"The Green Paper of the Commission does not address most of the issues the EP has repeatedly raised in its reports," states the current draft of the Parliament's Civil Liberties committee's response to the Commission initiative to review an existing regulation on citizens' access to EU documents.
Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) Rapporteur Marco Cappato is urging the Council in particular to open access to documents discussed in its working groups including amendments proposed by member states representatives, positions and voting records or legal opinions. "It is untenable that the Council still denies full access to these documents, making it impossible to follow its decision-making process," states the draft Parliament report.
As for the Commission, it is pressed to keep its document register up to date and complete, while is urged Parliament to further improve the publication of its activities through, for example, video-streaming its committees' debates on the internet.
The rapporteur also argues that more transparency is needed on the House's own first-reading co-decision agreements.
The working document states that with the growing scepticism of citizens towards the EU, it is important not only to ensure full access to documents, but also actively to promote the legislative works. A recent European Ombudsman's position on the issue argues that lack of minimum transparency standards for EU-related matters in member states represents "a serious weakness for democracy of the EU".
The Commission's Green Paper on public access to EU documents was adopted in April 2007. A report on the results of the consultation on is expected in September and proposals for amending the current Regulation in October 2007.
The review is part of the wider Transparency Initiative, which encompasses stricter rules on lobbying of institutions, better scrutiny of structural funds and improved consultation standards.
