Brussels, 07/05/2002 (Agence Europe) - Convention Members from Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Austria and Luxembourg have written to the Chairman of the European Convention, Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, affirming that the question of the chairmen for the working groups to be created within the Convention "should be approached with the perspective of maintaining the balance between the Praesidium and the Plenary of the Convention, as well as the overall geographical balance". It seems likely, however, that the chairpersons of the working groups will be members of the Praesidium. Such a balance is of "crucial importance for the Convention to succeed in its work", say the signatories, who feel the Praesidium should be "free to choose the most suitable candidates from among all the Members of the Convention" to chair the working groups. According to the twelve signatories, who trust Valéry Giscard d'Estaing will draw attention to their initiative during the Praesidium meeting on Wednesday 8 May, their proposal should "strengthen further the idea of the Convention as a project to be taken further as a common effort by all the 'Conventionists'. Noting that the question of appointing the chairpersons of working groups is not yet settled in the document on the Convention's working methods, the signatories stress that the importance of the working groups is emphasised by the broad mandate of the Convention, and that the work of the plenary is up against "obvious limitations in the use of the plenary session for detailed and indepth discussions".
The letter was signed by Kimmo Kiljunen and Matti Vanhanen, representatives of the Finnish parliament, and Teja Tiilikainen, representing the Finnish Prime Minister, Sören Lekberg and Göran Lennmarket (Swedish Parliament), Henrik Dam Kristensen and Peter Skaarup (Danish Parliament), Reinhard Bösch and Caspar Einem (Austrian Parliament) and Hannes Farnleitner, representative for the Austrian Chancellor, and the two representatives of the Luxembourg Parliamernt, Ben Fayot and Paul Helminger.
The arguments put forward in favour of choosing chairpersons for the working groups from among the members of the Praesidium in particular are that the latter must play a role in the coordination of the Convention's work, and that each Member must make a contribution to the results of the working group, whether the Member is the chairperson or an ordinary Member. The Convention should decide on setting in place, no doubt in June, a first series of six working groups, which could be followed by others, as the Convention enters into the heart of the subject. Working groups (maximum 20-25 members) should be on: subsidiarity, the Charter of Fundamental Rights, the Union's legal personality, the role of national parliaments, complementary competences, and the consequences of single currency for economic and financial cooperation between Member States.
We recall that, after the meeting of the Praesidium on 8 May - a meeting to last the whole day - the Convention must hold a plenary on 23 and 24 May, before meeting twice in June, on 6 and 7 June and then on 24 and 25 June. The plenary will be held on 11 and 12 July, after the Youth Convention to meet from 9 to 11 July.
After the summer break, work is expected to speed up, with a plenary in September (11 and 13 September), two in October (3 and 4 October, and 28 and 29 October), one in November (7 and 8 November), and two in December (5 and 6 December and 20 and 21 December).