2015/2287(INI) | [ParlTrack]

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25 a (new)

25a. Invites the Interinstitutional Committee established by Article 15(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 to work more actively and report to the competent committees on the issues discussed; calls on it to meet more regularly, and to open internal discussions and deliberations by and inviting and considering submissions from civil society, the European Ombudsman and the European Data Protection Supervisor; calls on it to address as a matter of urgency the issues mentioned in this resolution;

Amendment 105 #

Anna Maria CORAZZA BILDT, Tomáš ZDECHOVSKÝ, Monika HOHLMEIER, Kinga GÁL

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26

26. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council and the Commission, and to the governments and parliaments of the Member States, the Ombudsman, the Data Protection Supervisor, and the Council of Europe.deleted

Amendment 106 #

Laura FERRARA, Rosa D'AMATO, Eleonora EVI, Piernicola PEDICINI, Dario TAMBURRANO, Marco VALLI, Marco ZANNI, Marco ZULLO, Isabella ADINOLFI, Marco AFFRONTE, Laura AGEA, Daniela AIUTO, Tiziana BEGHIN, David BORRELLI, Fabio Massimo CASTALDO, Ignazio CORRAO

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26 – subparagraph 1 (new)

Selection of staff for the EU institutions, agencies and other bodies

Amendment 107 #

Laura FERRARA, Marco VALLI, Marco ZANNI, Marco ZULLO, Marco AFFRONTE, Laura AGEA, Daniela AIUTO, Tiziana BEGHIN, David BORRELLI, Fabio Massimo CASTALDO, Ignazio CORRAO, Isabella ADINOLFI, Rosa D'AMATO, Eleonora EVI, Piernicola PEDICINI, Dario TAMBURRANO

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26 – point 1 (new)

(1) Regrets that the procedures for selecting EU institution staff are not fully transparent and calls in particular for the Staff Regulations to be revised, particularly with reference to ‘Annex III - Competitions’;

Amendment 108 #

Laura FERRARA, Isabella ADINOLFI, Marco AFFRONTE, Laura AGEA, Daniela AIUTO, Tiziana BEGHIN, David BORRELLI, Fabio Massimo CASTALDO, Ignazio CORRAO, Rosa D'AMATO, Eleonora EVI, Piernicola PEDICINI, Dario TAMBURRANO, Marco VALLI, Marco ZANNI, Marco ZULLO

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26 – point 2 (new)

(2) Considers that competitions for entry to the European civil service ought to be entirely based on criteria of openness and transparency in order to combat corruption and conflicts of interest;

Amendment 109 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26 – point 3 (new)

(3) Considers it essential that the EU agencies apply a common policy on conflicts of interest; notes that in some cases the policy applied to date includes provisions concerning publication of the CVs and declarations of interests of the Director and of senior management; observes with concern however that the obligation to publish CVs and declarations of interest does not apply to experts; calls on the agencies to extend this obligation to experts;

Amendment 11 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1

1. Points out that ~~the ac~~EU institutions ofin the ~~institu~~ir actions and EUtheir policies have to ~~be based on participatory democracy, thus~~ ensur~~ing~~e compliance with the principles of full transparency, by sharing, and informing citizens accurately and in good time;

Amendment 110 #

Laura FERRARA, Fabio Massimo CASTALDO, Ignazio CORRAO, Rosa D'AMATO, Eleonora EVI, Piernicola PEDICINI, Dario TAMBURRANO, Marco VALLI, Marco ZANNI, Marco ZULLO, Isabella ADINOLFI, Marco AFFRONTE, Laura AGEA, Daniela AIUTO, Tiziana BEGHIN, David BORRELLI

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26 – point 4 (new)

(4) Is disappointed by the lack of transparency in the appointment of EFSI managers; calls for transparency in appointment procedures and for information on CVs and declarations of interests to be made public;

Amendment 111 #

Dennis de JONG, Ana GOMES, Ignazio CORRAO, Elly SCHLEIN, Benedek JÁVOR

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26 a (new)

26a. Follow up Requests the Commission and calls upon the Secretary-General of the European Parliament to inform the European Parliament about the implementation of the recommendations in this resolution;

Amendment 112 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26 a (new)

26a. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council and the Commission, and to the governments and parliaments of the Member States, the Ombudsman, the Data Protection Supervisor, and the Council of Europe.

Amendment 113 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26 a (new)

26a. Invites the Commission to harmonise the criteria regarding the publication of the beneficiaries of the EU Structural Funds.

Amendment 12 #

Anna Maria CORAZZA BILDT, Tomáš ZDECHOVSKÝ, Monika HOHLMEIER, Kinga GÁL

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1

1. Points out that the actions of the institutions and EU policies have to be based on ~~participatory democracy~~representative democracy as provided for in Article 10(1) TEU, thus ensuring compliance with the principles of full transparency, sharing, and informing citizens accurately and in good time; stresses that Article 10(3) TEU also provides for the right of every citizen ‘to participate in the democratic life of the Union’, thus recognising participatory democracy as one of the democratic principles of the Union;

Amendment 13 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1a. Stresses that privacy and data protection should be respected while ensuring transparency

Amendment 14 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

2. Points out that it is the duty of the institutions to carry on a continuing open, transparent dialogue with citizens, associations representing them and civil society, so as to enable citizens themselves to bring scrutiny directly ~~to bear~~and effectively to bear on the legitimacy and effectiveness of governance, on measures taken and on the different stages of decision-taking –, and to allow~~ing~~ them to become more ~~active~~closely and directly involved in the decision- making process ~~– and on the legitimacy and effectiveness of governance and measures taken~~;

Amendment 15 #

Anna Maria CORAZZA BILDT, Traian UNGUREANU, Tomáš ZDECHOVSKÝ, Monika HOHLMEIER, Kinga GÁL

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

2. Points out that it is the duty of the institutions to carry o~~n a continuing~~ut regularly an open, and transparent dialogue with civil society so as to enable citizens to b~~ring scrutiny directly to bear on the different stages of decision-taking – allowing them to become more~~ecome more informed and actively involved in the ~~decision-making~~EU democratic process – and ~~on the legitimacy and effec~~exercise public scrutiny; recalls that transparency enhances citivzen~~ess of governance~~s' trust in the EU and mincreasures t~~aken~~he legitimacy of the EU Institutions;

Amendment 16 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3

3. Points out that transparency and full access to documents held by the institutions have to be the rule, in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001, and that, as has already been laid down by the precedents consistently set by the EU Court of Justice, exceptions to that rule have to be properly interpreted, taking into account th~~at there is an~~e overriding public interest in disclosure and in the requirements of democracy, the closer involvement of citizens in the decision- making process, the legitimacy of governance, efficiency and accountability to citizens;

Amendment 17 #

Benedek JÁVOR

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3

3. Points out that transparency and full access to documents held by the institutions have to be the rule, in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 and Regulation (EC) No 1367/2006, and that, as has already been laid down by the precedents consistently set by the EU Court of Justice, exceptions to that rule have to be properly interpreted, taking into account that there is an overriding public interest in disclosure, particularly where the information requested relates to emissions in the environment;

Amendment 18 #

Anna Maria CORAZZA BILDT, Tomáš ZDECHOVSKÝ, Monika HOHLMEIER, Kinga GÁL

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3a. Recalls that any decision denying public access to documents must be based on clearly and strictly defined legal exemptions, accompanied by reasoned and specific justification, allowing the citizen to understand the denial of access, and to make effective use of the legal remedies available;

Amendment 19 #

Laura FERRARA, Dario TAMBURRANO, Marco VALLI, Marco ZANNI, Marco ZULLO, Isabella ADINOLFI, Marco AFFRONTE, Laura AGEA, Daniela AIUTO, Tiziana BEGHIN, David BORRELLI, Fabio Massimo CASTALDO, Ignazio CORRAO, Rosa D'AMATO, Eleonora EVI, Piernicola PEDICINI

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4

4. Notes that in order to bring about a legitimate, accountable democratic political system complying with the rule of law, citizens must have the right to know about, and scrutinise,: – the actions of their representatives, once the latter have been elected or appointed to a public office; – the decision-making process, (including any documents circulated, individuals involved, votes cast, etc.); – the way in which public money is apportioned and spent, and the ensuing outcomes;

Amendment 2 #

Benedek JÁVOR

Motion for a resolution
Citation 3 a (new)

– having regard to Regulation (EC) No 1367/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 6 September 2006 on the application of the provisions of the Aarhus Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters to Community institutions and bodies,

Amendment 20 #

Aldo PATRICIELLO

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4

4. Notes that in order to bring about a legitimate, accountable democratic political system complying with the rule of law, citizens must have the right to know about, and scrutinise, the actions of their representatives, the decision-making process, the way in which public money is apportioned and spent, and the ensuing outcomes; considers it necessary, therefore, to publish an e-register in which all the aforementioned items are recorded;

Amendment 21 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4

4. Notes that in order to bring about a legitimate, accountable democratic political system complying with the rule of law, citizens must have the right to know a~~bout, and scrutinise, the actions of their representatives, the decision-making process,~~nd hold accountable their representatives for their actions and the way in which public money is a~~pportion~~llocated and spent~~, and the ensuing outcomes~~;

Amendment 22 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4a. Urges the Commission to designate a Commissioner to be responsible for transparency and public access to documents; calls upon the Commission Vice-President to present an ambitious plan of action regarding transparency and public access to documents in the meantime and within the shortest delay, for transparency is the cornerstone of better regulation;

Amendment 23 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4a. Stresses the efforts made by the Union in terms of transparency and access to documents, including on the European institutions’ web portals; considers, in particular, that the accessibility of information should be improved by making interfaces and search systems easier to use; calls for search portals to be harmonised between institutions and between departments of the same institution (including Directorates- General in the Commission); calls also on the institutions to continue and strengthen the work of expanding knowledge of EU legislation and policies; believes that, to that end, the EU should make full use of the potential offered by new technologies (social networks, smartphone applications, etc.) in order to ensure complete and easy access to information;

Amendment 24 #

Anna Maria CORAZZA BILDT, Traian UNGUREANU, Tomáš ZDECHOVSKÝ, Monika HOHLMEIER, Kinga GÁL

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5

5. Deplores the fact that it is still difficult for citizens to gain access to information held by EU institutions, the reason being that there is no effective citizen-oriented interinstitutional policy based on complete transparency, communication, and direct democracy; urges the institutions to ~~take a~~ proactive ~~attitude b~~ly disclos~~ing~~e as many ~~of their~~ documents as possible in asthe most simple and accessible a way as possible for the public, having documents translated into all of the EU official languages, and establishing proper information access arrangements allowing for the needs of people with disabilities;

Amendment 25 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5

5. Deplores the fact that it is still difficult for citizens to gain access to information held by EU institutions, the reason being that there is no effective ~~citizen-oriented~~ interinstitutional policy geared to facilitating access to documents for citizens and based on complete and genuine transparency, communication, and direct democracy; urges the institutions to take a proactive attitude by disclosing as many of their documents as possible in as simple and accessible a way as possible for the public, having documents translated into all of the EU official languages, and establishing proper, simple and inexpensive information access arrangements, including digitally and electronically, allowing for the needs of people with disabilities;

Amendment 26 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5

5. Deplores the fact that it is still difficult for citizens to gain access to information held by EU institutions, the reason being that there is no effective citizen-oriented interinstitutional policy based on complete transparency, communication, and direct democracy; urges the institutions to take a proactive attitude by disclosing; urges the EU institutions, bodies, offices and agencies to further develop a more proactive approach on transparency by making publicly accessible as many of their documents as possible in as simple and accessible a way ~~as possible for the public, having documents translated into all of the EU official languag~~, including on their internet websites, and e~~stablish~~nsuring proper ~~information access arrangements allowing~~access for the needs of people with disabilities;

Amendment 27 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5a. Regrets that official documents are frequently over classified, and institutions call for in camera meetings without proper justification; an independent authority should be tasked with oversight of the classification of documents and requests for meetings to be held in camera;

Amendment 28 #

Anna Maria CORAZZA BILDT, Tomáš ZDECHOVSKÝ, Monika HOHLMEIER, Kinga GÁL

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5a. Deplores the fact that the EU institutions and bodies have not followed up the Parliament's recommendation of its previous resolution on public access to documents that each EU institution or body appoint from within its management structures a Transparency Officer, to be responsible for compliance and for improving practices; urges the institutions to do so within the shortest delay;

Amendment 29 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5a. Considers that a more proactive approach helps ensuring effective transparency as well as preventing unnecessary legal disputes, which might cause unnecessary costs and burdens for both the Institutions and the citizens;

Amendment 3 #

Dennis de JONG, Ana GOMES, Ignazio CORRAO, Elly SCHLEIN, Benedek JÁVOR

Motion for a resolution
Citation 7 a (new)

– having regard to the Annual Report 2014 of the Ombudsman,

Amendment 30 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 b (new)

5b. Calls upon the EU institutions, bodies and agencies to adopt faster, less cumbersome and more accessible procedures for handling complaints against refusals to grant access, as to reduce the need for litigation;

Amendment 31 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 c (new)

5c. Urges the Parliament to proactively disclose feedback notes from parliamentary committee coordinators' meetings, as recommended by the European Ombudsman;

Amendment 32 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6

6. Urges all the institutions, pending its desired revision, to apply Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 into the ~~proper manner~~letter and spirit of the Regulation and the subsequent jurisprudence; calls on the Council in particular to revise its rules, with a view to ensuring that all discussions, documents, and information are made public, and to produce transcripts of its public meetings;

Amendment 33 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6

6. Urges all the institutions, pending its desired revision, to apply Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 in the proper manner; calls in particular on the Council, in ~~particular~~cluding its preparatory bodies, to revise its rules, with a view to ensuring that all discussions, documents, and information are made public, and to produce transcripts of its public meetings; calls for Parliament to publish transcripts of, as well as the papers for and information on, meetings of its working groups, including coordinators’ meetings; calls also for meetings of the so-called Eurogroup to be placed on a formal footing so that transcripts of, as well as the papers for and all other information on, those meetings may be published in keeping with the public interest in transparency, which must take precedence over any exceptions intended to safeguard the decision-making process;

Amendment 34 #

Anna Maria CORAZZA BILDT, Traian UNGUREANU, Tomáš ZDECHOVSKÝ

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6

6. Urges all the institutions, pending its desired revision, to apply Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 ~~in the proper manner~~taking into account the changes brought by the Lisbon Treaty and the Charter of Fundamental Rights; calls on the Council in particular to revise its rules, with a view to ensuring that all discussions, documents, and information are made public, and to produce transcripts of its public meetings;

Amendment 35 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6

6. Urges all the institutions, pending its desired revision, to fully apply Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 ~~in the proper manner~~; calls on the Council in particular to revise its rules, with a view to ~~ensuring that all discussions,~~increase transparency on its documents, and i~~nformation are made public,~~ts meetings and to produce ~~transcripts~~information of its public meetings;

Amendment 36 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)

6a. Is concerned that the registers kept by the institutions still do not properly implement the provisions of Articles 11 and 12 of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 and that large numbers of documents are not in fact registered: urges all institutions, agencies and other bodies to keep records for each file of its incoming and outgoing mail, of the documents it receives and of the measures it takes and to establish an index of the files it keeps; reiterates its call for a common access point to EU documents and common procedures and criteria for registration and the assignment of an inter- institutional code so that eventually a common inter-institutional register could be established;

Amendment 37 #

Benedek JÁVOR

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)

6a. Urges all the institutions to apply the stronger transparency provisions contained in Regulation (EC) No 1367/2006 when information requested relates to the environment, and to abide by their obligations to proactively publish environmental information;

Amendment 38 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)

6a. Calls on the EU institutions, bodies and agencies to adopt the recommendations put forward by Parliament in its previous resolution on public access to documents;

Amendment 39 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 b (new)

6b. Calls on all institutions to evaluate and, where necessary, review their internal arrangements for reporting wrongdoing, and calls for the protection of whistleblowers; calls, in particular, on the Commission to report to Parliament on its experiences with the new rules on whistleblowing for EU staff adopted in 2012 and with their implementing measures; calls on the Commission to come forward with a proposal to protect whistleblowers, not only morally but also financially, in order to properly protect and support whistleblowers as part of the democratic system;

Amendment 4 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 9 a (new)

– whereas full transparency underpins citizens' trust in EU institutions, contributes to developing an understanding of the rights deriving from the legal system of the Union and awareness and knowledge of the EU decision-making process, including the correct implementation of administrative and legislative procedures,

Amendment 40 #

Anna Maria CORAZZA BILDT, Traian UNGUREANU, Tomáš ZDECHOVSKÝ, Monika HOHLMEIER, Kinga GÁL

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

7. Points out that, as a result of the entry into force of the TEU and the TFEU, the right of access to documents covers all EU institutions, bodies, and agencies; believes, therefore, that the substance of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 should be amended in the light of the relevant case law of the EU Court of Justice and the European Court of Human Rights; stresses that the actual public access to documents and the management of registers over documents need to be based on standards which adequately respect Articles 41 and 42 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights;

Amendment 41 #

Laura FERRARA, Marco ZANNI, Marco ZULLO, Isabella ADINOLFI, Marco AFFRONTE, Laura AGEA, Daniela AIUTO, Tiziana BEGHIN, David BORRELLI, Fabio Massimo CASTALDO, Ignazio CORRAO, Rosa D'AMATO, Eleonora EVI, Piernicola PEDICINI, Dario TAMBURRANO, Marco VALLI

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

7. Points out that, as a result of the entry into force of the TEU and the TFEU, the right of access to documents covers all EU institutions, bodies, and agencies; believes, therefore, that ~~the substance of~~ Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 should be updated as a matter of urgency and its substance amended in the light of the Treaty provisions and the relevant case law of the EU Court of Justice and the European Court of Human Rights; believes, in particular, that it is essential to broaden the regulation's scope to include all the European institutions it currently does not cover, such as the European Council, the European Central Bank, the Court of Justice and all the EU bodies and agencies;

Amendment 42 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8

~~8. Notes that the Treaty of Lisbon has done away with the reference to safeguarding the efficiency of legislative decision-taking;~~deleted

Amendment 43 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8

8. Notes that the Treaty of Lisbon has done away with the reference to safeguarding the efficiency of legislative decision- taking; believes therefore that this exception, which still appears in Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001, is no longer admissible as it is incompatible with the new constitutional setup;

Amendment 44 #

Anna Maria CORAZZA BILDT, Traian UNGUREANU, Monika HOHLMEIER, Kinga GÁL

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9

9. ~~Deplores the failure to implement~~Considers that institutions, agencies and other bodies of the European Union still have failed to fully take the changes brought by the Lisbon Treaty and the Charter of Fundamental Rights into account when applying Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001, in particular, as regards the obligation for the institutions to keep complete registers of documents; calls for a European policy on registers to be established and for implementing measures to standardise the classification and presentation of the institutions’' documents;

Amendment 45 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9

9. Deplores th~~e failur~~at little progress has been made to implement Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 as regards the obligation for the institutions to keep complete registers of documents; calls ~~for a European policy on registers to be established~~on the EU institutions to establish registers of documents if not done yet and ~~for~~to implement~~ing~~ measures to standardise the classification and presentation of the institutions’ documents;

Amendment 46 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)

9a. Reiterates its position that clear and uniform rules should be established for the classification and declassification of documents, and that an independent oversight authority should oversee the classification and declassification processes within the EU institutions;

Amendment 47 #

Dennis de JONG, Ana GOMES, Ignazio CORRAO, Elly SCHLEIN, Benedek JÁVOR

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10

10. Considers it ~~regret~~unacceptable that the revision of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 is still stalled in the Council and ~~hopes that progress will be achieved as soon as possible~~urges the Council to adopt a constructive position, taking into account the Position of the European Parliament adopted at first reading on 15 December 2011 with a view to the adoption of Regulation (EU) No .../2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council regarding public access to European Parliament, Council and Commission documents defining the general principles and limits governing the right of access to documents of Union institutions, bodies, offices and agencies;

Amendment 48 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10

10. Considers it regrettable that the revision of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 is stalled in the Council and ~~hopes that progress will be achieved~~calls on the latter to finalise its position as soon as possible;

Amendment 49 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)

10a. Recommends the creation of a single set of principles governing for access to documents which would allow for more clarity for citizens; including though Regulation (EC) No 1367/2006 and the Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001.

Amendment 5 #

Dennis de JONG, Ana GOMES, Ignazio CORRAO, Elly SCHLEIN, Benedek JÁVOR

Motion for a resolution
Citation 9 a (new)

– having regard to the resolution on public access to documents for the years 2011-2013 1 a, __________________ 1a PE524.641v02-00

Amendment 50 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)

10a. Reiterates its call on the institutions to assess and publicly justify requests for in camera meetings in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001;

Amendment 51 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11

11. Points out that transparent law-making is of the utmost importance to citizens; reminds that the Treaties in force no longer contain any provisions comparable to the ones in Article 207(3) of the EC Treaty which could justify the application of the exception protecting the 'space to think' in Article 4(3) of the Regulation to legislative matters; recalls that access to documents and that openness in the legislative procedure contributes to strengthening democracy by allowing citizens to scrutinise all the information which has formed the basis of a legislative act; calls on the institutions actively to circulate documents forming part of, or related to, legislative procedures and to improve communication with persons who might wish to obtain them; considers in particular that the EU institutions should, by default, make as many documents as possible accessible to the public via a single publicly accessible common portal making for ease of consultation;

Amendment 52 #

Anna Maria CORAZZA BILDT, Traian UNGUREANU, Monika HOHLMEIER, Kinga GÁL

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11

11. Points out that transparent law-making is of the utmost importance to citizens; calls on the institutions actively to circulate public documents forming part of, or related to, legislative procedures and to improve communication with persons who might wish to obtain them; considers in particular that the EU institutions should, by default, make as many documents as possible accessible to the public via a single publicly accessible common portal making for ease of consultation;

Amendment 53 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11

11. Points out that transparent law-making is of the utmost importance to citizens; calls on the institutions ~~actively to circulat~~to make available documents forming part of, or related to, legislative procedures ~~and to improve communication with persons who might wish to obtain them~~; considers in particular that the EU institutions should~~, by default,~~ make as many documents as possible accessible to the public via atheir websites and consider using YouEurope as single publicly accessible ~~common~~EU portal ~~making for ease of~~to facilitate consultation;

Amendment 54 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12

12. Welcomes the Ombudsman’s inquiry into the transparency of the legislative process, with a particular focus on ‘trilogues’, the established practice by which most EU legislation is adopted; urges the Ombudsman to make full use of her powers of investigation under the Treaties, with a view to enhancing the transparency of legislative and non- legislative work within the EU;

Amendment 55 #

Anna Maria CORAZZA BILDT, Traian UNGUREANU, Monika HOHLMEIER, Kinga GÁL

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12

12. ~~Welcom~~Acknowledges the Ombudsman’s inquiry into ‘trilogues’, the established practice by which most EU legislation is adopted; urges the Ombudsman, within her remit under the Treaties and under the Ombudsman's Statute to make full use of her powers of investigation ~~under the Treaties~~;

Amendment 56 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12

12. Welcomes the Ombudsman’s inquiry into ‘trilogues’, the established practice by which most EU legislation is adopted; ~~urges the Ombudsman to make full use of her powers of investigation under the Treaties;~~

Amendment 57 #

Anna Maria CORAZZA BILDT, Traian UNGUREANU, Monika HOHLMEIER, Alessandra MUSSOLINI, Kinga GÁL

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13

~~13. Points out that the use of trilogues is not consistent with the legislative procedure laid down in the Treaty and that conciliation committees may be used only at third reading as a last resort;~~deleted

Amendment 58 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13

13. Points out that the use of trilogues is not consistent with the legislative procedure laid down in the Treaty and that conciliation committees may be used only at third reading as a last resort, in cases where Parliament and the Council are unable to reach agreement on a Commission legislative proposal;

Amendment 59 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13

13. Points out that the use of trilogues ~~is not consistent with~~has become an effective way to reach consensus between the co-legislators and to speed up the legislative procedure laid down in the Treaty ~~and~~; notes that conciliation committees ~~may~~can therefore be used only at third reading as a last resort;

Amendment 6 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 9 a (new)

– having regard to the European Commission´s Green Paper on Public Access to Documents held by institutions of the European Community of 2007,

Amendment 60 #

Dennis de JONG, Ana GOMES, Ignazio CORRAO, Elly SCHLEIN, Benedek JÁVOR

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)

13a. Rejects the position taken by the Council in its letter to the Ombudsman in regard of this own-initiative inquiry that the organisation of trilogues is a political responsibility and falls outside the Ombudsman's mandate;

Amendment 61 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)

13a. Calls on the Commission, the Council and Parliament, to ensure greater transparency of informal trilogues, by holding meetings in public, publishing documentation including calendars, agendas, minutes, documents examined, amendments, decisions taken, information on Member State delegations and their positions and minutes, in a standardised and easily accessible online environment, by default and without prejudice to the exemptions listed in Article 4(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001;

Amendment 62 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14

14. Deplores the fact that citizens have no power to s~~uperv~~crutinise trilogue negotiations; expresses concern atwith the abuses to which this legislative practice might lead, in particular aswith regards to the ~~role of lobbies and possible disparities in the treatment of persons~~introduction of new elements of legislation during trilogues without a Commission proposal or Parliamentary amendment seekrving ~~to keep abreast with developments in European legislation~~as a basis, through which the ordinary legislative procedure and public scrutiny can be circumvented;

Amendment 63 #

Anna Maria CORAZZA BILDT, Traian UNGUREANU, Tomáš ZDECHOVSKÝ, Alessandra MUSSOLINI, Monika HOHLMEIER, Kinga GÁL

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14

14. ~~Deplores the fact that citizens have no power to supervise trilogue negotiations; expresses concern at the abuses to which this legislative practice might lead, in particular~~Expresses concern at the influence exercised as regards the role ofor lobbies and possible disparities in the treatment of ~~person~~different groups seeking to keep abreast ~~with~~of developments in European Union legislation;.

Amendment 64 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14

14. Deplores the fact that citizens have no power to supervise trilogue negotiations; expresses concern at the abuses to which this legislative practice might lead, in particular as regards the role of lobbies and possible disparities in the treatment of persons seeking to keep abreast with developments in European legislCalls on the EU institutions to increase transparency on informal trilogues by increasing reporting in the competent parliamentary committee, which are web-streamed and public, on the state of play of trilogue negotiations;

Amendment 65 #

Anna Maria CORAZZA BILDT, Tomáš ZDECHOVSKÝ, Alessandra MUSSOLINI, Monika HOHLMEIER, Kinga GÁL

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)

14a. Deplores the fact that, due to leaking of formal and informal trilogue documents, unequal access to documents, and therefore to the legislative process, is enjoyed by the knowledgeable and well connected interest groups; notes that document leaking would occur to a lesser extent once trilogue documents will be proactively published on an easily accessible platform without delay;

Amendment 66 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15

Amendment 67 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15

15. Calls on the institutions involved to amend their own rules of procedure so as to ensure in future that negotiations will be transparent and, to that end, to allow meetings to be held in public and webstreamed and to arrange for agendas, minutes, and the main issues discussed to be published;

Amendment 68 #

Dennis de JONG, Ana GOMES, Ignazio CORRAO, Elly SCHLEIN, Benedek JÁVOR

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15

Amendment 69 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15

15. Calls on the institutions involved to ensure in future that negotiations will be transparent and, to that end, to allow meetings to be held in public and webstreamed and to arrange for agendas, minutes, and the main issues discussed to be published; considers, that documents created in the framework of trilogues, such as agendas, summaries of outcomes and the 'four column' documents drawn up for facilitating negotiations, which without doubt are documents related to legislative procedures cannot in principle be treated differently from other legislative documents;

Amendment 7 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 9 b (new)

– whereas the right of access to documents is a fundamental right, protected by the Charter of Fundamental Rights and the Treaties and implemented by Regulation 1049/2001, with the aim, in particular, of ensuring that this right can be exercised as easily as possible and of promoting good administrative practices regarding access to documents by ensuring democratic scrutiny of the activities of the institutions and ensuring that they comply with the rules enshrined in the Treaties,

Amendment 70 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15

15. Calls on the institutions involved to ensure in future that negotiations will be transparent and, to that end, to allow meetings to be held in public and webstreamed and to arrange for agendas, minutes, and the main issues discussed to be published;to continue to enhance the transparency of trilogues in so far as possible, while ensuring adequate space to think for the co- legislators so that they can negotiate on the basis of their respective mandates.

Amendment 71 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 – subparagraph 1 (new)

Plenary amendments

Amendment 72 #

Dennis de JONG, Ana GOMES, Ignazio CORRAO, Elly SCHLEIN, Benedek JÁVOR

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 a (new)

15a. Calls on Parliament to make in principle all documents referred to in the agendas of the Bureau and the Conference of Presidents available by publishing them on the Parliament's website;

Amendment 73 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 a (new)

15a. Deplores the fact that when plenary amendments co-signed by at least 40 Members are registered, only the names of some of the co-signatories are published; considers that the names of all the co-signatories should be published;

Amendment 74 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16

16. Welcomes the Commission’s intention of ~~proposing an interinstitutional agreement~~ establishing a mandatory ~~interinstitutional~~ register of interest group representatives operating within the institutions and calls for that matter to be given the highest priority; calls for that register to contain detailed information showing who is lobbying on behalf of whom, for what purpose and with what resources and funding; stresses that the register system should apply across the board and that the register should therefore be established and governed by a specific regulation, as an interinstitutional agreement is not the right legal instrument to use for this purpose;

Amendment 75 #

Dennis de JONG, Ana GOMES, Ignazio CORRAO, Elly SCHLEIN, Benedek JÁVOR

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16

16. ~~Welcomes~~Calls upon the Commission~~’s intention of~~ to submit without any further delay its propos~~ing~~al for an interinstitutional agreement establishing a mandatory interinstitutional register of interest group representatives operating within the institutions and calls for that matter to be given the highest priority;

Amendment 76 #

Anna Maria CORAZZA BILDT, Kinga GÁL

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16

16. Welcomes the Commission’s intention of proposing an interinstitutional agreement establishing a mandatory interinstitutional register of interest group representatives operating, and also the local authorities and regional organizations within the institutions and calls for that matter to be given the highest priority;

Amendment 77 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17

17. Also calls on Parliament and the Council to follow the Commission practice, as established by the decision of 25 November 2014, by publishing information about contacts between lobbyists and Members of Parliament, their office staff, and their advisers, and between lobbyists and Member State representatives working at the Council; believes also that uniform, effective penalties should be laid down in order to deal with any abuses;

Amendment 78 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17

17. ~~Also calls on Parliament and the Council~~Encourages MEPs and Council's representatives to follow the Commission practice, as established by ~~the~~its decision of 25 November 2014, byto publish~~ing~~ information about ~~contact~~meetings between ~~lobbyists and Members of Parliament, their office~~them, their staff , and ~~their advis~~stakeholders, and ~~between lobbyists and Member State representatives working at the Council~~civil society;

Amendment 79 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17

17. ~~Also calls on Parliament and the Council to follow~~Welcomes the Commission practice, as established by the decision of 25 November 2014, byof publishing information about contacts ~~between~~with lobbyists ~~and~~, Members of Parliament, their office staff, and their advisers, ~~and between lobbyists~~ and Member State representatives working at the Council; Recognises that Members of Parliament who act as rapporteurs in legislative files may wish to consider a similar practice

Amendment 8 #

Anna Maria CORAZZA BILDT, Traian UNGUREANU, Tomáš ZDECHOVSKÝ, Monika HOHLMEIER, Kinga GÁL

Motion for a resolution
Citation 9 b (new)

– having regard to Regulation (EC) No 1367/ 2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 6 September 2006 on the application of the provisions of the Aarhus Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters to Community institutions and bodies,

Amendment 80 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 a (new)

17a. Calls on all the institutions to publish information about the contacts of interest group representatives with their officials, including those of non-managerial level;

Amendment 81 #

Dennis de JONG, Ana GOMES, Ignazio CORRAO, Elly SCHLEIN, Benedek JÁVOR

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 a (new)

17a. Calls on Parliament as a first step in this regard to make available for those MEPs who wish to report on their contacts with lobbyists a template for Rapporteurs that can be annexed to their reports as well as space for this type of information on the webpages of the Parliament referring to individual MEPs;

Amendment 82 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18

18. Points out that, in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 and in order to guarantee full democratic and transparent parliamentary control, access should likewise be granted to documents produced when powers are delegated (delegated acts), since these make up a substantial portion of European legislation, for which reason adequate and transparent parliamentary and democratic control ought to be fully guaranteed; in this context, particularly deplores the lack of transparency of the European supervisory authorities (EBA, EIOPA, ESMA) because of the lack of involvement of the co-legislators; considers it disappointing that no single register of ~~delegated acts~~all second-level legislation has yet been established and calls on the Commission to set one up without delay;

Amendment 83 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18

Amendment 84 #

Anna Maria CORAZZA BILDT, Tomáš ZDECHOVSKÝ, Monika HOHLMEIER, Kinga GÁL

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19

19. Notes that international agreements have binding force and an impact on EU legislation and points to the need for negotiations to be transparent throughout the entire process, implying that the institutions should be obliged to publish the negotiating brief conferred on the Commission; considers it regrettable that ~~negotiation~~the Commission and the Council routinely classify all documents are ~~secret~~lating to negotiations and citizens have no access to information, but only to documents communicated to the press, thus giving rise to speculation and misconceptions about the negotiations; maintains that the public should be given access to all of the parties’' relevant negotiating documents, in keeping with Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001;

Amendment 85 #

Laura FERRARA, Isabella ADINOLFI, Laura AGEA, Daniela AIUTO, Tiziana BEGHIN, David BORRELLI, Fabio Massimo CASTALDO, Ignazio CORRAO, Rosa D'AMATO, Eleonora EVI, Piernicola PEDICINI, Dario TAMBURRANO, Marco VALLI, Marco ZANNI, Marco ZULLO, Marco AFFRONTE

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19

19. Notes that international agreements have binding force and an impact on EU legislation and points to the need for negotiations to be transparent throughout the entire process, implying that the institutions should be obliged to publish the negotiating brief conferred on the Commission simultaneously with its approval and before the negotiations begin; considers it regrettable that negotiations are secret and citizens have no access to information, but only to documents communicated to the press, thus giving rise to speculation and misconceptions about the negotiations; maintains that the public should be given access to all of the parties’ relevant negotiating documents, including documents on which the parties have already reached agreement, with the exception of those which are to be classified, with a clear justification on a case-by-case basis, in keeping with Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001;

Amendment 86 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19

19. Notes that international agreements have binding force and an impact on EU legislation and points to the need for negotiations to be transparent throughout the entire process, implying that the institutions should be obliged to publish the negotiating brief conferred on the Commission; considers it regrettable that nthat documents related to them should be public in principle, without prejudice to legoitimat~~ions are secret and citizens have no access to information, but only to documents communicated to the press,~~e exceptions and without undermining the necessary thrus giving rise to speculation and misconceptions about the negotiations; maintains that the public should be given access to all of the parties’ relevant negotiating documents, in keeping with Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001t between the parties concerned in order to achieve effective negotiations;

Amendment 87 #

Anna Maria CORAZZA BILDT, Tomáš ZDECHOVSKÝ, Monika HOHLMEIER, Kinga GÁL

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20

20. Points out to the Commission that it is required to inform Parliament fully and immediately at every stage while negotiations are taking place, and to assess at every stage which documents and information can proactively be made public;

Amendment 88 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20

20. Points out to the Commission that it is required under Article 207 TFEU to inform Parliament fully and immediately at every stage while negotiations are taking place, and calls on the Council to consult Parliament before drafting the negotiating brief;

Amendment 89 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20

20. Points out to the Commission that it is required to inform Parliament fully and immediately at every stage while negotiations are taking place; welcomes that MEPs have access to relevant negotiations documents within the European Parliament;

Amendment 9 #

Dennis de JONG, Ana GOMES, Ignazio CORRAO, Elly SCHLEIN, Benedek JÁVOR

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 0 (new)

0. Points out that many of the recommendations in the resolution on public access to documents for the years 2011-2013 have not been given a proper follow up by the three institutions; 2 a __________________ 2a PE524.641v02-00

Amendment 90 #

Anna Maria CORAZZA BILDT, Traian UNGUREANU, Monika HOHLMEIER, Kinga GÁL

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21

21. Points out that transparency strengthens, and helps to give effect to, the principle of good administration, as set out in Article 41 of the Charter and Article 298 TFEU; calls, therefore, fothe EU institutions to ensure that their internal administrative procedures ~~to be laid down in order to~~ achieve that aim;

Amendment 91 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 a (new)

21a. Calls for all documents relating to non-legislative procedures, such as binding measures, measures relating to internal organisation, administrative or budget documents or documents of a political nature (such as conclusions, recommendations or resolutions), to be rendered readily, and if possible directly, accessible in accordance with the principle of proper administration;

Amendment 92 #

Anna Maria CORAZZA BILDT, Monika HOHLMEIER, Kinga GÁL

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22

22. Calls on the EU institutions to draw up common rules governing the conduct of administrative procedures and the procedures for presenting, classifying, declassifying, registering, and disclosing administrative documents;deleted

Amendment 93 #

Aldo PATRICIELLO

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22

Amendment 94 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23

23. Deplores the lack of transparency regarding ~~infringement procedur~~letters of formal notice and infringement procedures against Member States; calls in particular for documents sent by the Commission to Member States in connection with such procedures, and the related replies, to be made accessible to the public; calls furthermore for information on the execution of judgments of the Court of Justice of the European Union to be published proactively;

Amendment 95 #

Anna Maria CORAZZA BILDT, Traian UNGUREANU, Monika HOHLMEIER

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24

24. ~~Maintains~~Calls on Member States to ensure that information about negotiations on national and regional operational programmes has to be made fully accessible and genuinely transparent;

Amendment 96 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 a (new)

24a. Believes that full data transparency and accessibility are essential to prevent and combat any abuse and fraud; in this context, calls on the Commission to make it compulsory to publish particulars of all recipients of money from the Structural Funds, including subcontractors;

Amendment 97 #

Anna Maria CORAZZA BILDT, Tomáš ZDECHOVSKÝ, Monika HOHLMEIER, Kinga GÁL

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 a (new)

24a. Reiterates that full transparency of public expenditure in the EU is crucial to ensure accountability and to fight corruption;

Amendment 98 #

Anna Maria CORAZZA BILDT, Traian UNGUREANU, Tomáš ZDECHOVSKÝ, Monika HOHLMEIER

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25

25. Calls on the Commission to ~~tighten up its supervision in order to make managing authoriti~~monitor that Member States comply with the information and reporting obligations set out in Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 and, if necessary, to impose the penalties applicable for non-fulfilment of those obligations;

Amendment 99 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25 – subparagraph 1 (new)

EU institutions and financial bodies

source: 572.849

2015/12/16 JURI 19 amendments...

Amendment 1 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Considers that the institutions, agencies and other bodies of the European Union still fail to take fully into account the changes introduced by the Lisbon Treaty and the Charter of Fundamental Rights when applying Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001, especially as concerns participatory democracy; notes and welcomes the recent judgments of the Grand Chamber of the Court of Justice in the Digital Rights Ireland1 and Schrems2 cases, in both of which the Court based itself on the Charter when declaring invalid the Data Retention Directive3 and the Safe Harbour Decision4 respectively; stresses that the actual public access to documents and the management of registers of documents need to be based on standards which adequately comply with Articles 41 and 42 of the Charter; __________________ 1 Joined Cases C-293/12 and C-594/12. Judgment of the Court (Grand Chamber) of 8 April 2014. 2 Case C 362/14. Judgment of the Court (Grand Chamber) of 06.10.15. 3 Directive 2006/24/EC. 4 Commission Decision 2000/520/EC of 26 July 2000.

Amendment 10 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4a. Urges the Commission to establish a joint register for legislative procedures in order to facilitate the traceability of the legislative process;

Amendment 11 #

Heidi HAUTALA

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4a. Recalls that Articles 1(c) and 15 (1) obliges the institutions to 'promote good administrative practises on access to documents' and to 'develop good administrative practises in order to facilitate the exercise of the rights guaranteed by (the) Regulation'; stresses that transparency is closely connected with the right of good administration, as referred to in Article 298 TFEU and Article 41 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights and reiterates its call for the adoption of a regulation on the administrative procedure of the EU's own administration1 a; __________________ 1a European Parliament resolution of 15 January 2013 with recommendations to the Commission on a Law of Administrative Procedure of the European Union (2012/2024(INL)) P7_TA(2013)0004.

Amendment 12 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 b (new)

4b. Sees it as a priority that EU institutions ensure full transparency when it comes to access to documents; stresses in this regard that besides access to documents also the debates in Council should be made public in order for citizens to understand how and why decisions have been taken;

Amendment 13 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. ~~Invites, once again,~~Regrets that the last meeting of the Interinstitutional Committee established byunder Article 15(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 took place on 15 December 2009. Invites, once again, the Interinstitutional Committee to work more actively and report to the competent committees on the issues discussed; calls on the Interinstitutional Committee to meet more regularly and to open up internal discussions and deliberations by inviting and considering submissions from civil society, the European Ombudsman and the European Data Protection Supervisor; calls on it to address the issues mentioned in this resolution as a matter of urgency.

Amendment 14 #

Tadeusz ZWIEFKA

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. Invites, once again, the Interinstitutional Committee established by Article 15(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 to work more actively and report to the competent committees on the issues discussed; calls on the Interinstitutional Committee to meet more regularly and to open up internal discussions and deliberations by inviting and considering submissions from civil society, ~~the European Ombudsman and the European Data Protection Supervisor; calls on it to address the issues mentioned in this resolution as a matter of urgency.~~

Amendment 15 #

Jiří MAŠTÁLKA

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. Invites, once again, the Interinstitutional Committee established by Article 15(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 to work more actively and report to the competent committees on the issues discussed; deplores that little progress has been made to implement Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 as regards the obligation for the institutions to keep complete registers of documents, is convinced that Members of the European Parliament should have access to all the Commissions 'documents, points out in this relation the lack of transparency while negotiation the TTIP, calls on the Interinstitutional Committee to meet more regularly and to open up internal discussions and deliberations by inviting and considering submissions from civil society, the European Ombudsman and the European Data Protection Supervisor; calls on it to address the issues mentioned in this resolution as a matter of urgency.

Amendment 16 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 – point 1 (new)

(1) Welcomes the idea to request that the Commission establish a register of delegated acts, which are an important part of EU legislation, and points out that under Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 and in order to ensure full, democratic and transparent oversight by Parliament, access must also be granted to the documents drawn up as part of the procedure for the delegation of powers;

Amendment 17 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5a. Urges the Council to review its policy on access to documents and align it with the relevant provisions of the Charter of Fundamental Rights;

Amendment 18 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5a. Notes that in order to bring about a legitimate, accountable democratic political system complying with the rule of law, citizens must have the right to know about, and scrutinise, the actions of their representatives, the decision-making process, how public money is allocated and spent in line with the principle of traceability of funds and in conformity with the position taken by the Parliament in earlier resolutions.

Amendment 19 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 b (new)

5b. Points out that, while progress has been achieved in providing information on Parliament's website on the different allowances MEPs are entitled to, and on the rules by which they are governed, this policy should be pursued taking into account best practices in National Parliaments, as well as the actions already undertaken by individual Members; encourages therefore all Member of Parliament to become engaged in this endeavour by proactively disclosing information relating to their specific activities and use of expenditure, in order for the Parliament to remain at the forefront of transparency and openness in the EU, and with a view to better public accountability of public funds.

Amendment 2 #

Tomáš ZDECHOVSKÝ

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Considers that the institutions, agencies and other bodies of the European Union ~~still fail to take fully into account the changes introduced by~~are unable to comply with the rules and the changes provided for in the Lisbon Treaty and the Charter of Fundamental Rights when applying Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001; notes and welcomes the recent judgments of the Grand Chamber of the Court of Justice in the Digital Rights Ireland1 and Schrems2 cases, in both of which the Court based itself on the Charter when declaring invalid the Data Retention Directive3 and the Safe Harbour Decision4 respectively; stresses that the actual public access to documents and the management of registers of documents need to be based on standards which adequately comply with Articles 41 and 42 of the Charter; __________________ 1 Joined Cases C-293/12 and C-594/12. Judgment of the Court (Grand Chamber) of 8 April 2014. 2 Case C 362/14. Judgment of the Court (Grand Chamber) of 6 October 2015. 3 Directive 2006/24/EC. Directive 2006/24/EC. 4 Commission Decision 2000/520/EC of 26 July 2000.

Amendment 3 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. ~~Points out, in this connection, that the Tre~~Reiteraties in force no longer contain any provisions comparable to the ones in Article 207(3) of the EC Treaty, which were used to justify the application of the exception protecting the ‘space to think’ in Article 4(3) of the Regulation to legislative matters; reiterates its view, once agaits view, which is also held by the European Ombudsman, that the current procedures for trilogues prior to a possible first-reading agreement fail to ensure a satisfactory level of legislative transparency and access to documents ~~and that~~; points out that, while trilogues are important and effective, the procedures currently applicable to them undermine the openness in the legislative procedure that ‘contributes to strengthening democracy by allowing citizens to scrutinise all the information which has formed the basis of a legislative act’, as stated by the Court of Justice in the joined cases Sweden and Turco v Council;

Amendment 4 #

Tadeusz ZWIEFKA

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Points out, in this connection, that the Treaties in force no longer contain any provisions comparable to the ones in Article 207(3) of the EC Treaty concerning access to Council documents, which were used to justify the application of the exception protecting the ‘'space to think’' in Article 4(3) of the Regulation to legislative matters; reiterates its view, once again, that the current procedures for trilogues prior to a possible first-reading agreement fail to ensure a satisfactory level of legislative transparency and access to documents and that openness in the legislative procedure ‘contributes to strengthening democracy by allowing citizens to scrutinise all the information which has formed that adequate openness of the legislative procedure 'contributes to strengthening democracy, as stated by the Court of Justice in the joined cases Sweden and Turco v Council; in this respect recalls that there is no automatic presumption and public disclosure should be undertaken in a case by case basis after thorough justification of public interest and should not seriously undermine the institutions decision making process; reiterates that case law recognises the ~~bas~~risk of ~~a legislative act’, as stated by the Court of Ju~~external pressure[1] and it can be a legitimate ground for restric~~e in the joined cases Sweden and Turco~~ting access to documents; [1] Case T-144/05, Pablo Munoz v Co~~uncil;~~mmission

Amendment 5 #

Heidi HAUTALA

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2a. Is concerned that the present practice favours access only by lobbyists to decisive phases of the legislative process and not by the broader public, nor by journalists and academics who transmit and interpret the process for the benefit of informing the public;

Amendment 6 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Considers, therefore, that documents created in the framework of trilogues, such as agendas, summaries of outcomes, minutes and the ‘~~four~~ column’ documents drawn up to facilitate negotiations, which without doubt are documents relating to legislative procedures, cannot in principle be treated differently from other legislative documents; recalls that it has already instructed its own competent bodies to take action in this respect and has called on other institutions to do likewise; takes the view that a list of trilogue meetings should be made available and ~~meeting document~~the agendas made directly accessible on the register;

Amendment 7 #

Tadeusz ZWIEFKA

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Considers, therefore, that documents created in the framework of trilogues, such as agendas~~, summaries of outcomes~~ and the ‘'four column’' documents drawn up to facilitate negotiations~~, which without doubt are documents relating to legislative procedures,~~ are per se considered as internal institutional documents and thus per se cannot in principle be treated differently from other legislative documents; recalls that it has already instructed its own competent bodies to take action in this respect and has called on other institutions to do likewise; takes the view that a list of trilogue meetings should be made available and meeting documents made directly accessible on the registertakes the view that a list of trilogue meetings should be made available and meeting documents made directly accessible on the register; recalls that the future inter-institutional agreement on better law-making includes a database on legislative files and also the appropriate handling of trilogues if adopted;

Amendment 8 #