LONDON -- The battle for Europe's soul continues. Austria now holds the presidency of the European Union until July, and the Austrians see themselves very much as being at the heart of an integrated European state.
The Austrian leaders have therefore been calling for renewed attempts to create a European constitution, following the collapse of earlier proposals for more EU involvement in tax and social affairs in each member state, a much stronger European foreign and security policy, and a bigger presence for the EU, as a single bloc or entity, on the world stage.
Those who are skeptical about this "integrationist" agenda -- and they are probably the majority in Europe as a whole -- argue that this is just the wrong approach and that Europe should be adopting different priorities.