Bush rejects call for records of secret EU-US talks

Date: 21/02/02

THE Bush Administration has rejected a request by a civil liberties group for access to sensitive documents detailing the inner workings of EU-US relations.

The papers show the extent of cooperation between Brussels and Washington and shed light on the question of where key policy decisions are really made, says Tony Bunyan of Statewatch, which asked for the documents.

The UK-based group sought access to the agendas from various meetings of two committees from 25 February 1998.

The committees - the EU-US task force and the Senior Level Group - are made up of senior officials from both sides of the Atlantic and keep open lines of communication on various foreign policy issues in the run-up to EU-US summits. Bunyan said: 'The US authorities opposed releasing the documents as, in their view, they are considered as 'government-to-government' papers and not intended for even partial publication. The [Council of Ministers] said it had no choice but to back the US veto.'

He added: 'This decision confirms our worst fears on the implementation of the new regulation on public access to European Union documents. We have lodged an appeal...and will, if necessary, take it to the European Ombudsman or Court of Justice.'

The Bush administration has rejected a request by a civil liberties group for access to sensitive documents detailing the inner workings of EU-US relations.

http://www.statewatch.org/ http://www.statewatch.org/

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