Plans for a constitutional convention on the future of the European Union have fallen foul of a row about pay and perks for Valery Giscard d'Estaing, the former French president who has been asked to preside over the great debate.  The final figures have yet to be agreed, but Mr Giscard could be paid euros 20,000 (pounds 12, 335) a month tax free, plus expenses, for his year-long mission to think about how to make the expanding union work better.  Leaked reports about the wrangling behind the scenes jar with the convention's task of seeking to "reconnect" the EU's disenchanted citizens with their distant and unloved institutions. Sources close to "VGE", as Mr Giscard is known in France, have denied that he is insisting on staying in a palace.  He will manage with a suite in a decent hotel for the two to three days a week he will spend in Brussels from the end of February.  "We are looking at what sort of hotel deal we can get, but you can't expect him to share a bed with his security guard," an official involved in the arrangements said.  "We're talking about the future of Europe. It's a constituent assembly, not a local council meeting. We will pay the going rate for the job, and it's a huge amount of work."  Mr Giscard, 76, was chosen at last month's Laeken summit, to the annoyance of London and some other governments which would have preferred the more forward- looking Dutch prime minister, Wim Kok.  The current French president, Jacques Chirac, campaigned hard for his fellow countryman.  Many observers thought an elderly ex-president, however eminent, was the wrong choice to lead this unprecedented effort to sort out big issues and end the sense of disconnection between ordinary people and the union.  Reports about the row have caused much irritation in the EU council of ministers, which was trying yesterday to limit the damage.  "These stories aren't going to do much to excite people about the future of Europe," one eurocrat complained.  "It looks like deliberate sabotage."  The job of the convention is to chart a course for future constitutional reform when the EU takes in new members in about two years' time.  Its brief includes such highly sensitive issues as replacing national vetoes by majority voting, the division of power between national capitals and Brussels, and the charter of fundamental rights, whose incorporation into EU treaties has been long resisted by Tony Blair.  The 109 members will comprise representatives of the 15 current EU states, the 13 candidate countries, the commission and the national and European parliaments. It will have a staff of 12 to 15.  The total cost of the conven tion, which is due to complete its work by March next year, may be euros 40m, including an operating budget of euros 5m.  If Mr Giscard is paid euros 20,000 a month, his salary will be similar to that of the EU commission's president, Romano Prodi.  Proportional salaries would go to his convention deputies, the former Belgian and Italian prime ministers Jean-Luc Dehaene and Giuliano Amato. Classification Language: ENGLISH Subject: CONFERENCES & CONVENTIONS (90%); EUROPEAN UNION (89%); FRENCH PRESIDENTS (89%); TALKS & MEETINGS (78%); ELECTION LAW (78%); EUROPEAN UNION ACCESSION (78%); INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ORGANIZATIONS (78%); VETO (78%); HEADS OF STATE & GOVERNMENT (77%); LEGISLATIVE BODIES (77%); HUMAN RIGHTS & CIVIL LIBERTIES LAW (73%); EUROPEAN UNION LAW (73%); REGIONAL & LOCAL GOVERNMENTS (71%); PRIME MINISTERS (50%) Company: EUROPEAN UNION (84%); EUROPEAN UNION (84%) Organization: EUROPEAN UNION (84%); EUROPEAN UNION (84%); EUROPEAN UNION (84%); EUROPEAN UNION (84%) Industry: HOTELS & MOTELS (78%) Person: JACQUES CHIRAC (57%); TONY BLAIR (50%) Geographic: BRUSSELS, BELGIUM (92%); LONDON, ENGLAND (79%); EUROPE (94%); EUROPEAN UNION MEMBER STATES (94%); FRANCE (93%); BELGIUM (92%); NETHERLANDS (79%); UNITED KINGDOM (79%)