Brussels, 11/10/2000 (Agence Europe) - The Platform of European Social NGOs considers that the draft Charter of Fundamental Rights elaborated by the Convention chaired by Roman Herzog "must be consolidated". The text has its qualities and its failings, states the organisation (which brings together 30 networks and federations at European level), which regrets that the rights stated do not systematically apply to all persons living within the European Union. Other regrets concern the lack of clear provisions with respect to the right to housing or the right to a minimum guaranteed income, or again the fact that the text does not mention the right of associations to be consulted at European level, although it has in practice existed for many years. The Platform of Social NGOs calls on the European Council meeting in Nice in December to: include a direct reference to the Charter of Fundamental Rights in Article 6 of the Treaty; - establish a mechanism allowing the content of the Charter to be revised, with greater involvement of the European civil society, during discussions that will take place in 2001 on the way in which the Charter may be strengthened.
The European Union of Christian Democratic Workers, which brings together 24 organisations of workers in the 15 EU countries, welcomes the inclusion of social rights in the draft Charter. It calls for the text to be included in the Treaty in order to make it legally binding.