Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2004-03-09-Speech-2-335"
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"en.20040309.12.2-335"2
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".
It appears that a number of Member States refuse to give the public access to the Commission's letters of formal notice and reasoned opinions. In the recent past the Irish authorities were willing to provide the public with copies of reasoned opinions on request, but the Commission understands that they are no longer willing to do so.
I would like to mention that, as far as possible, the Commission strives to be transparent with regard to its infringement procedures. That is why it issues regular press releases on them in order to provide citizens with information on the main issues involved.
When it comes to public access to the actual texts of letters of formal notice and reasoned opinions, certain rules agreed by the Council and Parliament need to be respected. These are set out in Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council regarding public access to European Parliament, Council and Commission documents.
One of these rules provides that the institutions shall refuse access to documents where disclosure would undermine the protection of the purpose of inspections, investigations and audits, unless there is an overriding public interest in disclosure. Indeed, the Court has held in the Petrie judgment that, in the investigation of infringements, sincere cooperation and a climate of mutual confidence between the Commission and the Member State concerned are required in order to allow both parties to engage in a process of negotiation in the search for a settlement of a dispute. The safeguarding of this objective justifies refusing access to detailed arguments and representations. That is why the Commission itself usually cannot give public access to its letters of formal notice and reasoned opinions when the infringement procedure is ongoing. However, when none of the exceptions to the regulation apply, the Commission may provide copies of letters of formal notice and reasoned opinions. This can be the case in particular where the infringement has been resolved, the infringement procedure has been closed and there is no longer any likelihood that an investigation would be undermined."@en1
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