Est. 2min 03-06-2008 (updated: 28-05-2012 ) nikiforos_diamandouros.jpg Euractiv is part of the Trust Project >>> Languages: Français | DeutschPrint Email Facebook X LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram The European Ombudsman called on MEPs to “defend the EU’s commitment to transparency” during yesterday’s (2 June) Parliament hearing on the Commission’s plans to revise a law on public access to EU documents. “The [EU executive’s] proposals not only ignore the lessons of the past but also the new promises to citizens, civil society and representative associations made in the Treaty of Lisbon,” EU Ombudsman P. Nikiforos Diamandouros told MEPs participating in the hearing. “The Commission’s proposals would mean access to fewer, not more, documents,” he claimed, which “raises fundamental issues of principle about the EU’s commitment to openness and transparency.” Although the Ombudsman welcomed a move to make documents available to non-EU citizens and non-residents of the bloc, he claimed that in many cases citizens can “only apply for access to a document if it appears in a register,” which would be “a step backwards for transparency”. Responding to the Ombudsman’s claims, Commission spokesperson Joe Hennon said “we will have to study what [Diamandouros] has said, but in principle we do not agree that there is less access to documents now. We think there is more access.” Meanwhile in Germany, members of the CSU (the Bavarian sister party of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats) yesterday accused the Commission of discrimination by only making “3%” of the documents it sends to member states available in the German language. The CSU members claimed that the 240,000 calls for tender sent to member states by the EU executive are “almost exclusively” available in English and French only, according to Die Welt. Read more with Euractiv Study calls for more accountability of EU corporationsCorporations should be held liable in Europe for human rights abuses and environmental damage incurred outside the EU, according to a new legal study presented by a civil society network in the European Parliament on 29 May. Subscribe now to our newsletter EU Elections Decoded Email Address * Politics Newsletters PositionsEuropean Ombudsman P. Nikiforos Diamandouros was speaking at a European Parliament hearing on citizens' right of access to EU documents entitled 'Towards a European Freedom of Information Act', which also gathered representatives of the Commission, Council and civil society organisations to discuss "the positive and negative aspects of the current legal framework" regarding citizens' access to documents. Commission Vice President responsible for communications strategy Margot Wallström said the revised regulation "will improve citizens' access to documents," which she described as equally important as the right to vote. "Citizens have a right to request access [to documents] and it is the duty of the institutions to deliver this," she added. Defining 'document' in this context, Wallström said "all texts received and drafted become documents the moment they are signed and sent". Italian MEP Marco Cappato (ALDE), Parliament's rapporteur on the annual review of the access to documents regulation, said improving citizens' access to EU documents would help "combat the democratic deficit separating the EU from its citizens". "Those who don't really understand how the institutions work must nontheless be able to find [the documents] they are looking for" to prevent EU communication from being labelled "propaganda" by eurosceptics, he added. "If growing euroscepticism is to be eradicated then we must clearly explain what we are doing for the citizen and how we are doing it," said Socialist MEP Michael Cashman (UK), Parliament's rapporteur on the reform of the access to documents regulation. "The real democratic deficit is in the Council. We can no longer accept that the Council discusses, debates and votes in secret," Cashman added. A representative of the Council expressed reservations about publishing the positions of national delegations, which should be done on "a case-by-case basis" to take account of "the wider public interest". Ian Harden, the EU Ombudsman's secretary general, said "no element of this proposal seems to make more documents accessible" and warned the plans could even reduce access. "Narrowing the definition of what constitutes a document would be a step backwards, and this is the Commission's choice," he added. Steve Peers of Statewatch, which monitors civil liberties in Europe, called on the Parliament and the Council "to open up the co-decision procedure" because key documents specific to dialogue between the institutions are not currently available to the public and "we never know how negotiations are progressing". Meanwhile, he described the revised regulation as "a real step backwards" compared with European Court of Justice case law. Tony Venables of the European Citizen Action Service called on the Commission to establish an "independent commissioner for transparency" to deal exclusively with access to documents requests. BackgroundEntitlement to access Commission, Parliament and Council documents is considered as a fundamental right of European citizens and is a key element of the wider debate surrounding the transparency and openness of the EU institutions. Citizens' rights in this field are set out in a 2001 Regulation on public access to European Parliament, Council and Commission documents, to which the EU executive proposed amendments in April 2008. Timeline The amended regulation on access to documents still requires approval by the Parliament and the Council under the co-decision procedure. Nov. 2008: Vote on the amended regulation in Parliament plenary. Further ReadingEuropean Union European Parliament:Access to documents: MEPs want more clarity for the citizen(3 June 2008) [FR] European Parliament:Background documentation for the hearing(2 June 2008) [FR] [FR] [DE] EU Ombudsman:Contribution to the public hearing on the Revision of Regulation 1049/2001 on public access to documents(2 June 2008) Press articles Die Welt:Viele EU-Dokumente gibt es nicht auf Deutsch(2 June 2008)
