mr president can i start by saying that it is very good to see commissioner wallström in the room as well as cecilia malmström from the presidency-in-office because we were both engaged in this dossier from the outset in nineteen ninety-nine
it is interesting to reflect that what we achieved in our agreement in may two thousand and one was somehow historic amongst fifteen member states moving from different traditions and cultures and different approaches to openness and transparency
we managed to reach an agreement and interestingly in no small way was that due to the determination of the swedish presidency at the time
it was also due to the determination of the commission to recognise that all three institutions needed a cultural change
we needed to see that openness and transparency did not prevent democracy from flourishing but actually improved it
it allowed accountability
it allowed citizens to see what was being done in their name and arguably it helped us to lift the curtain and to prove once and for all that there were no terrible secrets hidden in the safes of the commission or the council i am not so sure about parliament but hopefully not in parliament's safes either i want to thank in particular the commissioner and if i may my dear former colleague cecilia malmström for that commitment
now we need another commitment
as i said we have achieved a huge amount
we have a register of documents
we have the jurisprudence of the ecj now defining and redefining what was originally agreed on access to documents
we have accepted the principle that all documents should remain accessible and that where not accessible access should be reasoned against quite clearly and specifically in reference to either article four the exemptions or article nine sensitive documents
however as we have moved on parliament has called repeatedly for a revision
i believe that the revision the commission placed before parliament on which we subsequently voted in committee and the first reading of which was deferred in march of this year did not go far enough and i know we have a difference of opinion on this
equally there were concerns and those concerns still remain in this house that there was an attempt to claw back on access to documents not least in the redefining of documents the notion that whole files could be exempted and attempting to redefine the notion of the third-party veto
it is interesting that our citizens sitting in the gallery must be thinking that we are talking about something that happens in outer space articles third-party vetoes but actually what we are talking about is a law that allows them to make sure that we are accountable parliamentarians accountable for what we do in their name the commission for what it does in their name and equally the council
how can they do that and the ngos do that if the way we work and who does what within all of the different units remains a well-kept secret open only to those lobbyists and those lawyers who know
that is what i believe is at the heart of the treaty of lisbon
it says that we need to further enhance democracy
we need to enhance access to documents
that is why parliament in this oral question is calling for a whole range of recommendations to be undertaken
basically it is about ensuring that the rights that we have are built upon that they are not diminished and about recognising that under lisbon it is no longer just the three institutions but all of the agencies and the bodies set up by them including the european central bank in some instances the european court of justice the european investment bank europol and eurojust
all of these institutions are now accountable under regulation ec no ten forty-nine two thousand and one
we believe that the proposals that have been brought forward since the entry into force of the lisbon treaty do not match either the spirit or the letter of that treaty or indeed the obligations that we believe are contained within the original regulation ec no ten forty-nine two thousand and one which for the benefit of our listeners governs public access to all the documents held received or produced by the three institutions
