EU leaders set to end secretive law-making

2.31.31pm BST (GMT +0100) Thu 8th Jun 2006

European leaders are set to open up the EU's law-making procedures when they meet in Brussels next week.

Heads of Government are expected to give their support to plans drawn up by the Austrian Presidency for debates in the Council of Ministers on almost all major legislation to take place in public.

The new procedures mark a step towards implementation of article I-50 of the EU Constitutional Treaty which stated:

"The European Parliament shall meet in public, as shall the Council when considering and voting on a draft legislative act."

This provision however requires no treaty change but rather just a simple change in the Council's own rules of procedure.

Liberals and Democrats were the first to press for change, raising the issue of making public law-making debates in the Council with British Prime Minister Tony Blair before and during the EU Presidency. Ministers subsequently discussed an options paper and concluded that "all proposals under the co-decision procedure...are open to the public." The succeeding Austrian and Finnish Presidencies were specifically requested to take the issue forward.

Despite this agreement, nearly 50% of all EU co-decision legislation has been debated by Ministers behind closed doors since January this year.

Graham Watson MEP and leader of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe in the European Parliament stated:

"The European Council next Friday looks set to mark a major step forward by acknowledging that transparency will now become the rule rather than the exception in EU policy making. I hope that the UK foreign secretary does not get cold feet after the commitments made in June last year by the British Prime Minister to support greater openness."

"This is testament partly to parliament's own determination to place the issue on the political agenda but also recognition that the citizens of Europe will never understand or appreciate the EU better if one of its three principal institutions continues to operate in secret."

Chris Davies MEP (UK, Lib Dem), who has been leading the reform campaign, commented:

"The EU talks a lot about the principles of openness and transparency and now it's time to put the words into practice. This is a very positive step forward."

"European laws should not be made in secret. The public has a right to know what is being said by Ministers in their name, and national parliaments need the information if they are to hold governments to account."