Brussels, 24/06/2003 (Agence Europe) - Presenting the draft Constitution to the European Economic and Social Committee on 18 June, Jean-Luc Dehaene, Vice-Chair of the European Convention, welcomed the outcome (which no intergovernmental conference would have been able to achieve, he said) while refraining from euphoria. He regretted that qmv had not been generalised, although he said the bridging clause between unanimous voting and qmv was extremely important. Another shortcoming was the fact that although the European Parliament was the institution that had been the most beefed up, there had not been the slightest change in the funding system. We're heading for an enormous crisis in 2006, he said, because the current funding system is leading to gridlock. He also expected many governments to challenge the Convention's results.
EESC members expressed their concerns and criticisms of the draft text, with Georgio Dassis querying whether solidarity would remain theoretical or would actually be implemented. Henri Malosse called for social organisations to be given the right to appeal, through the EESC, against excessive regulation, adding that this would restore parity between the EESC and the Committee of the Regions (which has been given similar rights to appeal). Michel Nollet fears that when it comes to social policy, the Convention's draft is a catalogue of worthy intentions and called for a clause to be added requiring the social dimension to be taken into account in all EU policies. The role of “social dialogue” (between employers and trade unions) is clearly set out, replied Dehaene, adding that civil society had been consulted and had had genuine influence in the Convention.