Giscard forum “has been hijacked”

Date: 27/03/03

By Martin Banks

THE Convention on the future of Europe is facing claims that it has been "hijacked" by member state governments and that it is ignoring civil society.

A number of high-profile politicians, including the foreign ministers of Germany, France and Greece, have joined the 105-strong forum since it started its work in February 2002.

While some members say this reflects the growing importance of the Convention, others resent member states "wheeling in" their big-hitters.

Spanish Socialist MEP Manuel Medina Ortega said he was dismayed that the forum had been hijacked by government ministers eager to turn it into a "mini-intergovernmental conference (IGC)".

"I know this is a feeling that is shared by several Convention members," he claimed.

While not accepting Ortega's "hijack" description, fellow Spanish MEP Iñigo Méndez de Vigo, a member of the Convention's praesidium, said he shared his concerns.

"I agree there is a risk of the whole thing turning into an IGC and this, in my opinion, is something we should avoid," he told this paper.

The Convention has also been accused of snubbing civil society.

The Brussels-based Permanent Forum of Civil Society (FORUM) claimed chairman Valéry Giscard d'Estaing had reneged on his pledge to listen to groups such as non-governmental organisations.

FORUM spokesman Pier Virgilio Dastoli said: "Giscard was happy to hear what we had to say at the start of the Convention, the so-called "listening phase", but we have virtually been shut out of the debate since then.

"This is obviously cause for real concern, particularly when you consider that the Convention is supposed to be reconnecting with its citizens."

The attack was dismissed by Henning Christophersen, the Danish government representative on the praesidium.

He said: "I think we have been perfectly fair to civil society and have tried to involve them at every stage of the process."

Meanwhile, the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) has called for consumer rights to be included in the constitutional treaty being drafted by the Convention.

It said this would encourage "active consumer participation", through the availability of product information, in an enlarged single market.

The Convention on the Future of Europe is facing claims that it has been 'hijacked' by Member State governments and that it is ignoring civil society.