Lamy warns Giscard: “Put people first”

Date: 09/01/03

By Martin Banks

TRADE Commissioner Pascal Lamy has called on the Convention on the future of the EU to focus not just on institutional reform but also on policies.

The French commissioner thus joins the chorus of those concerned that the forum concentrates too much on the institutional machinery of the EU and neglects matters directly affecting the public.

The 105-member Convention, led by former French president Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, is looking at ways of simplifying EU treaties, putting them into a language everyone can understand and bringing the European Union closer to its citizens.

Part of its work is public consultation - it has canvassed opinion from a wide range of European players, including academics, trade unions, think-tanks and non-governmental organisations.

But Lamy told a conference hosted by the European Parliament's Party of European Socialists (PES) that he is "concerned" the Convention will not pay enough attention to social issues, such as improving people's access to health, education and public services.

A working group on social issues was the last to be set up by the Convention last November, under pressure from members, mainly socialists and "greens". The group, chaired by Greek Socialist MEP Giorgos Katiforis, considers which competencies the EU should have over social matters.

This week's PES conference was organised as part of the political group's ongoing dialogue with civil society groups. The group, the Parliament's second biggest, is expected to submit its long-awaited contribution to the Convention next month.

Lamy, a French Socialist, told the conference on Tuesday (7 January) that the challenge facing the Left was to exploit the efficiency of market capitalism while addressing the "inherent instability and inequalities" it generates.

"In the recent past, the emphasis has been too much on remedial action, both on the social and environmental side.

"But it is not enough to let the markets operate and then just make sure that the losers land in a social safety net and that environmental damage is cleaned up.

"Our social and environmental objectives have to be integrated into the functioning of the markets themselves."

Lamy warned that "much of this is at stake in the Convention and we should ensure that it is not just about institutions but policies".

He added: "I believe we must put more weight on policy discussion and I am more and more concerned that this will not be the case."

Meanwhile, Convention member, UK Liberal MEP Andrew Duff, has questioned whether the "skeleton" draft treaty presented last autumn by the Convention sufficiently reflects the majority opinion of the body. Duff said: "The publication of the draft was welcome but when the Convention resumes its work this month we badly need a seminal debate on institutional questions that is sufficiently rich to open up such controversies as the reform of the Council and its presidency."

The Convention, which includes representatives of EU member states' and candidate countries' governments, national parliaments plus MEPs and two commissioners, is due to put forward a draft constitutional treaty by June.

Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy has called on the Convention on the future of the EU to focus not just on institutional reform but also on policies.

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