Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2000-11-16-Speech-4-017"

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"Mr President, openness and public scrutiny of the of a democratic form of government are the prerequisites for citizens being able to follow the public decision-making process and to participate in this process. The opportunity of gaining access to public documents creates greater confidence and legitimacy, something the EU has precious little of at present. International research also shows a clear connection between open administration and a low level of corruption. The Cashman report is, therefore, not just any old report. This report establishes the essence of what will become a European principle of public access to official documents, that is to say, the principle that all documents must be publicly available. There will be few exceptions and these will be clearly regulated. All documents must be registered. The documents must be examined on a case-by-case basis. If access is refused, a reason for this must be provided. The Committee on Foreign Affairs, Human Rights, Common Security and Defence Policy objects to the idea that documents relating to foreign affairs and security issues will automatically and collectively be excluded from public inspection. This would be unacceptable. In this sphere, too, every document must be examined individually. We have therefore proposed, as a democratic safety valve, that those documents which – after examination – cannot be made public, could be communicated to a small group of Members of Parliament. However, it is important that this in no way replaces the desire for as many documents as possible to be made available to the public at large: journalists, interest groups and individual citizens. Article 255 of the EC Treaty concerns access to documents. The rights of the ought to be developed further in separate provisions. The Cashman report is the first step on a long road towards increased openness, democracy and confidence on the part of our citizens. A common directive is necessary and important. Much work will also be needed in order to change the attitudes and the culture within the different institutions and progressively replace them with an understanding that openness is necessary, natural, effective and democratic. We now await the Council's move."@en1
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