10/12/2001 (Agence Europe) - Ursula Schleicher, EP rapporteur on the European political parties, regretted that the General Affairs Council on Monday had renounced tackling the problem of the status of parties, noting that the intense efforts of the Belgian Presidency are hampered by resistance from other Member States. The Parliament has been calling for this status since 1996 and has sought to integrate the recommendations of the Court of Auditors, mainly by including on a single budgetary...