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UPDATED: ECJ: Dutch liberal Sophie in 't Veld wins transparency lawsuit against the Council of Ministers
06 July 2014
In July 2009, Dutch liberal MEP Sophie In't Veld (D66) demanded access to a legal opinion to the Council regarding the legal base of the SWIFT-agreement. Access to her was denied and kept secret. In 't Veld then brought action before the General Court, and won. The Council appealed against the ruling. But the European Court of Justice has now judged that the request must again be dealt with appropriately by the Council and that enhanced transparency is needed.
In 't Veld: "This is a great victory. The Court clearly states that transparency is a prerequisite for a truly democratic Europe. The European Union must develop from a Europe of diplomats, discretion and confidentiality to a Europe of citizens, administrative transparency and trust. "
Lawyer Onno Brouwer who represented Sophie in 't Veld in this case and others in landmark transparency cases before the General Court and the Court of Justice, challenging EU institutions on openness and accountability, says:
"the Court's view that a European institution must demonstrate that the disclosure of a document effectively harms the public interest is of great practical importance for journalists, interest groups and all those who wish to obtain access to EU documents".
See:
Dutch liberal Sophie in 't Veld wins transparency lawsuit against the Council of Ministers (ALDE group, link) and see:
Judgment full-text: Council appeal against the judgment of May 2012 (pdf) and:
Judgment: May 2012 (pdf)
Also see:
The CJEU increases public access to legal advice on international treaties (EU Law Analysis, link):
"It is true to say that this process is ultimately democratic, since all international treaties agreed by the EU and third States then have to be approved by the Council, and most have to be approved by the European Parliament and often also national parliaments. However, it is not democratic in the full sense of the term, since there is a very limited opportunity for an open and public debate (as compared to the legislative process) before the negotiations have concluded."