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EU: REGULATION ON ACCESS TO DOCUMENTS: Council Presidency proposals rejected by Working Party on Information

09 June 2012

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- Council of the European Union: Latest draft Council position to be discussed in the Working Party on Information on Friday 8 June (dated 4 June 2012, pdf)
- Statewatch analysis of this latest draft of the Access to Documents Regulation by Steve Peers, Professor of Law, Law School, University of Essex

The proposals were rejected in the Councils Working Party on Information (WPI) on Friday 8 June (see wobbing report, link).

The re-drafted Council position (DS 1397/12, above) was said to move too far to meet the European Parliament's views by some Member States and not far enough for others in the WPI.

The Council Presidency could revert to its previous draft Council position: Consolidation text of the Council of the European Union's position as at 5 June (prepared by Statewatch, pdf) and Statewatch Analysis: Revision of the Regulation on access to documents: Comments on the Council’s Informal Drafting Note (pdf) by Professor Steve Peers, but this is almost certain to be rejected by the European Parliament.

Alternatively the Council Presidency could drop the current controversial proposals and opt instead to go ahead with an apparently simple change in the Commission's 2011 proposal to "Lisbonise" the current Regulation but even this could prove to be controversial as the Commission simply intends to extend the Regulation to EU agencies and bodies. However, this was discussed at a hearing in the European Parliament last year and many think that proper "Lisbonisation" goes further than this, see: The case for the repeal of Article 4.3

The Danish Council Presidency finishes at the end of June, when Cyprus takes up the mantle until December.

See: Statewatch's Observatory: Regulation on access to EU documents: 2008-ongoing and sign up to the Call for an Open Europe

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