Brussels, 25/04/2002 (Agence Europe) - The International European Movement has presented its second contribution to the work of the European Convention. Its Steering Committee approved the proposals put forward by the working group chaired by Charles-Ferdinand Nothomb, President of the European Movement-Belgium, on the basis of the report by Paolo Barbi. In addition, the Steering Committee, which met on 24 January in Brussels, called on the Convention to adopt a draft text as soon as possible in order to allow real dialogue with the civil society.
In its second contribution to the Convention, the IEM mainly calls for the EU's "fundamental institutions" to be "clarified" and takes a stance for: - a two-chamber legislative body formed of the European Parliament and a "form of public Council"; - the executive body, the Commission, which "must develop into a single executive, invested by Parliament and approved by Council"; - a jurisdictional control body, the Court of Justice; - "a Presidency (formed of Heads of State and Government) which presents to the legislative and executive bodies the main objectives and the broad lines of common policy and elects its "leader" (or "troika") from its ranks for a period of at least one year".
Furthermore, the IEM insists on "participatory" democracy and invites the EU to support the institutions that allow citizens to take part in political life, beginning with the European political parties, until there are "forums" allowing voluntary involvement by citizens in social life.