MEPs hold hundreds of committees to ransom

Date: 19/09/1996

By Rory Watson

THE EU's legislative cogs could grind to a halt within weeks unless Union governments agree to shed more light on the activities of hundreds of secretive committees.

MEPs are refusing to release funds from the Union budget to finance the cost of the committees for the rest of the year unless their demands for greater openness are met.

Once the EU coffers are empty, either the committees will no longer meet or the full cost of sending national delegates to Brussels will have to be shouldered by member states - a system which would penalise countries on the periphery of the Union with higher travel expenses.

Staffed by appointed national civil servants and experts, the committees work on the formulation and development of all aspects of Union legislation from agriculture to indirect taxation. They effectively oil the Union's wheels after governments have taken the main legislative decisions, and their influence has mushroomed with the creation of the single market and the overall growth of EU business.

One which has recently come very much to the public's attention is the veterinary committee, now at the centre of the highly-charged debate over BSE.

But the complex edifice reaches into all areas of EU activity, handling issues ranging from the highly technical to the politically sensitive. There are 361 such committees. Last year they met 1,467 times, examining 7,618 files and taking almost 3,400 decisions.

But the committees' very secrecy and influence has brought them into direct conflict with the European Parliament. MEPs fear that these groups are bypassing the Parliament even in areas where it formally shares legislative powers with EU governments. They also argue that the behind-the-scenes negotiations make a mockery of the Union's commitment to openness and transparency.

In a bid to prise open the doors of the closed meetings, MEPs have frozen half of the 20 million ecu the Union set aside this year to pay delegates' travel expenses.

Earlier this month, they rejected a plea from EU governments to release the remaining funds. They will take a similar hard-line approach next week if their conditions have still not been met.

“We want members of the committees to sign a declaration of interests and we want a situation where, normally, committees would be open to the public. If we achieve this, then it will be a good victory for transparency,” explains British Socialist MEP Terry Wynn.

Wynn, who has led a two-year campaign to open up such committee meetings, warned the Parliament would continue its battle next year if governments went on dragging their heels. MEPs are threatening to freeze all the committees' 1997 funds when they examine the draft annual EU budget next month.

MEPs are happy with the moves made by the Commission to make the committees' activities more accessible. But they are increasingly frustrated at the refusal of governments to do the same.

The Irish presidency is now trying to break the deadlock, but if the stalemate continues, the Union will be faced with a cash crisis well before January. This year's existing finance is almost totally spent and the green light to unblock the remaining 10 million ecu must be given soon if the system is not to be thrown into chaos

The looming cash crisis has forced the Commission to take unprecedented precautionary measures. Since the summer, invitations to attend meetings in Brussels have not included the normally standard clause offering to reimburse travel expenses.