Brussels, 31/07/2014 (Agence Europe) - In letters to the European Commission and European Council on 29 July, European Ombudsman Emma O'Reilly argues for more transparency in the free trade negotiations (TTIP) between the EU and US, calling for the publication of more documents.
O'Reilly calls in particular on the Council to publish the EU negotiating directives on the TTIP negotiations, and she proposes a series of measures to the Commission that would enable timely public access to TTIP documents - as well as to details of meetings with stakeholders. She has opened investigations involving both the Commission and Council in order to enable them to establish a more proactive approach to the transparency of the TTIP negotiations. The ultimate goal of these investigations is to strengthen the legitimacy of the TTIP negotiations in the eyes of citizens. The Council and Commission have until 30 September and 31 October respectively to give their opinion on O'Reilly's proposals.
“The EU institutions have made a considerable effort to promote transparency and public participation concerning TTIP. I agree that not all negotiating documents can be published at this stage, there needs to be room to negotiate. However, concerns have been raised about key documents not being disclosed, about delays, and about the alleged granting of privileged access to TTIP documents to certain stakeholders”, O'Reilly states.
Friends of the Earth welcomes ombudsman's initiative. “The EU-US trade deal is the largest free-trade agreement ever negotiated, and it will impact on almost every aspect of citizens' lives on both sides of the Atlantic. People have the right to know what is being negotiated on their behalf and who is driving the talks”, the Friends of the Earth NGO states in a press release. Civil society calls for transparency have largely remained unanswered - including a letter from Friends of the Earth to European Commissioner for Trade Karel De Gucht in May on behalf of 257 civil society organisations, adds the NGO - whose calls for access to documents have mostly been rejected. Secrecy around the TTIP negotiations has been criticised following revelations of intensive industry lobbying in these negotiations (see EUROPE 11120) and evidence that ongoing proposals could significantly damage citizens' and environmental protection (see EUROPE 11118), Friends of the Earth continues. “We are glad that the ombudsman is questioning the lack of transparency. The Commission and Council have refused to provide key documents to civil society and are extremely slow in responding to access to document requests. At the same time the Commission is continuously sitting around the table with business lobby groups to discuss what to bring into the negotiations. We believe the public interest is at risk here”, Friends of the Earth concludes. (EH)