Brussels, 12/09/2000 (Agence Europe) - As we anticipated, the three parts (European Parliament, national parliaments and representative of Heads of State and Government) in the Convention responsible for drawing-up the draft EU Charter of Fundamental Rights encountered some difficulties to reach a consensus over the draft text that was submitted to them by the Praesidium; the final adoption was thus postponed to the next meeting planned for the 25 and 26 September. The plenary session of the Convention which was scheduled for this Tuesday afternoon was cancelled to enable the three colleges to continue the examination of the various modifications. The positions of the three parts should have been transmitted in the evening to the Praesidium which should draw-up a new draft text in view of gathering a consensus for the next meeting. Mr Herzog indicated that this new structure should include a consolidated version of the horizontal provisions. He also specified the legal nature of part B which raised rather strong reactions, notably among the MEPs. This "explanatory statement" will not be called upon to be part of the Charter, but must be see as an explanatory statement from the Praesidium.
Following a long talk over the amendments (see yesterday's EUROPE, p.4) the European Parliament delegation reached an agreement over a significant number of modification of the draft last July. So as to satisfy insistent demands by the EPP, the point 2 of the preamble will be completed in a manner to specify that "the Union is founded on a humanist, cultural and religious heritage". We recall that the EPP called for the inclusion of a reference to the Judeo-Christian tradition and, in other versions, to God. The new project should also specify that "the EU respects cultural, religious, ethnic and linguistic diversity". Article 15, which mentioned the right to exercise a freely chosen profession to "earn one's living" would be replaced by the recognition of the "right to work and exercise a freely chosen or accepted profession". The EP also hopes there will be a new wording for Article 26, which is highly criticised by trade unions. This Article would be completed by integrating the right to strike as well as the role of employer and worker organisations, including at European level. The EP delegation also adopted the amendment by French Socialist Pervenche Berès, aimed at introducing, in Article 23, the right for every child to have direct and regular contacts and relations with both parents. Ms Berès stressed the importance of such a provision in the context of the free movement of persons.
Whereas the EP delegation had chosen to hold its discussions behind closed doors, the meeting of national parliament representatives remained open to the public. The concerns of national parliamentarians differed only slightly from those of MEPs. They examined amendments aimed at: - introducing in the introductory preamble a reference to linguistic diversity (Mr Barros Moura and Ms Azevedo, Portugal); - suppressing, in the provision, systematic reference to national legislation or to Community law which already come in the horizontal articles (Mr Barros Mourra and Ms Azevedo); - replacing the freedom of enterprise (Art.16) by the freedom to undertake in the broader sense (Mr Loncle, France); - mentioning the right to strike under Article 26 (Mr Loncle and Mr Fayot, Luxembourg); - referring, in Article 34 (services of general interest), to the principles of equal treatment, quality and continuity.
The personal representatives of the Heads of State and Government also held their meeting behind closed doors. They notably discussed amendments aimed at: - replacing "the European peoples" by "European citizens" in the introductory phrase to the preamble (Mr. Bereijo, Spain); - explicitly mention the right to work, the right to strike, the right to the means of existence (minimum income, notably) and the right to housing (Mr. Braibant; France); - introduce the notion of the right to work in Article 15 (Mr. Dehaene; Belgium); - abolish or contain the scope of Article 25 (worker information and consultation) and 26 (collective measures) (Lord Goldsmith; UK); - reduce the scope of Article 32 on social security (Lord Goldsmith). Commissioner Antonio Vitorino asked for a new wording for Article 32 on social security: "Everyone, legally residing or moving within the Union, has a right to social security benefits and social advantages under conditions established by national legislation and community law". The Commission thus wants to eradicate the wording "workers nationals of a Member State", whereas other categories of persons (students, pensioners, notably) are already covered by the 1971 regulation. EUROPE will return to the outcome of the deliberations of these discussions.