Brussels, 01/10/2002 (Agence Europe) - During a press meeting, Austrian Green member Johannes Voggenhuber presented his initiative with a view to holding a debate on social policy within the European Convention. This request is to be examined on Thursday evening by the Convention plenary (see EUROPE of 28 September, p.4).
"We have not proposed a social programme", the MEP said, the only representative of the Greens at the Convention. He went on to explain that the Convention is to consider the question of the role that the EU must play in the social sector, the principles that must guide European social policy, the need or otherwise to defend the European social model, or, again, the implications of the social rights contained in the Charter of Fundamental Rights and the recognition of the right to strike at European level. At the present stage, the main thing is not so much the result that counts, said Mr Voggenhuber, affirming that it would, however, be inadmissible not to hold this debate. In his view, the Convention must, today, demonstrate its independence by refusing to allow an outside veto to be imposed upon it. The Austrian MEP alluded to the British opposition to any discussion on social issues. He felt that "social harmonisation comes within the logic of the internal market" and stressed that not only do opinion polls show that this is one of the main priorities of citizens, but also that the civil society like the Youth Convention have called on the European Convention to consolidate the social Europe. Mr Voggenhuber was also highly critical of Chairman Giscard d'Estaing who, in an article published by several newspapers at the end of August, declared that no member of the Convention had called for a debate on this issue, while no fewer than "33 speakers had mentioned the subject during plenary debates in May and June this year". Mr Voggenhuber reproaches Mr Giscard d'Estaing for behaving more as a spokesman for the "unofficial Convention" of Heads of State and Government that meets one day in Sardinia, another in Spain, than as Chairman of the European Convention.
Forty-five full or alternate members of the European Convention signed this initiative but the representative of the German Government, Peter Glotz, withdrew his signature. According to Mr Voggenhuber, this withdrawal came when Chancellor Schröder was to go to London to discuss the Iraqi matter with Mr Blair. Signing a request for a debate on social matters by his personal representative within the Convention would not have been considered appropriate in this context.