EP Convention members worried at lack of time Convention has left for drafting draft Constitutional treaty and increasing role of governments at convention - Mr Cox ready to launch dialogue with civil society

Strasbourg, 14/01/2003 (Agence Europe) - Some of the worries of the European Parliament delegation at the Convention were expressed during a Tuesday meeting in the backdrop to the plenary session in Strasbourg. According to Austrian Green, Johannes Voggenhuber, these involve fears about the increasing participation of Foreign Affairs Ministers in the work of the Convention, which appears to be gradually transforming into an intergovernmental intergovernmental conference. French Socialist Pervenche Béres criticised the particular deference of President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing to Ministers and the Dutch Christian Democrat Maij-Weggen regretted the appearance of two classes of Convention Member. This was a feeling shared by Belgian Socialist Anne Van Lancker, who suspects that members of the Presidium of consulting government representatives before formulating proposals and providing them with more information than other Convention members. Spanish Christian Democrat, Indigo Mendez de Vigo, who is also a member of the Presidium rejected this allegation and asserted that all the Convention Members are treated the same. Several MEPs also expressed their worries about the Convention's possible lack of a complete draft by mid-May and the finalisation of the draft (there are only three meetings left.

Ms Van Lancker supported by Ms Béres and the Spanish Socialist Carlos Carnero proposed a relaunch of the dialogue with civil society and suggested that the EP President take the initiative for it instead of the of the Convention President.

European Parliament President Pat Cox, who attended the meeting, felt that the presence of the Foreign Ministers is "proof of the Convention's success" and of the serious nature of work undertaken. In his view, this must not be seen as a threat that debates will be taken over. Mr Cox admitted there was a need to renew dialogue with civil society. Parliament is willing to do this, he said, while considering that Convention Members from the EP should put this idea forward at the Convention. Mr Cox also announced that he would deliver more public speeches in the coming weeks on the themes of the Convention in order to strengthen the visibility of the European Parliament in debates on the future of the Union.