Brussels, 22/01/2003 (Agence Europe) - The Commission must retain its flexibility of action for taking up future challenges stemming from the strengthening of the co-ordination of employment and welfare policies, and that means that qualified majority voting will have to be extended to all social legislation and the open method of co-ordination enshrined in the new Constitution, without prejudging what the Amsterdam Treaty sets out over economic co-ordination and co-ordination of employment policy: This is the content of the message sent out on 21 January by the Commissioner for Social Affairs, Anna Diamantopoulou, to the European Convention's "social Europe" working group. The Commissioner also asked that the principle of gender equality be expressly cited in the future Constitution, equality which, for now, is enshrined in the legislation of Member States but that is mostly ignored. Ms. Diamantopoulou again hoped that "the special status of social partners enshrined in the current Treaty would be preserved in the new Constitution and that the role of civil society also be enshrined". She also placed emphasis on the fact that in matters of social protection, greater co-operation is required at European level. "The management and funding of social protection systems will remain a national competence. However, progress in economic and employment convergence at European level - encompassing growth and structural change and imposing budgetary discipline, on the one hand, and encouraging fundamental changes to the labour market, on the other - have consequences on social protection", she commented.