In this interview, Alain Lamassoure, Policy Officer then Technical Adviser to Jean-Pierre Fourcade in the French Ministry of the Economy and Finance, then in the Ministry of Regional Planning, from 1974 to 1978, former Technical Adviser at the General Secretariat of the French Presidency from 1978 to 1981 and Member of the French National Assembly for the Pyrénées-Atlantiques département from 1986 to 1993, discusses the origins of his European commitment, the European dimension of his first posts and particularly the formation of a joint committee known as Pénélope, which was composed of a number of MPs.

In an article published on 9 December 1999 in the French daily newspaper Le Monde, Alain Lamassoure, Member of the European Parliament, argues that the ‘European’ nature of a country as a condition for accession to the European Union should only be assessed according to the criterion of geography, independently of historical, religious or cultural considerations, with the aim of establishing objective limits to the enlargement of the European Union.

On 16 June 2001, in an article published in the French daily newspaper Le Figaro, Alain Lamassoure, former French Minister for European Affairs, warns the Fifteen against pursuing their Community policy after the Irish refusal to ratify the Treaty of Nice.

In an article published in the quarterly journal Commentaire in summer 2001, following the signing of the Treaty of Nice on 26 February, Alain Lamassoure, MEP and former French Minister for European Affairs, takes stock of the state of the European Union and shows how the Treaty constitutes a step backwards in the development of the Fifteen’s institutions.

In autumn 2002, in the quarterly journal Commentaire, Alain Lamassoure, former French Minister for European Affairs and Member of the European Convention in his capacity as representative of the European Parliament, analyses the arguments and new elements in the debate within the Convention between the promoters of federalism and those of sovereignty.

In autumn 2003, in the journal Commentaire, Alain Lamassoure, former French Minister for European Affairs and Member of the European Convention in his capacity as representative of the European Parliament, analyses the outcome of the Convention’s work and expresses his satisfaction with the method of establishing a Convention to debate the future of the European Union.

In this extract from The Secret Story of the European Convention, Alain Lamassoure, former Minister for European Affairs and Member of the European Convention in his capacity as representative of the European Parliament, explains why the Convention did not dare to address the question of the European Union’s borders, in particular because of Turkey’s participation in the work of the Convention.

In this extract from The Secret Story of the European Convention, Alain Lamassoure, former Minister for European Affairs and Member of the European Convention in his capacity as representative of the European Parliament, presents the debates surrounding the religious question, and in particular the reference to Christianity in the draft Constitution.

In this extract from The Secret Story of the European Convention, Alain Lamassoure, former Minister for European Affairs and Member of the European Convention in his capacity as representative of the European Parliament, compares the submission of the first institutional proposals by the President of the Convention to a gambit in the game of chess.

In the epilogue to The Secret Story of the European Convention, Alain Lamassoure, former Minister for European Affairs and Member of the European Convention in his capacity as representative of the European Parliament, addresses the European leaders following the Brussels European Council held in December 2003, which was unable to reach agreement on the draft Constitutional Treaty.

In this interview, Alain Lamassoure, French Minister for European Affairs from 1993 to 1995, Minister for the Budget from 1995 to 1997 and Member of the European Parliament from 1989 to 1993 and since 1999, discusses the weaknesses of the way in which the European Union is currently financed and makes suggestions as to how it might be reformed.

On 31 March 2007, following the European Parliament's vote on the report by Alain Lamassoure regarding the future of the own resources of the European Union, the French daily newspaper Le Monde considers the issue of the financing of the Union and outlines the two stages of reform proposed by the report.

On 21 March 2007, Eurinfo broadcasts a report on the financing of the European Union budget. With a view to the debates on the revision of the 2007–2013 budget, Alain Lamassoure, Member of the European Parliament, tries to persuade his national counterparts to provide the Community budget with its own tax revenue in order to make it completely independent of direct national contributions.

In this interview, Alain Lamassoure, French Minister for European Affairs from 1993 to 1995, Member of the European Parliament from 1989 to 1993 and since 1999, and currently a member of the Political Bureau of the European People's Party (EPP), describes the evolution of the EPP, its identity and its political ideology.

In this interview, Alain Lamassoure, French Minister for European Affairs from 1993 to 1995, outlines France’s position during the negotiations for the accession of Austria, Sweden, Finland and Norway to the European Union.

On 1 March 1994, Alain Lamassoure, French Minister Delegate for European Affairs, holds a press conference in Brussels in which he outlines the progress made in the negotiations on accession to the European Union being conducted with Austria, Finland, Norway and Sweden.

On 2 March 1994, in an interview for the French radio station France Inter, Alain Lamassoure, French Minister Delegate for European Affairs, gives his views, in particular, on the implications of the enlargement of the European Union to include Austria, Finland, Norway and Sweden.

On 15 March 1994, Alain Lamassoure, French Minister Delegate for European Affairs, draws up an initial progress report on the negotiations for Norway's accession to the European Union.

In this interview, Alain Lamassoure, French Minister for European Affairs from 1993 to 1995, describes the initiative of the Prime Minister, Édouard Balladur, to hold a Conference on Stability in Europe, which took place in Paris on 20 and 21 March 1995 under the aegis of the OSCE, at the request of the European Union. The aim of this conference was to encourage countries wishing to accede to the European Union to consolidate their borders and, if necessary, to ensure the protection of minorities.

The French Government's proposal that a new European Union initiative for a stability pact be launched in Europe is approved on 21 and 22 June 1993 at the Copenhagen European Council.

On 20 and 21 March 1995 in Paris, the Final Conference on the Stability Pact in Europe, convened on the initiative of the European Union on the basis of a proposal from France, is attended by the representatives of the OSCE Member States. The Council of Europe is represented by its Secretary General. At the end of the Conference, the participants adopt a political declaration and integrate into the Stability Pact all the agreements and arrangements for cooperation and good neighbourly relations that they have concluded. The Stability Pact serves as a model for other joint initiatives on preventive diplomacy.

In this interview, Alain Lamassoure, French Minister for the Budget from 1995 to 1997, discusses the negotiations associated with the Stability Pact and the introduction of the euro during this period.

In this interview, Alain Lamassoure, French Minister for European Affairs from 1993 to 1995, Member of the European Parliament from 1989 to 1993 and since 1999, and Member of the Convention on the Future of Europe from 2002 to 2003, considers the origins and objectives of the Convention on the Future of Europe, which began its work on 27 February 2002.

In this interview, Alain Lamassoure, French Minister for European Affairs from 1993 to 1995, Member of the European Parliament from 1989 to 1993 and since 1999, and Member of the Convention on the Future of Europe from 2002 to 2003, explains the working method set up within the Convention by its President, Valéry Giscard d’Estaing, in order to reach a consensus.

Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, President of the European Convention, places his Chinese porcelain tortoise on the Presidency table. For the President, this mascot with a dragon's head, a symbol of longevity, represents a prudent strategy which achieves its aim. Like the Convention, the dragon tortoise advances slowly so that, when the moment comes, it can catch the final text in its claws.

In this interview, António Vitorino, representative of the Commission to the European Convention from 2002 to 2003 who participated in the work of the Intergovernmental Conference (IGC) as Commission representative from 2003 to 2004, emphasises the originality of the Convention's method which was based, in particular, on the diversity of its composition and the openness and transparency of the debates.

In this interview, Alain Lamassoure, French Minister for European Affairs from 1993 to 1995, Member of the European Parliament from 1989 to 1993 and since 1999, and Member of the Convention on the Future of Europe from 2002 to 2003, describes the various political and institutional elements represented within the Convention, the role played by the EPP and the main divisions within the Convention.

In this interview, Alain Lamassoure, French Minister for European Affairs from 1993 to 1995, Member of the European Parliament from 1989 to 1993 and since 1999, and Member of the Convention on the Future of Europe from 2002 to 2003, explains how the Convention adopted the concept of a constitution, and how it decided to opt for a single text which would integrate and replace all the former treaties.

In this interview, Alain Lamassoure, French Minister for European Affairs from 1993 to 1995, Member of the European Parliament from 1989 to 1993 and since 1999, and Member of the Convention on the Future of Europe from 2002 to 2003, highlights the main differences between a treaty and a constitution. The fact that the notion of a constitution is based on confidence may well have contributed to the French ‘No’ vote.

In this interview, Alain Lamassoure, French Minister for European Affairs from 1993 to 1995, Member of the European Parliament from 1989 to 1993 and since 1999, and Member of the Convention on the Future of Europe from 2002 to 2003, emphasises the need to harmonise the process of ratification of the European treaties in all the Member States of the European Union, either via the national parliaments or by a referendum held in all the countries at the same time, depending on the significance of the revision of the treaty.

In this interview, Alain Lamassoure, French Minister for European Affairs from 1993 to 1995, Member of the European Parliament from 1989 to 1993 and since 1999, and Member of the Convention on the Future of Europe from 2002 to 2003, discusses the political consequences of the results of the referendums held on 29 May in France and on 1 June in the Netherlands for the ratification of the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe. He also refers to the current crisis associated with the Irish ‘No’ vote on the Treaty of Lisbon.