Strasbourg, 04/07/2003 (Agence Europe) - MEP, Koldo Gorostiaga Atxalandabaso declared during a press conference that, "the European Union contains people who are not recognised and are denied their right to be a people". The MEP was speaking about the place of stateless nations in the draft European Constitution (also see EUROPE 3 July p 7). The Basque MEP deplored the fact that as opposed to previous treaties, the draft Constitution clearly asserts that the European Union is composes of Member States and "condemns to death" stateless nations and the fifty million Europeans that live in such countries. Mr Gorostiaga asked for the notions of "people" and "region" to be substituted for those of State and citizens in the future treaty to allow for recognition of all peoples and regional languages. The MEP added that, "it is clear that the IGC does not want to reopen this Pandora's box". He also noted that several countries, with Spain in the lead, were opposed to such recognition and were really guilty of blackmail. Replying to a journalist who asked him if terrorist actions by the Basque independence movement were legitimate, the MEP replied that this was a political problem and "could not be resolved by political means". Mr Gorostiaga said that notions of citizens and State alone was madness and warned that, "existing conflicts within nation states would pass to a European level and that is a danger to peace.