Member States’ ambassadors to the EU (Coreper II) are expected to give their agreement on Wednesday 2 September to extend until 10 November 2020 the measures derogating from the rules of procedure of the EU Council during the Covid-19 period, according to a document obtained by EUROPE on Tuesday 1 September.
The EU Council is preparing to extend once again measures voted in April 2020 (see EUROPE 12452/19) aimed in particular at facilitating the use of the written procedure for decision-making by Member States’ ambassadors.
The maintenance of this procedure, however, is increasingly being questioned both outside and inside the EU Council itself. Some European observers note that the fact that a multitude of “informal conferences” are being held poses problems of transparency and is correlated with a decrease in the availability of documents on the preparatory debates.
Moreover, at the end of July, the European Ombudsman opened an inquiry into the transparency of the EU Council during the pandemic.
To read the Presidency’s note: https://bit.ly/3jAPxbv
To read the European Ombudsman’s letter: https://bit.ly/3hTj7IQ (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)