Activities of Renate SOMMER related to 2008/0090(COD)
Plenary speeches (3)
Public access to European Parliament, Council and Commission documents (debate)
Public access to European Parliament, Council and Commission documents (debate)
Public access to European Parliament, Council and Commission documents (debate)
Amendments (25)
Amendment 55 #
Draft legislative resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Considers that procedure 2011/0073(COD) has not lapsed, as a result of it is supposed to be dealt withe incorporation into parallel with procedure 2008/0090(COD) of the contents of the Commission proposal (COM(2011)0137)which might need - given its complexity - more time than the procedure previously mentioned;
Amendment 56 #
Proposal for a regulation
Title
Title
Proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council regarding public access to European Parliament, Council and Commission documentdocuments of Union institutions, bodies, offices and agencies
Amendment 60 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 10
Recital 10
(10) With regard to the disclosure of personal data, a clear relationship should be established between this Regulation andUnion institutions, bodies, offices and agencies should treat personal data in full compliance with the rights of data subjects as defined in Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data by the Community institutions and bodies and on the free movement of such data.
Amendment 63 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 15 a (new)
Recital 15 a (new)
(15a) In particular, separate arrangements should be laid down for access to documents relating to competition procedures, since they contain sensitive data in respect of private companies.
Amendment 65 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 17
Recital 17
(17) In principle, all documents of the institutions should be accessible to the public. However, certain public and private interests should be protected by way of exceptions. The institutions should be entitledthat relate to their activities should be registered and accessible to the public. However, without prejudice to the European Parliament's scrutiny, access to the entire document or to part of it may be denied for reasons of protection of public or private interests, in order to enable the institutions to protect their internal consultations and deliberations where necessary to safeguard their ability to carry out their tasks. In assessing the exceptions, the institutions should take account of the principles in Community legislation concerning the protection of personal data in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 45/2001, in all areas of Union activities.
Amendment 66 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 18
Recital 18
(18) All rules concerning access to documents of the institutions should be in conformity with this Regulation, as it implements Article 15(3) TFEU.
Amendment 67 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 23
Recital 23
(23) In accordance with Article 2515(3) of the EC TreatyTFEU, each institution lays down specific provisions regarding access to its documents in its rules of procedure,
Amendment 68 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point a
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point a
(a) to define the principles, conditions and limits on grounds of public or private interest, pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 45/2001, governing the right of access to European Parliament, Council and Commission (hereinafter referred to as «the institutions») documents provided for in Article 255 of the EC Treaty15(3) TFEU in such a way as to grant the public the widest possible access to such documents;
Amendment 75 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 6
Article 2 – paragraph 6
6. Without prejudice to specific rights of access for interested parties established by EC law, documents forming part of the administrative file of an investigation or of proceedings concerning an act of individual scopecarried out for the enforcement of the Union competition rules shall not be accessible to the public until the investigation has been closed or the act has become definitive. Documents containing information gathered or obtained from natural or legal persons by an institution in the framework of such investigations shall not be accessible to the public.
Amendment 77 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 3 – point a
Article 3 – point a
(a) «document» means any content whatever its medium (written on paper or stored in electronic form or as a sound, visual or audiovisual recording) concerning a Union activity falling within its sphere of responsibility which is drawn- up by an institution and formally transmitted to one or more recipients or otherwise registered, or received by an institution, with the exception of drafts, memoranda, information papers, minutes of informal meetings or meetings to which the public do not have access and which are not intended to form part of a document; data contained in electronic storage, processing and retrieval systems are documents if they can be extracted in the form of a printout or electronic-format copy using the available tools for the exploitation of the system;
Amendment 80 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 3 – point b a (new)
Article 3 – point b a (new)
(ba) «EU institution» means: - the European Parliament, the European Council, the Council, the Commission, the European Court of Auditors - the Court of Justice, the European Central Bank and the European Investment Bank when exercising their administrative tasks - the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions - regulatory authorities set up by the European legislator and executive authorities set up by the Commission - offices set up by the European legislator
Amendment 81 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 1 – introductory part
Article 4 – paragraph 1 – introductory part
1. The institutions shall refuse access to a document where disclosure would undermine the protection of the public interest as regardsor private interests pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 in connection with:
Amendment 82 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 2 – introductory part
Article 4 – paragraph 2 – introductory part
2. The institutions shall refuse access to a document or collection of documents where disclosure would undermine the protection of:
Amendment 83 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 2 – point d
Article 4 – paragraph 2 – point d
(d) the purpose of inspections, investigations and audits and of competition procedures;
Amendment 85 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 2 – point c
Article 4 – paragraph 2 – point c
(c) legal advice and court , arbitration and dispute settlement proceedingscourt proceedings and legal advice;
Amendment 86 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 2 – point d
Article 4 – paragraph 2 – point d
(d) the purpose of inspections, investigations and audits and of competition procedures;
Amendment 87 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 2 – point d a (new)
Article 4 – paragraph 2 – point d a (new)
(da) In view of the sensitive nature and the large number of documents produced within the context of competition procedures, a general assumption that publication could actually and specifically undermine the interest being protected shall suffice.
Amendment 88 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 2 – point e a (new)
Article 4 – paragraph 2 – point e a (new)
(e a) sources of information about alleged unlawful activities and information obtained in formal investigations,
Amendment 89 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1a (new)
Article 4 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1a (new)
unless there is an overriding public interest in disclosure.
Amendment 92 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 3 – introductory part
Article 4 – paragraph 3 – introductory part
3. AWithout prejudice to the enhanced transparency required in procedures for the adoption of EU legislative acts or of non-legislative acts of general application, access to the following documents shall be refused if their disclosure would seriously undermine the decision-making process of the institutions:
Amendment 95 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 3 – point a
Article 4 – paragraph 3 – point a
(a) documents relating to a matter where the decision has not been taken, and a constructive outcome could be jeopardised by their disclosure before they are finalised;
Amendment 97 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 3 – subparagraph 1a (new)
Article 4 – paragraph 3 – subparagraph 1a (new)
Access to a document containing opinions for internal use as part of deliberations and preliminary consultations within the institution concerned shall be refused even after the decision has been taken if disclosure of the document would seriously undermine the institution's decision-making process, including the capacity of the institution to freely express and discuss views and suggestions prior to the decision being taken, unless there is an overriding public interest in disclosure.
Amendment 101 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 4
Article 4 – paragraph 4
4. The exceptions under paragraphs (2) and (3) shall apply unless there is an overriding public interest in disclosure. As regards paragraph 2(a) an overriding public interest in disclosure shall be deemed to exist where the information requested relates to actual emissions into the environment. For the purposes of this Article, 'emissions' shall mean the direct or indirect release of substances, vibrations, heat or noise from individual or diffuse sources in an installation into the air, water or land, as provided for in Council Directive 96/61/EC of 24 September 1996 concerning integrated pollution prevention and control.
Amendment 108 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 6
Article 4 – paragraph 6
6. If only parts of the requested document are covered by any of the exceptions, the remaining parts of the document shall be released, unless the exception covers a collection of documents in accordance with paragraph 2.
Amendment 112 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 7
Article 4 – paragraph 7
7. The exceptions as laid down in this Article shall only apply for the period during which protection is justified on the basis of the content of the document. The exceptions may apply for a maximum period of 30 years. In the case of documents covered by the exceptions relating to the protection of personal data or commercial interests and in the case of sensitive documents, the exceptions may, if necessary, continue to apply after this per, unless there are over- riding data privacy or commercial interests reasons for continued protectiodn.