Commission accused of excessive secrecy

Date: 27/04/2000

By Gareth Harding

EU OMBUDSMAN Jacob Söderman has accused the European Commission of maladministration and infringing the principle of openness in its handling of an investigation into an alleged breach of Union competition rules.

The argument centres on the Commission's interpretation of a key EU law on data protection which is intended to safeguard the privacy of individuals rather than companies. But it was used by the Commission to justify what Söderman argues was an overly secretive response to a request for information from the Bavarian Lager Company.

The firm wanted to know who was present at a meeting between Commission officials and representatives of a European brewery lobby group in 1996. The company, which objects to a UK law tying pubs to breweries, also wanted to know which firms had submitted comments on the controversial British practice.

The Commission rejected the requests for information on the grounds that they breached the data protection rules. But in a detailed study of the case, the Ombudsman argues that the Commission misinterpreted the law. He claims the right to privacy under the directive 'does not require the Commission to treat as secret views or information which have been submitted to it concerning the exercise of its functions, nor the names of the persons who submitted the views or information'.

Söderman, who investigates allegations of maladministration in all the Union institutions, has urged the Commission to reverse its previous decision and supply the names of all those present at the 1996 meeting and all documents linked to it. The EU executive has been asked to respond by the end of June.

The argument is not the first clash between Söderman and the Commission over openness. Earlier this year, the Ombudsman claimed a planned new law on public access to documents drawn up by the institution contained a list of 'get-out' clauses 'without precedent in the modern world'.

Presenting his annual report to MEPs last week, Söderman stepped up his criticism of the draft regulation. He told European Voice that claiming that formal moves towards greater openness would actually push more decisions under cover was a 'hopeless way of arguing'. He also attacked moves to give individuals the right to decide whether documents sent to the Commission should be available to the public. 'If you write to a public body, it enters the public domain,' he insisted.

Although Söderman acknowledged that Commission President Romano Prodi was a reformer, he added that the institution he headed was 'very old-fashioned, secretive and hierarchical'.

The Ombudsman also described the way EU governments take decisions in private as unconstitutional. 'All parliaments in Europe have shown that it is possible to meet in public and the Council of Ministers should follow suit,' he said.

EU Ombudsman Jacob Söderman has accused the European Commission of maladministration and infringing the principle of openness in its handling of an investigation into an alleged breach of Union competition rules.