Council may appeal over transparency

Date: 26/10/1995

By Fiona McHugh

THE Council of Ministers is considering appealing against a judgement from the European Court of First Instance which found governments guilty of breaking European Union law.

The Court found in favour of John Carvel, a journalist working for the British newspaper The Guardian, who had challenged the Council's right to conceal minutes of law-making meetings from the public.

The five judges decided last week that the Council of Ministers' policy of withholding information went against a 1993 code of conduct which guarantees European citizens “the widest possible access to documents”.

While that code gives the Council the right to refuse access to documents in certain exceptional circumstances (when for instance public security is at risk), it does not allow for a blanket ban on disclosure.

The Court found that by systematically refusing to hand out such documents, the Council had broken the law and had put its own interests before those of its citizens.

The result was welcomed by champions of open government, particularily those in Denmark and the Netherlands and the European Parliament which all supported Carvel's submission to the Court.

“It sends an important signal that the EU is a legal system based on the widest possible public access of the citizens,” said Danish Foreign Affairs Minister Niels Helveg Petersen.

European Parliament President Klaus Hänsch also welcomed the verdict, saying it marked a vital step forward in the “battle to break down the walls of secrecy surrounding decision-making in Council”.

However, the Council said it had passed the ruling on to its legal experts to be studied.

Council spokesman Norbert Schwaiger said: “This does not mean we will automatically release the documents in question. We are looking into our options, which include going to the bigger European courts.”

Carvel launched his complaint with the European Court of First Instance, invoking new freedom of information rules, after his request to see an account of a controversial debate over child labour rules was turned down by the Council's information services.

After a three-year battle, it is now likely that he will gain access to those coveted documents unless the Council decides to appeal against the judgement.

Welcoming the Court's ruling in an editorial last week, The Guardian commented: “We do not question legitimate grounds for secrecy such as public security. But member states should not be so coy about their deliberations.”

Carvel's success is just the latest in a series of victories for campaigners who have fought long and hard to try to force the Council to lift the veil of secrecy surrounding its work by opening its doors to the public.

The campaign for greater openness has gathered pace since Denmark was joined in the European Union by two more Scandinavian countries with a strong history of openness in government.

The Danes and Swedes, in particular, have put the Council under increasing pressure to end its old secretive ways, a pressure to which it now seems to be reluctantly bowing.

Just a few weeks ago, EU foreign ministers approved a new code of conduct giving the public access to protocols and declarations from all meetings where the Council acts as a legislator, unless a simply majority of ministers agree in a vote to keep them secret.

The Council has two months to decide whether to comply with the judgement or appeal against it to the full European Court of Justice.