Brussels, 13/07/2001 (Agence Europe) - In the framework of the debate over the future of Europe, the Economic and Social Committee calls for the delegates in its Assembly (and also the Committee of the Regions) to be integrated "into a Convention" within which the actors invested by the various democratic legitimacy, which form the EU as political communities could, in complete freedom of expression, agree over the way to configure and form the Europe of tomorrow. The conclusions of the works by this Convention will be clearly more convincing and acceptable in the eyes of the citizens if they have been drafted with the participation of representatives qualified by the regional authorities and civil society. This is the content of the declaration made in plenary by the President of the Committee Goke Frerichs, on 12 July in Brussels. According to him, the Committee is well suited to organise such a contribution by civil society, on the widest foundation possible, the involvement of interested and concern citizens. The Committee will mobilise this range of tools to gather, summarise and express the expectations and concerns shown by organised civil society as to the future of the Union, assured Mr Frerichs.
Concerning these "tools", Mr Frerichs's Chef de Cabinet, Thomas Jansen, indicated that the decision that enables us to create these tools was taken during the meeting of the Committee Bureau, on Tuesday 10 July. Thus, he explained, the Bureau adopted the report by the ad hoc group organised civil society chaired by Goke Frerichs and responsible for drawing the consequences of Nice and in particular to provide a definition of organised civil society. For the Committee to be able to concretise this mandate, several measures have been proposed and Thomas Jansen revealed in particular the creation of a permanent group guaranteeing a global and coordinated approach for all the activities of the Committee notably with regards to the organisation of civil society that is not represented within it. With this decision, we enter into a new phase of existence for the Committee, which not only seeks far more, in the future, to be up to the mandate given by the Treaty of Nice, namely to be the representation at the institutional level of civil society. It has not been easy to reach such conclusions, as it is a new thing and because we exceed what we have always done. The majority of councillors felt it important to move in this direction, added Thomas Jansen. Also recalling that President Prodi, during his meeting at the end of March-beginning April of this year with Mr Frerichs, has stated: It is the Committee's time. Civil society expresses a growing interest in being involved in a dialogue with the European institutions. The Commission not being able to meet everybody, it requires a body where the contributions by civil society are summarised and channelled towards the institutions. Here is the Committee's new role.