Austria offers neutral venue for intensive North talks

Austria has offered to be the neutral venue to host the Northern talks, which are planned to enter an intensive 10-week phase next year. The offer was made to the Irish and British governments before Christmas. It is expected to be conveyed to the Northern parties when meetings resume on January 12th to make further attempts to reach agreement on a full agenda for the three-stranded negotiations.

The idea of moving the talks venue from Stormont Buildings in Belfast to Dublin and London was first considered by the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, and the British Prime Minister, Mr Tony Blair, earlier this month. Mr Ahern later indicated to the Dail that a neutral venue was also being considered, if it would assist the parties in what is hoped to be the final, intensive phase of negotiations on a peace settlement.

A number of hurdles have to be surmounted before formal decisions are made on locations for the negotiations.

The first concerns the pre-Christmas threat from the Progressive Unionist Party to withdraw from the talks in the new year because of frustration founded on the perception that republicans have won more confidence-building concessions than loyalists from the peace process.

Though the Taoiseach put a brave face on the failure of the Northern parties to reach agreement on an agenda for the negotiations at their last session this month, it is known that he is concerned that the talks will resume in the strands, rather than in the smaller group leader format, next month. He believes it will be necessary for the talks to move from the stranded to the group leader format again if work is to resume on the procedural issue of setting down an agenda.