23/05/2002 (Agence Europe) - Antonio Lopez, 32 years old, new Secretary General of the European People's Party (succeeding Alejandro Agag, who resigned), said in an interview with the press service of the party's EPP News that he was convinced that the paper that the EPP will bring out in Estoril (at the congress to be held from 17 to 19 October) "will be a decisive contribution to the future of Europe". The EPP "is above all practical, and I'm sure that it is a question here of the right accent, before the Union enlarges itself so spectacularly", declared Lopez (who Parliament knows for having been responsible for the bureau of Gerard Galeote MEP, from 1997 to 1999). "It's refreshing" to note that Valery Giscard d'Estaing, as chair of the European Convention, "is focusing on basic issues", Mr. Lopez commented, adding: "I have the feeling that Giscard understands that tomorrow, and a quite different type of Union, will bring a whole new set of challenges".