Strasbourg, 09/04/2002 (Agence Europe) - OVP MEP Reinhard Rack, Member of the European Convention, said on Tuesday that the Convention Praesidium had agreed to his idea, after wavering for a long time, to allow candidate country representatives on the Convention to speak in their own languages (they all spoke in English at the first plenary, Ed). The Austrian MEP said it was vital for all Convention Members to be able to speak their own language and that it was a small effort but the positive impact of it on candidate countries' view of the EU should not be underestimated. The EP Convention delegation raised the issue in Strasbourg on Tuesday ahead of the 14/15 April Convention plenary in Brussels (preceded by a Praesidium meeting in the morning). (See yesterday's EUROPE, p.9 on the plenary, Ed.)
In a press release, Mr Rack said that the EP Members of the Convention had also discussed the Youth Convention in July for which every Member of the Convention would be appointing a young person of their country of origin. We shouldn't select "youth officials" warned Mr Rack.