Improving transparency of the EU institutions - Main contents

How can the European Union speak of transparency and the need to close the gap with its citizens if it fails to apply the most basic rules on public access to the EU institutions' documents? Parliament's Civil Liberties Committee came out on Wednesday in favour of revising and supplementing existing legislation to ensure that debates in Council and all preparatory documents on legislative procedures are available to the public and are easily accessible.

Transparency and democratic scrutiny of the institutions are crucial to ensuring public trust in the Union itself.  Responding to this concern, the Civil Liberties Committee, in an own-initiative report by Michael Cashman (PES, UK), unanimously adopted a package of recommendations calling on the Commission to submit updated legislation by the end of this year on " the right of access " to European Parliament, Council and Commission documents.

The existing EU legislation on public access to the institutions' texts was the fruit of lengthy negotiations between Parliament and Council before its adoption at second reading in 2001. MEPs feel today that the final formulation has proven too vague.

The Civil Liberties Commitee wants the current legislation revised to define more clearly on what basis specific documents may be classified as confidential, " in order to protect the essential interests of the EU ". MEPs wish to prevent documents being classified as confidential " as a matter of routine, simply because they refer to an issue which is or might be relevant from a security point of view ". And further measures should be introduced, requiring access to be granted to all preparatory documents linked to a legislative procedure (including the opinions of legal services), to Parliament or Council debates where these institutions are " acting in their role as legislators " and to the identity of the author of each initiative. 

Finally, says the committee, the European Union should limit the right of Member States to restrict access to their contributions and amendments in co-decision and other legislative procedures.

On the same topic, see today's press release "MEPs press Council of Ministers to open its doors" (link below)

22/02/2006

Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs

chair : Jean-Marie Cavada (ALDE, FR)

Procedure: Own-initiative