Luxembourg - EU foreign ministers have agreed the shape of a convention to discuss the future of Europe and to consider how to bring the EU closer to its citizens, Denis Staunton reports.
The ministers accepted a Belgian proposal for a convention composed of representatives of governments, the European Commission, national parliaments and the European Parliament.
Each member-state government would have one representative at the convention, joining 16 members of the European Parliament, two representatives from each national parliament and one Commission representative. The convention would present options for the agenda of a treaty-making conference on the future of Europe to be held in 2004. A forum drawn from organisations representing civil society would meet alongside the convention but would not have a decision- making role.