10/12/2007 (Agence Europe) - On the basis of the German initiative, 16 Member States took a decision, at the last working sessions putting the finishing touches to the Lisbon Treaty, which will be signed on Thursday 13 December, to subscribe to a declaration on the symbols (flag, anthem, currency, Day on 9 May), which have been removed from the draft Treaty. In this declaration, they state that these elements will remain, for them, the symbols of citizens' belonging to the European Union and their link with that Union. This declaration has been signed by Belgium, Bulgaria, Germany, Greece, Spain, Italy, Cyprus, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Hungary, Malta, Austria, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia and Slovakia. In a press release, the former President of the European Convention, Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, calls upon France to add its name to the declaration. The former head of state argues that it would not be acceptable for France, one of the founding States and whose official photo of the President of the Republic includes the European flag, should not be involved in this declaration. (O.J.)