Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2001-11-12-Speech-1-066"
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"en.20011112.5.1-066"2
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"Mr President, I add my congratulations to Mrs Maij-Weggen for an excellent report. It is quite clear that Parliament must get its own house in order after the agreements we have had vis-à-vis the Commission. Access is important but too much lip service is paid to access. I thought that at the beginning Mr Corbett was being rather congratulatory. I agree with him that we are moving in the right direction, but we still have a long way to go.
I want to bring to Parliament's attention the specific problem that the Committee on Petitions is still experiencing with access to documentation. I know the problem here is largely the Commission, but it impacts on Parliament. A number of European citizens have petitioned this Parliament about problems with Lloyds of London. A very detailed questionnaire was sent to the British Government. Only Members of the Petitions Committee have been allowed to see that questionnaire; no other Members of Parliament. Even Members of the Petitions Committee, behind closed doors, are not allowed to have any legal advisers, or political advisers, and are not allowed to take copies.
Nobody in Parliament has been allowed to see the reply from the British Government. Mr Bolkestein said that he cannot reveal this information because it could be subject to legal action by the Commission against the British Government. The British Government reply was that they would not let us see it because they regard it as an informal communication at the request of the Petitions Committee by the Commission. Twenty-one detailed questions to the British Government and the British Government says that it is an informal communication!
We want some clarity here, so that we know precisely what we do and do not have access to. At present, Members, committees and Parliament itself cannot do their jobs properly because of excessive secrecy. I would certainly urge that a representative – the chairman of the Petitions Committee – should be on the Interinstitutional Committee so that citizens know that the Members of this Parliament who look after their interests ensure that this secrecy does not go any deeper than it does at present."@en1
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