The Council of Ministers, the last bastion of secrecy in the EU, is finally bowing to pressure and making available key documents showing the background to decisions taken by ministers. The EU's Ombudsman Jacob Soderman, ruled against the Council for refusing to allow a British journalist, Tony Bunyan, access to documents relating to justice and home affairs. This is a sensitive area dealing with such issues as police co-operation and immigration, where decisions are usually taken away from the public eye.
The Council turned down the request from Mr Bunyan, editor of the magazine Statewatch, on the grounds that it was not the sole author of the documents that he wanted.
The Ombudsman concluded not only that the Council was a joint author of the documents and should therefore release them but that it should apply the same rules of access to documents which it had co-authored.
It will in future also be making publicly available the minutes of meetings in the fields of justice and home affairs. As a further sign of its increasing openness, Council has set up an Information Policy and Transparency Unit and published a handbook which provides practical information on existing sources of information and on the implementation of measures adopted to promote openness and transparency. The Ombudsman is also recommending that there should be a common set of administrative rules for all EU institutions and bodies on document availability.
The Ombudsman dealt with more than 1,400 complaints last year. There is still confusion amongst Europe's citizens as to the exact nature of his role, since 75 per cent were ruled out of order. His terms of reference are strictly limited to maladministration in the institutions. Most grievances investigated concerned delays by the Commission in responding to letters. Nevertheless, the Ombudsman's own services have put in place a rapid response system under which complainants are allocated to a named civil servant.
In a move to boost citizens' awareness about the Ombudsman, the annual report and information about complaints procedures can be found on the Ombudsman's own Internet site. Mr Soderman commented: "An ever-growing number of EU citizens have access to the Internet. It makes it possible for my reports, decisions and press releases to be available anytime, anywhere, and to anyone in the EU who has Internet access. However, my Website is intended to complement rather than replace traditional means of communication. All information available on the site will also be available in paper format upon request."
Web Site address: http://www.euroombudsman.eu.int