
delivers, the EU needed the efficiency of institutions 
which the draft Constitution envisioned.  Commission 
President Jose Manuel Barroso deplored "excessive self- 
criticism" in Europe.  Barroso agreed with Schuessel 
that, despite anti-EU sentiments, citizens wanted "more 
Europe" in areas such as common strategies against 
terrorism and energy security. 
 
European Values 
--------------- 
 
¶5.  The conference also celebrated the 250th birthday of 
Mozart in Salzburg.  The conference sought to emphasize 
the defining identity of Europe's common cultural 
heritage.  Speakers and panelists stressed that cultural 
diversity was Europe's wealth. 
 
Foreign/Security Policy 
----------------------- 
 
¶6.  Several participants commented on the need to strive 
for greater integration in the EU's Common Foreign and 
Security Policy.   French Prime Minister de Villepin 
mentioned the case of Iran as one where Europeans had 
proven that they were able to speak with one voice.  EU 
 
VIENNA 00000383  002 OF 002 
 
 
High Representative Solana, noting that those outside of 
Europe often asked him how the EU could help, urged that 
the EU develop and implement a more results-oriented 
agenda in order to do so. 
 
¶7.  Several participants noted Europe must not define 
itself as an antagonist to the U.S.  Finnish 
Parliamentary President Paavo Lipponen and Latvian 
President Vaira Vike-Freiberga underscored the importance 
of the common values which Europe and the U.S shared, and 
warned that Europeans were increasingly forgetting the 
fact that the U.S. had liberated Europe in the Second 
World War.  Vike-Freiberga emphasized the contribution of 
the transatlantic link to European security and the 
continuing need for NATO's security umbrella. 
 
¶8.  COMMENT: Some observers criticized the elite 
character of the conference; others argued that it had 
not devoted enough attention to the European relationship 
to Islam.  Nevertheless, the soul-searching of European 
political and cultural leaders provided an opportunity to 
brainstorm about Europe's future.  While few answers 
emerged to the questions the speakers raised, the event 
contributed to the debate which the French and Dutch 
rejection of the EU Constitution had sparked. 
 
McCAW