§ Mr. DismoreTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement about the progress of the negotiations on public access to EU documents. [160593]
§ Mr. VazAfter a year of difficult negotiations, the Commission, the Council and the European Parliament have all agreed in principle to a draft Regulation on public access to EU documents.
The UK's objectives for these negotiations were to secure a Regulation which ensures:
greater openness (ie more EU documents being made available to the public;proper protection for sensitive material;a quick, user-friendly mechanism;a consistent approach both by the institutions and in member states;compatibility with the UK Freedom of Information Act 2000.All these objectives have been met and we now have an arrangement which we believe will be a firm step forward in EU openness. The Government welcome this: we have long been an advocate of greater openness in the EU institutions. More accessible documents make for more accountable institutions.