The European Ombudsman, Emily O'Reilly,
has commended the European Commission for publishing 140 documents
concerning Greece's entry into the Eurozone in 2001. This follows a
complaint from a German journalist who had previously only been given
access to some of the documents.
Emily O'Reilly explained: "Especially in times
of crisis, it is vital that the European public understand how
important decisions affecting their lives came about. Europe is still
tangibly affected by these decisions and the role of the different
players needs to be clear to be able to learn lessons for the future."
140 documents on Greece's conversion reports and other correspondence
In November 2011, a German journalist asked
the Commission for access to documents drafted between January 1999 and
June 2000 concerning Greece's entry into the Eurozone. He wanted to see
all documents on the Greek conversion reports, as well as preparatory
documents, letters, and e-mails between different Commission services,
the Greek authorities, and the authorities of other EU member states.
The Commission services in question included the Cabinet of the then
Commission President Prodi, other Commissioners' cabinets, and
Directorates-General, as well as the Secretariat-General. As he got only
very limited access to some of the requested documents and did not
obtain any further feedback, the journalist turned to the Ombudsman in
April 2012.
The Commission explained that its delay was
due to the complexity of the request and stressed that some of the
relevant documents dated back to a period when electronic registering
did not yet exist.
After the Ombudsman had opened her
investigation and inspected the relevant files, the Secretariat-General
of the Commission launched an action plan to speed up the access
request. In the end, it identified 140 documents and released all of
them to the journalist.
The Ombudsman's decision is available at: http://www.ombudsman.europa.eu/en/cases/decision.faces/en/53398/html.bookmark
The European Ombudsman
investigates complaints about maladministration in the EU institutions
and bodies. Any EU citizen, resident, or an enterprise or association in
a Member State, can lodge a complaint with the Ombudsman. The Ombudsman
offers a fast, flexible, and free means of solving problems with the EU
administration. For more information: http://www.ombudsman.europa.eu
http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_EO-14-3_en.htm
4/2/14
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