29/12/2000 (Agence Europe) - Pervenche Berès, Olivier Duhamel and Catherine Lalumière, French members of the Socialist Group of the European Parliament, have published a brochure on the European Union's Charter of Fundamental Rights where each article is accompanied by a commentary. The brochure opens with a simple question: why the Charter? And the response could go without saying: "Because Europe cannot be just a market. Because Europe is an affair of the citizens". The Charter is not a political manifesto giving the ideal rights of an ideal society. It should be a source of rights and principles in order to implement them, protect them, and sanction anyone who violates them, stress the authors before going on to say: "Criticism may be welcome and salutary. But tribute should go to progress. It would be easy to write a charter that would say a great deal more but would not mean anything. And, for once, Europe is saying something".