Press Release: Commission encourages public debate on institutional reform

Important discussions on the reform of the European institutions have just begun. The European Commission wants the forthcoming Intergovernmental Conference (IGC) to be accompanied by a dialogue with the European public about the issues at stake. To this end, the Commission has adopted a communication on how this dialogue is to be organised. This has been done at the initiative of Romano Prodi, President of the Commission, Commissioner Michel Barnier (both with responsibility for the IGC) and Viviane Reding, Commissioner responsible for dialogue with the public, in agreement with Günter Verheugen, Commissioner responsible for the enlargement negotiations.