Brussels, 01/02/2001 (Agence Europe) - The European Parliament Committee on Constitutional Affairs, chaired by Giorgio Napolitano (Italian, Democratici di sinistra) has chosen its rapporteurs on the Treaty of Nice and the post-Nice process: the member of the Spanish Partido Popular Inigo Mendez de Vigo and Portuguese Socialist Antonio Jose Seguro. This single report, which could be discussed in the plenary session around May, should make Parliament's judgement of the Treaty of Nice dependent on the firmness of the engagements meanwhile undertaken by governments concerning the post-Nice process, launched by the European Council in December last.
The Committee on Constitutional Affairs has, in this context, decided to draw up a series of reports on subjects that will be broached in the post-Nice process, which are: distribution of powers between the EU and Member States: rapporteur, Alain Lamassoure (UDF, former French minister for European affairs); - the role of national parliaments: Giorgio Napolitano (former Speaker of the Camera dei deputati); - governance in Europe: Sylvia-Yvonne Kaufmann (German, PDS); - reform of the EU Council: Jacques Poos (Luxembourg Socialist, former foreign minister); - European political parties: Ursula Schleicher (Bavarian CSU member). The British Liberal-Democrat, Andrew Duff should, moreover, be asked to draw up a report on the statute of the European Charter of Fundamental Rights (for which he was EP rapporteur, with the Austrian Green Johannes Voggenhuber).