SO FAR, so boring. We’re almost half-way through the six-month long Austrian presidency of the European Union, and life on Planet Europe is, frankly, one big yawn.

If little Denmark had not triggered a furore in many Muslim countries, there would be little mention of the EU in global newspapers.

Most people across the world would have gone to bed every night oblivious of the existence of European ‘leaders’ like Denmark’s Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen or the Italian ex-minister Roberto Calderoli of the Northern League party.

And it’s not just the Austrians who are casting a pall of boredom and icy gloom over the 25-nation bloc. The European Commission, the once legendary crusader for a stronger, more independent and fearless EU, is also in semi-hibernation under Portugal’s colourless former premier Jose Manuel Barroso.

The strapping but glamorous Austrian Foreign Minister Ursula Plassnik at least looks striking when mouthing monotonous EU communiqués. However, Barroso’s clarion calls for EU leaders to show ‘political will’ in revving up the economy and ending nationalist rhetoric about protecting key domestic industrial champions fail to excite even the most ardent promoters of a stronger Europe.

While the commission and the Austrians sleep, however, others are getting out and about. About the only EU stories to ignite much worldwide interest in Europe these days centre on EU foreign and security chief Javier Solana’s efforts to deploy troops in Congo and step up assistance to the under-staffed and cash-strapped African Union peace mission in Sudan’s war-racked Darfur province.

It was Solana who was given the thankless task of mending fences with an angry Muslim world — and then criticized roundly by the Dutch government for being ‘too conciliatory’ with Islamic leaders.

Luckily for the EU, Solana’s shuttle diplomacy in the Balkans and the Middle East is also widely reported and covered by global newspapers.

It is increasingly difficult, however, to get excited about the other issues dominating the EU agenda.

Take the (moribund) draft EU constitution. It is certainly interesting and noble that German chancellor Angela Merkel and French president Jacques Chirac are striving to revive the EU treaty following its rejection by French and Dutch voters last year.

According to the ‘secret’ plans, the French and German leaders are seeking to reduce the charter to its first two parts which set out the EU’s competences and the charter of fundamental rights of the Union.

These core parts would be boosted with the addition of a political declaration and put to a fresh poll in both France and the Netherlands.

However, the remaining third part of the text, detailing the EU’s policies, would only be ratified by the French and Dutch parliaments.

According to reports, the operation to resuscitate the charter would be started under the German EU presidency in the first half of 2007.

While the Franco-German initiative may be piquant for EU insiders, ordinary Europeans and the rest of the world are not in the least excited by the prospect of having another round of referendums on the constitution.

Meanwhile, the sudden outburst of nationalistic fervour in many EU states over companies targeted by foreign takeovers is another sign that when it comes to economic liberalization, instead of embracing change, many parts of Europe are in reverse gear.

After having watched the outburst of this economic nationalism from the sidelines for several weeks — or was it months? — several EU commissioners have finally taken the audacious step of denouncing the resurgence of protectionism across Europe.

Interestingly, however, while EU trade chief Peter Mandelson is spearheading demands that the EU fight such nationalist economic impulses at home, he is also surrendering to pressure from Italy, Spain and others for tough restrictions on imports of footwear from China, Vietnam and India.

Having failed to hammer out a message which would ignite the public imagination, the commission has mandated its communication specialist Margot Wallstrom to come up with a new strategy to win over disaffected voters and reconnect the EU with the common man, woman and child.

The earnest Swedish commissioner has come up with a complex and long-winded proposal to build bridges with ordinary Europeans by upgrading the bloc’s ‘Europe by Satellite’ audiovisual service that currently supplies stock photos, videos and live footage of EU events to television and radio stations and news agencies in Europe.

Providing more pictures of EU leaders embracing each other at summits, visiting exotic lands or handing out cash to impoverished nations will certainly keep journalists in Europe entertained for many more hours.

But perhaps instead of focusing on spin and style, Barroso, Plassnik and Wallstrom should try and forge a real message about the future direction of the current very rudderless EU.