Brussels, 25/06/2003 (Agence Europe) - The European Policy Forum think tank team that followed the European Convention says the Convention's draft Constitution is “coherent and autonomous, and the IGC should limit itself to legally revising it”. It raises questions about the functioning of the next Intergovernmental Conference, arguing that it has to be more transparent that IGCs in the past by fully involving national parliaments and giving the European Parliament a role. The EPC says the Thessalonica Council conclusions stipulation that the European Parliament be “closely and concretely involved” in the IGC is a step backwards from the IGC that led to the Nice Treaty (with two European Parliament observers and an exchange of views with the EP President ahead of every meeting of the IGC). The EPC notes that after the Convention, a European Parliament representative should be involved in the IGC, (as is the case for the European Commission). In addition, three European Parliament observers should follow the preparations for the IGC (without attending the meetings) to reflect the main political groups.
The EPC also argues that while the Thessalonica conclusions stipulate that the Council General Secretariat will be responsible for the IGC secretariat, "following the positive experience of the Convention, it would seem appropriate to establish an interinstitutional secretariat (...) of officials from the Council, the Commission and the European Parliament".
The EPC stresses that the Convention's value added in terms of transparency and open debate must not be lost, and the Convention Members would be in the best position to warn against any future dilution of the delicate compromise reached at the Convention. Convention Members should therefore be kept regularly informed about the agenda and debate by the Presidency and the European Commission. Moreover, Convention Members wanting to continue meeting in public should issue a joint statement about their determination to closely monitor the work of the IGC while clearly accepting not to play any formal role. Another option would be for component at the July plenaries to designate a small number of representatives (twenty or so) mandated to monitor the IGC on behalf of the Convention.