The President of the Republic met Erhard Busek, Special Advisor of the Austrian Government in the European Union enlargement matters, in Kadriorg this afternoon. The discussion focused the outcome of the Nice Summit and the future development of the European Union. As the President of the Republic said, the outcome of Nice was positive for Estonia, as it opened the way to the EU enlargement, although there was a regrettable opposition between big and small countries concerning the redistribution of votes. Discussing the questions related to accession, Erhard Busek stated that Austria has gained from acceding to the European Union, as within the European Union, Austria has had a possibility to broaden the relations with other countries, thus winning more investments and space for political activities. He considered Austria's cultural identity to be stronger after the accession to the European Union than it had been before.


Press Service of the Office of the President
Kadriorg, December 21, 2000

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