Austrian Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel, who holds the EU presidency, today said Monday it would be difficult to resurrect the bloc’s embattled European Constitution.

Heinrich Harrer, an Austrian mountaineer and former Nazi who fled a British prisoner of war camp in India for the northern Himalayas, where he befriended and tutored the Dalai Lama, died today. He was 93.

Austria assumed the presidency of the European Union today with a pledge to make the 25-nation bloc “more tangible to our citizens”.

Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel says he’s “proud” of the tough position Austria staked out in crisis talks on the launch of negotiations with Turkey to join the European Union.

Diplomats, activists and political leaders were among hundreds who gathered today to bid farewell to Nazi hunter Simon Wiesenthal and to honour his decades-long pursuit of the Second World War’s most heinous criminals.

President Thomas Klestil of Austria has died a day after being airlifted to hospital suffering heart failure, a spokeswoman for Vienna’s General Hospital said.

European corporate tax harmonisation makes sense but will take a long time, Austrian Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel said on Thursday, adding his voice to German calls for the issue to be addressed as the EU expands.

A DAY after his far-right Freedom Party suffered a crushing defeat in Austria’s general election, Joerg Haider said yesterdayhe was planning to step down as governor of Carinthia province, hinting he would leave the political scene altogether.

A day after his far-right Freedom Party suffered a crushing defeat in Austria’s general election, Joerg Haider said he was planning to step down as governor of Carinthia province, hinting he would leave the political scene altogether.

Right-winger Joerg Haider's Freedom Party stands a good chance of renewing its government coalition with the conservatives.

THE conservative party of Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel surged to emerge strongest in Austria’s general elections yesterday, according to preliminary results that showed right-winger Joerg Haider’s party took a pounding.

The conservative party of Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel surged to emerge strongest from general elections in Austria today, according to preliminary results that showed a pounding at the polls for the party of right-wing Joerg Haider.

Austrians chose from a handful of parties in parliamentary elections today after a lacklustre campaign focused largely on who would pick up the disaffected voters of right-wing Joerg Haider, whose popularity has plummeted in recent months.

CHANCELLOR Wolfgang Schuessel yesterday called for early elections to end a government crisis triggered by the resignation of four key leaders of the rightist Freedom Party, the junior partner in his coalition.

Austrian Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel today called for early elections after resignations left a coalition partner, the far fight Freedom party, in disarray

Finnish Prime Minister Paavo Lipponen today deplored the exclusion of smaller EU nations from a summit called by British Prime Minister Tony Blair and said they will protest at such separate meetings.