Brussels, 13/11/2003 (Agence Europe) - The German Christian Democrat Elmar Brok, Chairwoman of the European Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee, will now be one of the two European Parliament representatives at the Intergovernmental Conference on the European Constitution (replacing the member from the Spanish Partido Popular Inigo Mendez de Vigo, member of the same group), alongside another German MEP, the Social Democrat Klaus Hänsch.
The decision was taken on Thursday by the Conference of EP Presidents (the EP President Pat Cox and the Presidents of the Parliament's political groups) who approved, not without controversy, the result of the EPP-ED group vote, which decided with a 50/50 decision for the replacement for Mr Mendez de Vigo, as happened with the latter before him.
However, on Thursday within the Conference of Presidents, there was no unity, and representatives from several political groups criticised the procedure, underlining that the choice of European Parliament representative is the Parliament's business, and not a group's internal affair. If there had been a vote over this issue, I would have abstained, admitted the President of the Socialist group, Enrique Baron, feeling that the decision is the institutions to take, and not the groups. According to the Co-President of the Green/ALE Monica Frassoni, such a method for action risks ridiculing the Parliament, and the Vice-President of the United European Left/Nordic Green Left, José Alonso Puerta, agreed.