MEPs demand increased public access to EU information

2.38.00pm GMT Wed 11th Mar 2009

The European Parliament has voted in favour of stronger rules on freedom of information which would considerably enlarge access to EU files. The report calls for all legislative documents to be publicly available via a website shared between the main EU bodies. It also calls for a comprehensive register of lobbyists.

The changes would strengthen a 2001 EU regulation of which the EU institutions and EU governments have obstructed the full implementation, resulting in several European Court of Justice rulings.

MEPs have been demanding amended rules which make rights to information clearer and reduce the scope for obstruction. Working on a proposed new draft, they have extended the scope to electronic data, demanded justification for any restriction of access, a 2 week deadline for applications instead of the Commission's proposal of a month, and documents to be placed on a register.

Sarah Ludford MEP, Liberal Democrat European Justice & Human Rights Spokeswoman, said:

"The tendency towards secrecy within the EU institutions, whether actual or perceived, does them no favours at all. If European citizens are to be convinced of the value of the work and the laws that the EU produces then they must be able to follow easily each step in the legislative process. Neither legislators nor officials should be able to hide behind a curtain of confidentiality.

"It is up to the European Parliament, as the representative body of Europe's citizens, to take a strong lead on transparency. It is particularly important that a majority of MEPs - though without the full support of the Socialist and Conservative groups - backed a Liberal Democrat amendment to make public, on a searchable website, information on EU spending and beneficiaries of EU grants and funds."