Strasbourg, 23/12/2002 (Agence Europe) - European Ombudsman Jacob Söderman has acknowledged that the European Commission can refuse public access to the briefing notes of its delegations concerning two meetings of the Transatlantic Business Dialogue. This position follows a draft recommendation issued by the Ombudsman asking the Commission to reconsider its refusal, based on the new rules on access to documents that came into force in December 2001 (Regulation 1049/2001). According to the Commission, the documents "contain internal assessments of US positions and policies. (...) Disclosing this internal reasoning and the alternatives considered by the Commissioner (...) would weaken the Commission's negotiating positions. It would give negotiating partners an insight into possible compromises the Commission would be willing to make later in the negotiations". The Ombudsman states that the "Commission explains clearly (...) how disclosure of the documents could undermine the protection of the public interest as regards international relations". This is one of the exceptions provided for by Regulation 1049/2001. The Ombudsman recognises that there is a public interest in disclosure of the documents, but this exception does not provide for it to be taken into account.