奥地利政治家呼吁讨论欧盟的未来

 　　VIENNA, April 8 (Xinhua) -- Austrian Vice-Chancellor and Foreign Minister Michael Spindelegger and Vice-President of the European Parliament Othmar Karas called for a convention to discuss the future of the European Union (EU) Monday.

　　The convention should begin "as quickly as possible," the two Austrian People's Party politicians said at a joint¹ press conference in Vienna, but added it would make most sense after the European elections in 2014, Austria Press Agency reported.

　　Spindelegger said all European states and institutions should take part in the convention, to discuss three main issues -- a community method, increased democratic legitimacy², and EU enlargement.

　　With regard to enlargement, he spoke³ specifically about the Western Balkans, and voiced his support for Serbian accession to the EU.

　　He also said the economic crisis had caused fears and led many to lose faith in the European project. Spindelegger acknowledged the economic troubles of Cyprus showed that challenges remained, though he added the Union was in a better position now, and that signs did not point to an end to the euro.

　　Karas said the EU came to its limits in coping with the crisis, and said a single currency needed "a pooling of instruments." Firstly a banking⁴ union should be created, followed by a fiscal⁵ union, an economic and social union, and finally a political union, he added.

1 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

2 legitimacy   

n.合法，正当

参考例句：

• The newspaper was directly challenging the government's legitimacy.报纸直接质疑政府的合法性。
• Managing from the top down,we operate with full legitimacy.我们进行由上而下的管理有充分的合法性。

3 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

4 banking   

n.银行业，银行学，金融业

参考例句：

• John is launching his son on a career in banking.约翰打算让儿子在银行界谋一个新职位。
• He possesses an extensive knowledge of banking.他具有广博的银行业务知识。

5 fiscal   

adj.财政的，会计的，国库的，国库岁入的

参考例句：

• The increase of taxation is an important fiscal policy.增税是一项重要的财政政策。
• The government has two basic strategies of fiscal policy available.政府有两个可行的财政政策基本战略。