VIENNA, Oct. 3 (Xinhuanet) -- Austrian Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel on Monday hailed the deal reached by European Union (EU)foreign ministers after nearly two days of wrangling over Austria's objection to the EU's proposed negotiating mandate.

    It is the first time that Austria succeeded in persuading otherEU members to include into the negotiating framework the ability of the EU to absorb new members and the new members' ability to meet strict criteria for a EU membership, said Schuessel.

    Special cases such as Britain's refusal to give up a rebate that compensates it for part of its annual net payments will never happen again, he said.

    After all the efforts, the agreement makes Austria feel "proud," the chancellor told local television ORF.

    Schuessel denied charges that Austria had tried to block Turkeyfrom joining the 25-member bloc, saying that Austria considers Turkey a friendly country earnestly seeking important reforms.

    Schuessel also said the stance of his ruling conservative People's Party on Turkey's EU accession was strictly in line with the oppositions, who have agreed to hold a referendum on Turkey's accession.

    Schuessel had held out against 24 other EU members to give Turkey an alternative status, short of full EU membership, which Turkey said was unacceptable.

    But eventually Austria accepted that the shared goal of the negotiations would be accession, not the lesser "privileged partnership."

    In return, the EU made clear that its capacity to embrace the vast, populous and poor Muslim state strategically located on the borders of Europe and the Middle East would be a key factor in thepace of Turkey's integration, as well as Ankara's progress in meeting strict criteria.

    The resistance would have played well back in Austria, where Schuessel's center-right government is losing popularity and facesa general election in the next 12 months.

    Opinion polls show around 80 percent of Austrians oppose Turkeyjoining the EU, mostly for fear of an influx of Turkish workers and a mass immigration in general. Enditem