Ombudsman joins battle over openness

Date: 03/04/1997

By Leyla Linton

EU Ombudsman Jacob Söderman is heading for a clash with the Council of Ministers over his role in handling complaints about public access to Union documents relating to justice and home affairs issues.

Söderman insisted this week that such complaints did fall within his remit, rejecting foreign ministers' claims that he has no competence to deal with them and vowing not to let the matter rest.

The dispute centres on five complaints lodged with the Ombudsman last year by Tony Bunyan, editor of the civil liberties magazine Statewatch, over the Council's refusal to give him access to reports discussed by justice and home affairs ministers and senior EU officials.

Bunyan accused the Council of maladministration and abusing its power by refusing to give information he requested.

Söderman insists the complaints are admissable, but the Council argues that the Ombudsman has no authority to investigate the case because justice and home affairs issues are dealt with on an intergovernmental basis under the 'third pillar' of the Maastricht Treaty. Officials point out that the Ombudsman has a very specific brief and is only allowed to deal with maladministration by the Union institutions.

“This is a very legal problem. There was an opinion from the legal service which said that the institution of the Ombudsman was not set up for third pillar matters,” said a Council spokeswoman.

This view was endorsed by a majority of EU foreign ministers at a meeting late last month, although six countries - Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands and Sweden - disagreed.

But Söderman made it clear this week that he was determined to fight on, saying: “The case is definitely not closed.”

He told European Voice: “The Council is one of the institutions we have a mandate to supervise. The Council will give an opinion that this is not within my mandate, but that is not for the Council to decide.”

Söderman is expecting a letter from the Council within the next few days confirming its position and will then consider what action to take next. If he is dissatisfied with the response, he can file a report to the European Parliament bringing MEPs into the debate and could ask them to take the Council to the European Court of Justice.

Söderman has expressed concern in the past that issues such as asylum, visa policies and police cooperation are open to public scrutiny in member states, but are discussed in almost total secrecy when EU ministers meet in Brussels.

He has called for treaty changes at the Intergovernmental Conference to give citizens the right of access to documents held by Union institutions. At present, this right is not guaranteed anywhere in the so-called acquis communautaire - the body of EU law.

Bunyan this week expressed surprised at the Council's reaction, saying: “This just shows how far we have got to go in the issue of openness.”