Est. 2min 27-02-2006 (updated: 04-06-2012 ) kallas4.jpg Euractiv is part of the Trust Project >>> Languages: Français | DeutschPrint Email Facebook X LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram The European Parliament’s Petitions and Civil Liberties committees have unanimously backed calls for the EU Council of Ministers to hold its meetings in public and declassify all documents related to legislative activities. The Petitions Committee in the European Parliament gave unanimous backing on 23 February to a non-binding report calling for the Council to meet openly in public when it decides on EU legislation. “It is unacceptable that the EU’s most important law-making body still meets behind closed doors when acting as legislator. The Council should respond to calls for greater transparency coming from Parliament, civil society and the general public,” the MEPs said. The report, drafted by David Hammerstein Mintz (Greens/EFA, ES), points to a huge divergence in transparency between Parliament and Council in the way they hold their meetings. In the same was that Parliament committee hold their meetings in public, the MEPs argue that there is “no logical justification” for the Council to meet behind closed doors. And such transparency rules, they continue, should be extended to Ambassadors meeting in the Committee of Permanent Representatives (COREPER), which prepares and regularly agrees on key legislation before the Ministers meet. In a separate report – also adopted unanimously – the Parliament’s Civil Liberties Committee urged the Council to make all its documents public, including preparatory papers, which are often classified as confidential. The MEPs say current legislation on public access to Council documents is too vague and still allows documents to be 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”. Read more with Euractiv EU and US start regulatory co-operation The Commission hosted last month the first high-level EU-US Regulatory Cooperation Forum in Brussels. The initiative seeks to minimise trade barriers in the world's single largest bilateral trade relationship. Subscribe now to our newsletter EU Elections Decoded Email Address * Politics Newsletters PositionsTo the MEPs supporting the reports, good governance in the EU requires "participation, transparency, accountability, efficiency and cohesion". They believe holding EU legislative meetings in public is of direct relevance to efforts by elected representatives to fulfil their scrutiny role, both at national and EU level. They point out that more transparency would also intensify public debate on European issues, a matter which is becoming of increasing political concern since France and the Netherlands rejected the draft EU Constitution in referendums held last year. Efforts to increase transparency and public access to EU documents are generally well received in Brussels. However, EU insiders caution against trying to impose full transparency at all times. They say a "space for confidentiality" is essential, especially in the EU Council, to allow room to broker a deal between sometimes conflicting national views. This view is shared by Commission Vice-President in charge of Anti-Fraud and Administrative Affairs, Siim Kallas. In an interview with EURACTIV in November last year, Kallas said the line between going public and confidentiality should be drawn according to the topics being discussed. For instance, he said transparency imperatives are "absolutely different in foreign trade negotiations, which are largely covered by confidentiality. On other issues such as taxation, you can make information immediately available to the public for discussion. So where you draw the line is actually a political decision which is made on a case by case basis". BackgroundThe current legislation on public access to European Parliament, Council and Commission documents came into effect on 3 December 2001 at the end of grueling negotiations between all three EU institutions. The regulation gave the public new rights to access documents of all EU institutions but still left room for the EU Council of Ministers to classify documents for reasons of security or to protect the general interest and peoples' privacy. In November 2005, the Commission Vice-President in charge of Anti-Fraud and Administrative Affairs, Siim Kallas, announced a 'Transparency Initiative' which, among other things, will seek to improve the transparency and accountability of EU institutions. In a forthcoming Green Paper, Kallas wants to open a debate on whether to apply common ethical rules to all EU lawmakers in Brussels, including those sitting in the Council. Timeline MEPs have called on the Austrian Council Presidency to take steps immediately to amend the Council's rules of procedure on access to documents by the end of the year Mid to end March 2006: Commissioner Kallas to publish Transparency Green Paper Further ReadingEuropean Union Parliament:MEPs press Council of Ministers to open its doors(23 Feb. 2006) Report by David Hammerstein Mintz Report by David Hammerstein Mintz [FR] Report by David Hammerstein Mintz [FR] [DE] Parliament:Improving transparency of the EU institutions(23 Feb. 2006) Report by Michael Cashman Report by Michael Cashman [FR] Report by Michael Cashman [FR] [DE] Report by Michael Cashman [FR] [DE] Amndments Report by Michael Cashman [FR] [DE] Amndments [FR] Report by Michael Cashman [FR] [DE] Amndments [FR] [DE] Non-assigned links Commission (press release):Making Brussels more transparent(9 Nov. 2005) [FR] [FR] [DE] Commission:Communication - Proposing the launch of a European Transparency Initiative(9 Nov. 2005) [FR] [FR] [DE] Commission:Siim Kallas - What is the Transparency Initiative? Council (Press release):Public debates and deliberations under Austrian Presidency[pp. 15-16]
