The meeting of the Conference of Community and European Affairs Committees of Parliaments of the European Union (COSAC) focused on Europe's future, the European Constitution, and the Union's expansion to the southeast of Europe.
Schuessel said that he believed that important decisions on Europe's future should be made by mid-2009.
Asked by Croatian parliamentarian Neven Mimica what would happen if by that time Croatia finished reforms and negotiations with the EU, but the Union failed to harmonise the European Constitution, Schuessel said that Croatia was a hot candidate that should join the European family of states upon internal institutional changes in the EU.
If by that time the situation surrounding the European Constitution is not clear, EU member states should show political strength and will to find a solution and enable Croatia to become a full EU member regardless of the Constitution, said the Chancellor of Austria, the current EU chair.
The Conference of Community and European Affairs Committees of Parliaments of the European Union meets four times a year.