EUROPEAN CONVENTION: EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT STILL SCEPTICAL ABOUT PROGRESS.

The meeting on June 12 on the fringes of the plenary session in Strasbourg of the European Parliament's component of the European Convention highlighted the persistent tension directed against the Praesidium and its President as well as regarding the pace and scope of work. Elena Ornella Paccioti (PES, Italy) criticised Valery Giscard d'Estaing ahead of his presentation to the Seville European Council on June 21-22, for failing to take account of the majority trends within the Convention, out of consideration for Heads of State and Government whom he will meet individually, and with whom she suspects him of concocting his own project. This suspicion was boosted by a "non paper" from the Praesidium Secretariat, leaked by Jens Peter Bonde (EDD, Denmark), which describes the "possible outline of a basic Treaty". Hanja Maij-Weggen (EPP, Netherlands) was also highly critical, suggesting that Mr Giscard d'Estaing is too heavily influenced by the Council in the conduct of his work. Johannes Voggenhuber (Greens, Austria) struck an ironic note, suggesting that President Giscard d'Estaing will ultimately "come down from Mount Sinai with a project that the Convention will no longer be able to modify". Olivier Duhamel (PES, France) by contrast defended Valery Giscard d'Estaing, as did Andrew Duff (ELDR, United Kingdom), insisting it would be an error for Parliament to clash with the Convention President.Alain Lamassoure (EPP-ED, France) suggested these tensions stem from the difficulty all Convention members have in establishing a rhythm for their work since they are unable to attach their efforts to concrete texts. He suggested that options papers should rapidly be tabled before the Convention, one with a "federalist" bent, the other "eurosceptic" so that a majority could emerge. Otherwise the consensus anticipated at the outset may not be secured, he warned. He suggested that "seeking to maintain a good atmosphere for as long as possible, boils...