No sign of deal to end military secrets row

Date: 28/09/00

By John Shelley

MEPS furious about the blanket ban on public access to military papers have vowed to press ahead with legal action against EU governments unless they promise to change the rules.

But insiders say there is no sign that either member states or Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana, who pushed through the new rules in summer, are willing to compromise over the new secrecy laws.

The measures, designed to safeguard NATO secrets now shared with the

EU because of its increasing military role, outraged MEPs both because of the across-the-board nature of the ban and because it was agreed and implemented without consulting the European Parliament .

The assembly argues that applications for sensitive documents should be considered on a case-by-case basis, and that the failure to consult MEPs was a breach of the Union treaty. This prompted members of the Parliament's legal affairs committee to vote earlier this month in favour of legal action against member states in the European Court of Justice.

But political group leaders have now agreed to delay launching proceedings until the end of October - the last possible moment when the Court will accept their complaint. MEPs say if the Council of Ministers promises before then that the new rules will be effectively abolished when wider rules on access to documents currently being negotiated come into force, the court action will be dropped altogether.

"Member states are quite clearly embarrassed about this. If the Council admits that it made a mistake and says the document of the Council will be superseded by the agreement, then we will not need to take them to court," said Graham Watson, British Liberal MEP and chairman of the Parliament's civil liberties committee.

But insiders say both Solana and the majority of EU governments which approved the new measures have yet to make any move towards a compromise. They add that their determination to stand firm may have been reinforced by the fact that even the Parliament's own legal advisors believe the case against them is, at best, shaky. Swedish Constitutional Affairs Minister Britta Lejon, whose country was one of only four member states which originally opposed the move, told delegates at a hearing on access to documents this week that the controversial measures would not necessarily be replaced by whatever comes out of the talks on wider rules.

Some MEPs are arguing for a harder line, insisting that court action is probably the only way to win a victory for openness. "It could be very helpful to have the legal situation cleared up," said Finnish MEP and Green Group leader Heidi Hautala.

Another member state opposed to the new secrecy laws, the Netherlands, also announced plans this week to challenge the measures in the ECJ.

MEPs furious about the blanket ban on public access to military papers have vowed to press ahead with legal action against EU governments unless they promise to change the rules.