Activities of Marietje SCHAAKE related to 2015/2041(INI)
Shadow opinions (1)
OPINION on transparency, accountability and integrity in the EU institutions
Amendments (5)
Amendment 6 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Recalls that the Treaty on European Union (TEU) marked a new stage in the process of creating an ever closer union in which decisions are taken as openly and as closely as possible to the citizen (Article 1 TEU); notes that there is a considerable lack of trust among EU citizens in EU trade-policy making expectations about involvement of different EU stakeholders and citizens is changing, and that trust in EU trade-policy making must be ensured and reinforced, and believes that a radical shift is needed in the way that information about trade negotiations is communicated to the public and in the way information is gathered by Member States and the Commission, in order to ensure their legitimacy;
Amendment 25 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Welcomes the fact that the Committee on International Trade (INTA) and the Commission’'s Directorate-General for Trade have been collaborating pro-actively to enhance cooperation, establish best practices and improve communication channels, and that this collaboration has been especially useful for monitoring trade negotiations through INTA Standing Rapporteurs and targeted monitoring groups; welcomes recent efforts by the Commission to increase the transparency of trade negotiations; welcomes the Commission's ambition to use the current transparency initiative on TTIP as a model for all trade negotiations, as outlined in the new Trade Strategy 'Trade for All'; believes, nevertheless, that the Council and the Commission can still improve their working methods to better cooperate with Parliament as regards access to documents, information and decision-making for all issues and negotiations related to CCP (such as information relating to negotiations – including scoping, mandates and evolution of negotiations – provisional application of trade agreements, activities and decisions taken by bodies created by trade and/or investment agreements, expert meetings, and delegated and implementing acts); notes with regret that after one year of negotiations between the Commission and Parliament on access to documents related to the TTIP negotiations, there is still no agreement about access to confidential documents;
Amendment 33 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Stresses that, as pointed out by the European Court of Justice (ECJ), imperatives for transparency derive from the democratic nature of governance within the EU, and that, where confidential information is beyond the reach of public access, as in the case of trade negotiations, it must be available to parliamentarians who scrutinise trade policy on behalf of citizens; considers therefore that access to classified information is essential for scrutiny by Parliament, which in return should abide by its obligation to manage such information properly; considers that there should be clear criteria for labelling documents as ‘'classified’'; notes that the case law of the ECJ makes it clear that where a document originating in an EU institution is covered by an exception with regard to the right to access, the institution must clearly explain why access to this document could specifically and effectively undermine the interest protected by the exception, and that the risk must be reasonably foreseeable and not purely hypothetical; calls on the Commission to implement the recommendations of the European Ombudsman of July 2015 with particular regard to access to documents for all negotiations, and calls on the Commission to convince EU negotiating partners to increase transparency at their end;
Amendment 39 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Believes that the EU must take the lead when it comes to furthering transparency of trade negotiations, not only regarding bilateral, but also plurilateral and multilateral processes; Stresses however, that the Commission must also convince negotiating partners to increase transparency at their end to make sure that this is a reciprocal process in which the EU's negotiating position is not compromised; Stresses that increased transparency is in the interest of all our negotiating partners and stakeholders worldwide, and that it can strengthen the global support for rules-based trade;
Amendment 40 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 b (new)
Paragraph 4 b (new)
4b. Believes that, while transparency is crucial, more is needed to maintain the legitimacy of EU trade policy, namely actual engagement with all stakeholders through organising meetings, briefings and other events;