Introduction by Giscard d’Estaing
Convention President Valéry Giscard d’Estaing started with a briefing on the reactions of the heads of Member states gathered in Thessaloniki to the Constitutional text.
He said that there had been ’possitive reactions’ and a recognition of the ’broad consensus’.
Giscard also said that the conclusions of the Council only reflected partially the athmosphere of the debate and the support of the Member States which was more than he had hoped for.
Then he warned that some Member States had expressed their wish to ’follow up’ some issues in the IGC next October.
The possibility of opening issues in the IGC was therefore strong, consequently the Convention would have to use its ’political influence’ if they did not want ’interferences in their work’.
There was a danger of ’unpicking’, if some of the points already debated in the Convention are left out of the Text, the IGC will be weakening the Convention’s work.
Interventions
After this introduction, Giscard d’Estaing gave the floor to the speakers. Most of the interventions supported writen amendments submitted up to the 27 June.
Interventions supporting Public Health
The Commission’s amendment demanding to explain the division of competences (EU/Member States) better and to take into account the conclusions of the Working Group on Social Europe chaired by Mr Katiforis, was supported by many speakers: Anne Van Lancker (two interventions supporting the same topic, Bobby McDonagh, John Bruton, Pascale Andreani and Paolo Ponzano.
One intervention supported the amendments that included interpersonal violence in article III-174 (ex 152): Proinsias de Rossa.
An intervention by a representative of an accession country focused on issues of Health Care: he demanded the introduction of new statements on health such as a high and equal standard of health care all over Europe, patient access to all medical facilities (including cross-border health care), a pan-european policy on substance abuse (focusing on drugs and alcohol), a centralized system of regulation of medical sercices and pharmaceutical products, a European Medical Council (regulating issues such as training of doctors) and a European Medical Association.
He was told off by Giscard d’Estaing for using a blue card to raise new points, and not to respond to other interventions (the rule).
There was also some divergences on the procedure that the EU should follow when signing international agreements on trade of services.
By unanimity: Hubert Haenel and Kimmo Kiljunen.
By Qualified Majority Voting: Pascale Andreani and Gerhard Tusek.
Interventions supporting legal base for Services of General Interest
The Presidium, by its own initiative, included an article that setted the legal base for services of general interest.
This was critizised by several speakers: Joschka Fischer, Teija Tiilikainen, Caspar Einem and Patricia Scotland.
However, the supporters of the creation of the legal base where bigger in number and arguments: Josep Borrell, Ben Fayot, Jari Vilen, Jurgen Meyer, Proinsias de Rossa, Kimmo Kiljunen, Adrian Severin, Pierre Chevalier, Joachim Wuermeling and Marie Nagy.
Final Plenary Session
Next meeting will be on the 9-10 July, and Giscard d’Estaing warned that they could only accept amendments that do not break consensus in Part I and II.
On Wednesday 9 July the ’components’ of the Convention will meet separately and the Plenary session, which will do a final reading of the text, will start at 15:00h.
On Thursday 10 July, the session will be held in the morning and will present the conclusions.
Giscard d’Estaing is expected to travel to Rome on 18 July to hand over the final draft version on Europe’s constitution.
