•
14 June 2016 - Matt Carthy – [E-004832-16] - Subject: Transparency:
When
Mr Juncker assumed office as President of the European Commission, he made a
commitment to enhance transparency by publishing more information about
meetings and providing greater access to documents relating to negotiations for
the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). Three weeks ago, and
2.5 years into his term, he launched a public consultation on making the
Transparency Register mandatory.
On
11 November 2014 the Commission published a communication on the Commission
working methods 2014-2019. In this communication, the Commission stated that,
as a rule, Commissioners must not meet with professional organisations or
self-employed individuals that are not on the Transparency Register.
Could
the Commission please explain why this ‘rule’ was included in a communication
instead of in one of the Commission decisions adopted later that month, namely
decisions C(2014)9048 and C(2014)9051, both on the subject of transparency.
Including this rule in a decision would have given it much greater legal
significance.
Could
the Commission provide details as to whether a monitoring system has been put
in place to ensure that Commissioners abide by this rule?
Could
it also explain why this rule was not extended to cover all officials working
at the Commission?
Answer
given by First Vice-President Timmermans on behalf of the Commission (27 July 2016):
« In line with Decisions C(2014)9048[1] and C(2014)9051[2], Commissioners, their Cabinet
members and Directors-General publish information on meetings with interest
representatives on their respective websites and under their own
responsibility. No specific monitoring system has been put in place as
disclosure in the public domain implies that the implementation of the rules
can be closely scrutinised by stakeholders, the media and citizens.
The rule that Commissioners, their Cabinet members and
Directors-General should not meet interest representatives that are not on the
Transparency Register was included in the Working Methods of the European
Commission 2014-2019[3]. The working
methods are administrative rules laid down by the President on the basis of
Article 17(6) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU (TFEU) and
an appropriate place to set out internal instructions.
These rules apply to the top decision-makers at the
political level and those directly responsible for advising them at the
civil-service level in view of the special role and responsibilities allocated
to the persons holding such positions. Extending the reporting requirements to
all staff would create additional administrative burdens without bringing
proportionate added-value. In addition, all staff are advised to check the
credentials of interest representatives to make sure they are registered in the
Transparency Register and if, they are not, encourage them to register.».
--------------------------------------
