Brussels, 19/12/2001 (Agence Europe) - The European Parliament Liberal group launched an appeal in favour of parity between men and women within the Convention preparing the next IGC. The Presidium consists of twelve people with a majority of them being men - Giscard d'Estaing and Vice Presidents Dehaene and Amato, Commissioners Barnier and Vitorino, and certainly MEPs Mendez de Vigo and Hänsch. Briton, Andrew Duff (who was, together with Austrian Green MEP, Johannes Voggenhuber, EP rapporteurs on the Convention who drafted the Charter of Fundamental Rights), asserted that if there were an overwhelming majority of men, it would not look good for European citizens and if the trend was not rectified, it would be entirely unacceptable. The ELDR also wants the Convention to be able to speak on behalf of contemporary European society. The ELDR stated that even if they had just one member on the Convention, the group would make a determined effort to get the two sexes represented and called for the other European Parliament groups to make a similar commitment. Danish MEP, Lone Dybkjaer retorted that it wasn't too much to ask for women to be chosen as suppléants Members on the convention and where women were in top positions, the support of men as deputies would be acceptable. Ms Dybkjaer said that in certain countries the results of the Convention and the IGC would be ratified by referendum, which meant that women would feel involved in the process as well. Swedish MEP, Cecilia Malmström said that as women made up more than half the population of the EU, it would be perfectly "natural" for them to want to participate in the debate on the future of Europe.