Bridging the familiarity gap

Date: 15/02/1996

IT was a moment those present still savour.

A European Commissioner had actually admitted that 99&percent; of the institution's documents contained no confidential information and should be made available to the general public.

This confession to the European media in Strasbourg almost exactly two years ago came from the Commissioner then in charge of openness and transparency, João de Deus Pinheiro. It briefly stunned his audience.

Investigative journalists feared they might become a dying breed as information was handed out freely instead of having to be unearthed through painstaking research. Others envisaged an endless source of documents which would transform their daily task of reporting the ins and outs of the EU's activities.

Reality proved neither expectation justified. But what prompted Pinheiro to utter such a statement and to overturn official policy of almost four decades which had resulted in even the Commission's staff directory and phone book being classified as internal documents not to be released to the outside world?

The change of heart had begun over a year earlier as EU leaders realised that they and the Union's institutions had become increasingly alien to most of the population. They had to find ways of bridging the familiarity gap and strengthening precarious faith in the Union.

The initial result of the exercise launched by former Commission President Jacques Delors was a trio of proposals in June 1993 on openness, public access to EU documents and increased transparency in the work of the Commission. This included wider consultation of interested parties in the drafting of Union proposals.

Achieving those goals is now the job of Pinheiro's successor, Transparency Commissioner Marcelino Oreja, who argues that openness and democracy must go hand in hand.

Speaking at a conference on transparency shortly before Christmas, Oreja spelt out his philosophy. “If we want the participation and the confidence of the citizens, if we want to make Europe the business of every citizen, if we want to construct Europe together with the citizens, then we must, on the one hand, seek their involvement, listen to and welcome new ideas and, on the other hand, make our work and visions understood.”

That commitment to listen is not only making it easier for the public to gain access to Commission documents previously kept under wraps, but is also giving birth to a new register of pan-European non-profit-making organisations which the Commission will consult more regularly when drafting legislation.

The new data base, expected to be completed by the early summer, is likely to contain some 800 names and may eventually be accessible on the Internet.

“It has a double aim. It will be accessible to officials, who will be encouraged to consult as widely as possible when considering the impact of policy. It will also be available to the public and so make the interest groups better known,” explains one senior Commission official.

There is no doubt that the search for ways of increasing public involvement in the EU's work will feature prominently in the review of the Maastricht Treaty opening at the end of next month.

Niels Ersbøll, Denmark's representative on last year's Reflection Group and at the forthcoming Intergovernmental Conference (IGC), said late last year that openness was “probably the most important overall heading” dealt with by the Reflection Group and predicted it would be “a major part of negotiations in the forthcoming IGC”.

Exemplifying a Nordic tradition of openness which has had a growing influence on the EU since the arrival of Sweden, in particular, Ersbøll told doubters: “Openness has come to stay. It is a winner and once the process has started, in spite of all the opposition largely due to misunderstandings, it is unstoppable and will continue to gain momentum.”

Experience from outsiders testing the new climate has been mixed, with many continuing to use the unofficial channels which have served them well in the past.

“We try to keep things as informal as possible. If you make a formal request, then it can take time and you are in the hands of one official who might say 'I do not believe in openness'. What do you do? Complain to his superior and you may get the document, but you will alienate the official,” said one experienced lobbyist.

Peter Sluiter, coordinator of the European Round Table of Associations and Foundations (ERAS), said the problem was that people still did not know exactly what the limits were.

“On paper there are some improvements, but if people have to stick to their old habits and contacts to get information, then that is bad,” he said.

Discussions within the Reflection Group itself underlined the differences which exist between member states on this issue.

Some countries, led by Sweden, want the general principle of access to documents written into the new treaty to give it greater authority, while others argue it should remain part of the code of conduct adopted by the Commission and Council of Ministers in early 1994.

Now, with almost two years' experience of the new climate brought on by the change in policy, a general assessment is being made of its impact.

Between January 1994 and the end of last year, the European Commission received some 500 requests from the public for access to internal documents. Sectors most in demand were the environment, competition and fisheries policies.

A quarter of the requests were soon discounted as they covered internal papers that had not been produced by the Commission, did not exist or had already been published. Another 13&percent; - many covering sensitive state aid or legal infringement cases - were refused under rules preventing access to documents which could jeopardise public interest, commercial secrets, individual privacy or the Union's financial interests. The rest were approved.

The Commission has also decentralised the way it handles requests for access to its internal documents, with each directorate-general designating a senior official to implement the policy.

If these officials refuse access to a particular document, the applicant can turn to the Commission's Secretary-General David Williamson, who has overruled decisions to refuse access to documents in about a third of the 42 appeals he has received in the past two years.

The Council of Ministers, a far more secretive organisation, is conducting a similar exercise to examine how its policy on openness is working. Between January 1994 and the end of last month, the Council had received 170 requests for access to internal documents, with the vast majority covering intergovernmental issues such as justice and home affairs and security policy, and traditional EU issues such as social policy.

The Council is currently establishing a special unit to handle its new transparency policy. But it is unable to give any indication yet of the number of requests refused or complied with since one demand alone may cover up to 80 separate documents.

After a high-profile test case brought by UK newspaper The Guardian over its failure to gain access to certain internal papers, the Council now releases details of previously secret statements often agreed by EU governments to explain how new legislation they have just adopted should be interpreted.

A senior Council official, however, while applauding the change in climate, argues that it would be a mistake if the media, in particular, concentrated its efforts on securing internal papers in a small number of high-profile areas.

“The European Union has been working for its citizens for 40 years, not just the last couple of years. We should all make an effort to bring the Union in all its aspects closer to the people. The Union is operating in a lot of sectors and not just in those which make an impact in the mass media,” he insists.