Brussels, 28/01/2002 (Agence Europe) - Whereas the General Affairs Council was discussing the composition of the Convention to prepare the IGC and the way it is to be run (see p.3), the parliaments of Member States continued appointing their representatives to the Convention. Thus, Italy has chosen Marco Follini, CCD leader (Centro cristiano democratico) and Lamberto Dini, former Prime Minister (la Margherita), which raised lively polemics within the opposition, the Democratici di sinistra having counted on the appointment of former Prime Minister Massimo D'Alema. As for the Finnish Parliament, it has chosen Kimmo Kiljunen and Matti Vanhanen, and the Danish Parliament Henrik Dam (also see EUROPE of 26 January, p.7).
Furthermore, Valery Giscard d'Estaing said, regarding the remuneration of the members of the Convention (see EUROPE of 24 January, p.10 and 26 January, p.7): "I have followed the debate between the Council Secretariat, the Council, the Commission and the Committee of Permanent Representatives over the budget of the European Convention and the remuneration of its leaders. My sole request was that this remuneration be decent, and come within the standards of European institutions. I would, indeed, like to place the European Convention at a good level in relation to other institutions. It had been proposed that our work should not be remunerated (…) We shall devote ourselves to the success of the European Convention, that's the only thing that matters for me".