Brussels, 22/05/2003 (Agence Europe) - MEP and Convention Member Andrew Duff has proposed, in a statement, getting rid of articles proposed by the Presidium of the Convention of the future Constitution, as they relate to reinforced co-operation. They have never worked and probably never will, said the British Liberal Democrat, who believes they are "an affront to all efforts made by the Convention in terms of rationalisation, simplification and clarification". Mr Duff pointed out that the possibility of consulting "a hardcore" of Member States had been introduced at the time of the Treaty of Amsterdam, to "defeat the then British government's veto of any extension of qualified majority voting", whereas the European Convention "should establish qualified majority as the future standard". On the other hand, Mr Duff believes that reinforced co-operation "certainly has its place in terms of the common security and defence policy", as proposed by the Presidium in draft article 30. The idea has already been taken up "avant la lettre" by Belgium, France, Germany and Luxembourg, in their defence summit of 29 April in Brussels, he recalled.