The Portuguese EU presidency has pulled back from extending the diplomatic boycott of Austria to informal EU meetings.
Last night Lisbon announced that the presidency would be inviting the new Austrian Social Affairs Minister, Ms Elisabeth Sickl, to an informal meeting of social affairs ministers in the Portuguese capital on Friday.
Following soundings of member-states after a Belgian suggestion that the invitation should be withheld, the presidency decided to stick to the agreed formula that the boycott should apply to bilateral meetings and would not at this stage be allowed to affect EU business.
Informal meetings, unlike ministerial ones, are entirely a matter for the presidency.
Last night the Belgians protested at the decision.
Ms Sickl is a member of the far-right Freedom Party (FPO). Social affairs is one of six FPO portfolios in the new government. Others are finance, justice, defence, infrastructure and the post of vice-chancellor.
Meanwhile, it has been confirmed that the President of the Commission, Mr Romano Prodi, will be sending the traditional note to Vienna to mark the appointment of a new government. The External Affairs Commissioner, Mr Chris Patten, cautioned yesterday that taking action against Austria could boost the xenophobia of Mr Jorg Haider's FPO.
"You have to be careful not to magnify the chip on their shoulder," he added.
Nicole Veash adds from Sao Paulo: A gang of Brazilian neoNazis beat a homosexual man to death at the weekend after a heavy drinking session to celebrate the accession of the FPO to government in Austria. The 30 skinheads, including two teenage girls, went on the rampage in Sao Paulo's gay district armed with chains and knuckle-dusters. They followed Mr Edson Neris da Silva (35) and his boyfriend, Mr Dario Pereira (30) as they left a bar and then attacked them in the street. Mr da Silva died on the spot.
