The European Parliament defined the calendar through which it would pay its contribution to the development of the Intergovernmental Conference, which would have to define the new "Treaty of Reformation" of the EU in the second half of 2007. According to the current treaties, it is a compulsory contribution. Today, in the afternoon, an extraordinary session in Brussels is taking place, with the aim of discussing the outcome of the summit on 21-22 June, in the presence of German Chancellor Angela Merkel. In the meantime, the Constitutional Commission is preparing a report, entrusted to German MEP Jo Leinen, which is going to be voted within the Commission in Strasbourg on 9 July. Then, it will be examined by the Parliament, and will be voted during the plenary assembly which is taking place in the French city from 9 to 12 July. According to Jo Leinen, "there is already a general impression of Europe with two speeds, since it is clear that not all the member States will go on at the same speed" in the integration process. Andrew Duff, English MEP, declared to be "favourable to the proposal to associate national parliaments in the decisional process". He thinks that, at the end of the Intergovernmental Conference, "there will be a stronger EU, with a stronger action ability". On the other hand, according to Sylvia-Yvonne Kaufmann, the Intergovernmental Conference "will produce a less transparent treaty, less close to citizens", with respect to the Constitution.
