THE man who paved the way for Austria to join the EU says its neo-Nazi ministers must be watched like a hawk.

Local Euro MP Gary Titley spearheaded the country's bid for membership, for which he was awarded the Austrian Gold Cross, the equivalent of a British knighthood.

But now he warns that far-Right ministers in the new government could trigger an upsurge in bigotry across Europe.

"If they make any move to breach European law by inciting racism or denying British citizens their rights to live and work in Austria, the EU must impose immediate sanctions," said the Labour MEP for the North West whose office is in Radcliffe.

"The first step would be to suspend Austria's voting rights in the Council of Ministers, effectively isolating them from the other 14 EU member countries."

Mr Titley said there were important lessons to be learned from the extreme Right's takeover in Austria. He said they had achieved electoral success by cloaking their policies in their party's former mainstream respectability, and that there were some extremist British Tories who were "hell bent" on going down the same road.

"We can never take freedom and democracy for granted. We must always be on our guard against those who seek to destroy it," he said.

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