Brussels, 07/02/2003 (Agence Europe) - At his press conference, at the end of the work of the European Convention, Valery Giscard d'Estaing stressed that, on the Iraqi issue, Member States were "back-stepping in their attitude in relation to commitments already made in the Maastricht Treaty". He said he had "a double feeling of discouragement and urgency". "Europe, which places peace among its values, should have a common position …, and yet, moreover, the European people do have a common position", he went on, considering that "this situation is unacceptable", as Europe has no position while China and Russia have one. He regretted "the lack of European reflection" that is not linked to the institutions, but to a "problem of collective political will" (see page 3).
Asked about the absence of a religious reference in the first draft articles, Giscard d'Estaing said that the Presidium had considered that "reference to a spiritual heritage had no place in Article 2", but could be included in "he preamble, which will describe road taken with the two major Greek and Roman civilisations and the different contributions Europe has benefited from".