Strasbourg, 17/06/2002 (Agence Europe) - The last meeting of the European Parliament delegation at the European Convention, held on Tuesday in Strasbourg, showed that there is a certain amount of grumbling going on concerning the Chairman, Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, as well as growing impatience about the uncertain nature of the final result that the Convention is supposed to reach. Many MEPs, including Elena Paciotti (Democratici di Sinistra) or Dutch Christian Democrat Hanja Maij-Weggen, criticised the attitude of the Convention's Chairman. Austrian Green member Johannes Voggenhuber said he had the feeling that the intentions of the Members of the Convention are not taken into account when they do not tally with the Chairman's personal ideas. Speaking of the declarations made by Mr Giscard d'Estaing who said he would not make any proposals not backed by the governments, Mr Voggenhuber expressed the fear that the president would "come down from Mount Sinai with a proposal that the Convention can no longer amend". French Socialists Olivier Duhamel and Pervenche Berès took the defence of Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, whom they describe as a "good chairman" whose talents should be put to good use by the Parliament delegation. Inigo Mendez de Vigo, Partido popular member, said for his part that the Convention chairman considers the EP as his ally but, like Social Democrat Klaus Hänsch, he also spoke of his frustration for the lack of clarity about the final aim of the Convention. Klaus Hänsch, who represents the EP with Mr Mendez at the Convention Praesidium, stressed that all the attempts made at the Praesidium to obtain the definition of a final objective have failed and, he specified, "not because of Mr Giscard d'Estaing". French Christian Democrat Alain Lamassoure said this lack of agreement on the final objective and the fear of "offending governments" prevent the Convention from really settling down to work and could transform it into a "super-IGC" which does not manage self-censorship. To rekindle the discussions, Ms Paciotti proposed that the EP should itself develop a draft constitutional text on the basis of the work of the Institute in Florence and positions already expressed by the Parliament. She received the support of German Christian Democrat Joachim Wuermeling and of Mr Duhamel but Mr Mendez de Vigo called for caution stressing that an overall proposal could cause a negative reaction on the part of the other Members.
German Social Democrat Jo Leinen notes in a press release that Mr Giscard d'Estaing is making a round-trip of the capitals while "nobody in the Convention gets to know what is being said behind closed doors". This suggests that Mr Giscard d'Estaing is "engaging in secret consultations with the heads of states and governments in the large member states about crucial results of the Convention", says Mr Leinen, who notes that, after several interviews, "it emerges that for him the 'government of the EU lies not with the European Commission but with the European Council". This intergovernmental approach is in contradiction with the declarations made by most Members of the Convention, said Mr Leinen, who wonders whether the Convention "will be able to safeguard its own independence, or will its results be determined from outside". In his view, the "Praesidium should exercise its leadership function and present concrete texts. Otherwise, there is a real danger that the president will submit a draft with some governments, the core points of which it would then be impossible for the Convention to amend".