21/11/2002 (Agence Europe) - The "European Constitution" Intergroup of the European Parliament has called on the European Convention to reject a "Congress of peoples" (proposed by Valery Giscard d'Estaing) as European institution in the future constitutional treaty, calling, on the contrary, for the institutional triangle and Community method to be strengthened. At its meeting in Strasbourg this week, the Intergroup judged the proposal to be "unnecessary and counterproductive", qualifying it as the "umpteenth attempt to strengthen the EU's intergovernmental character". Such a Congress, "which was only a taking shop" on EU politics, "would lose its attraction very quickly", says a press release, adding: " "as a decision-making body, it would be in direct competition with the EP, both as far as the election of political personnel is concerned (the president of the European Commission for example) and even in legislative matters".