Categories
Jurisprudence

General Court of the EU reverses Council’s decision to refuse access to legislative documents in an ongoing decision making process

In a recent court judgment (De Capitani v Council), the General Court of the EU finds that the Council erroneously relied on the access to documents regulation (Regulation 1049/2001) to refuse access to Council working party documents pertaining to an ongoing legislative decision-making procedure in order to protect the negotiation process, Dutch Foreign Ministry experts observe.

Emilio De Capitani
Categories
Civil society

Secrecy over Brexit agreement (Part II)

Necessarily restricted public participation? Ombudsman confirmed her findings of maladministration by the Council in absence of increased access to Council Legal Service’s opinion.

While the EU was praised for its transparency in negotiations with the exiting United Kingdom, this openness appears not to extend to its internal legal advice regarding the negotiation process. In this sequel to her previous blog post, Vellamo Jutila analyses the legal exchange following her a complaint to the European Ombudsman concerning the Council’s decision refusing her access to this legal advice.

Categories
Legal reform

Confidentiality of Council’s national tax laws discussion group under scrutiny

Notorious Code of Conduct Group has operated in secrecy for twenty-four years, a norm that is again called into question now that the group’s mandate comes up for revision.

Credit: RECONNECT blog.
Categories
Legal reform Oversight

European Ombudsman conference discusses access to documents law in changed technological context

Part I: In the high-level panel, everyone agrees to move forward – in their own direction.

Conference signals start of a broader call to reopen revision of EU access to documents law. First part of two reports on where the EU stands with access to documents.

Photo: snapshot from conference livestream.