On the occasion of the "International Right to Know Day", an event called "Transparency at the EU level and in the Member States" is co-organised by Nikiforos DIAMANDOUROS, European Ombudsman with Transparency International in the European Parliament in Brussels.

Brussels

statement

Ombudsman (T2)

DIAMANDOUROS, Nikiforos (EL)

Transparency at the EU level and in the Member States: extracts from the event

SOUNDBITE (English), Nikiforos DIAMANDOUROS, European Ombudsman, Article 42 of the Charter of fundamental rights is especially important for the Ombudsman's work. It's provide that the citizens shall have the rights to access the documents of the Union institutions bodies, offices and agencies. This constitute a significant improvement extending the right of access not only to the EP, Council and Commission, that was the case before, but to all EU institutions bodies offices and agencies including for the first time the European Council which under Lisbon is now an EU institution.

SOUNDBITE (English), Nikiforos DIAMANDOUROS, European Ombudsman, The right to know is an extremely important right for al EU citizens. Only if they feel that the EU administration is transparent, accessible and accountable, will they develop the necessary trust and willingness actively to participate in the democratic life of the union.

SOUNDBITE (English), Jana MITTERMEIER, Head of Transparency International Brussels, Sweden is a country with a very good culture of strong access to information, and therefore the Swedes Commissioner Malmstr&ouml;m has started to even list her external e-mails to a specific website. And during the EU Presidency, when the Swedish government held the EU presidency a lot of information were discloses in time on this website where as when other countries hold the presidency its really sometimes very hard to find information. This is best practice. And we are wondering why can't all Commissioners try a sort of adapt to these best practice established by the Swedes.

SOUNDBITE (English), Jana MITTERMEIER, Head of Transparency International Brussels, Our demand towards the EU institutions is to sort of identify the best practice that exists already and to try to apply it also by those countries that maybe at home have a week culture for access to information.

SOUNDBITE (English), Christian LINDER, Cabinet member of Commissioner Vice-President Sefcovic, Transparency is an important principle, that is clear and you will find no one in the Commission or elsewhere whom will plead for obscurity in public administration as a principle, but, the Commission has to reconcile the principle of transparency with an number of other also important principles such as for example the protection of personal data, or in the framework of international negotiations the negotiation strategy which can not be divulged in advance. 

SOUNDBITE (English), Christian LINDER, Cabinet member of Commissioner Vice-President Sefcovic, So in contrast with a n umber of our external stakeholders whose legitimate call for enhance transparency and to promote transparency - and this is very important for us - the commission is constantly put at the meets of complex and diverging and competing interests and also pressures when preparing its decisions or initiatives. Art 10 of the Treaty put it in very nice terms: [the institutions should act as openly as possible], and this is a problem, what does it mean "as open as possible"? For the Commission this challenge starts with one of it basics responsibilities which is to prepare draft legislation. And there the Commission's commitment to transparency has been demonstrated in its policy in decision making processes and decisions I think.

Transparency at the EU level and in the Member States: extracts from the event

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