Paris, 30/03/2001 (Agence Europe) - Pierre Moscovici, French Minister for European Affairs, told the National Assembly's Delegation for the European Union that the ratification bill for the Treaty of Nice could be submitted to the Assembly's Bureau end-April or, at the latest, early May. Thus, the Assembly could examine the bill between now and the summer, bill that will then be forwarded to the Senate. The aim is for France to be one of the first countries to ratify the Treaty, he said.
In addition, according to a press release, although the French Government has still not officially taken a stance, Pierre Moscovici has approved the idea of, before the convening of a new Intergovernmental Conference, setting up a Convention to discuss the future of the European Union.
At the end of this hearing, the National Assembly's Delegation agreed to the suggestion mooted by its president, Alain Barrau, of, under his chairmanship, setting up a working party made up of majority and opposition representatives to study post-Nice subjects (not only the four topics set out in Nice - distribution of powers, statute of the Charter of Fundamental Rights, treaty simplification, role of national parliaments - but other subjects too).