THE DAY IN POLITICS / (eu) ep/european council of laeken

Several MEPs criticise composition of trio leading Presidium - Mr Verhostadt stresses importance of regions participating in "constitutional process" - Mr Michel says EU should not end up in blind alley in USA relationship

Brussels, 18/12/2001 (Agence Europe) - The majority of MEPs who intervened during the extraordinary session of 17 December on the European Council of Laeken mentioned the Laeken Declaration and were for the most part positive about it, even if several of them would have preferred the leading team to have been younger and not exclusively male (see yesterday's EUROPE pages 4 and 5). Some MEPs pointed out that the Laeken Declaration had raised a number of questions. Marianne Thyssen (Belgian...