Fully democratic and highly transparent decision-making at European level is indispensable to increase citizens’ trust in the EU institutions, according to the Parliament.
The EU institutions must strive for the highest possible standards of transparency, accountability and integrity. In a non-legislative report adopted by plenary with 676 votes to 14 and 1 abstention, MEPs stress that access to documents should be guaranteed in relation to implementation of EU policies and use of EU funds. Access to such documents should be the rule, while exceptions from the rule should be matters of strict interpretation, they underline. The European Parliament works with a high degree of transparency, making it possible for citizens, media and stakeholders to see how and why decisions are made, notes the text. MEPs are, on the contrary, very critical of the Council, whose absence of commitment in ensuring transparency reflects a “lack of accountability in its role as EU co-legislator”.
Transparency in vaccines’ contracts
The Commission has made progress in improving its transparency standards, but MEPs denounce its recurrent practice of providing often only very limited information on implementation of EU legislation to Parliament, as well as its refusal to publish statistics on effectiveness of EU policies. The Chamber asks the Commission to be more transparent regarding its contracts and tender processes. The resolution urges the Commission to ensure “public access to all advance purchase agreements, in their full form”, between the EU and private companies in the field of health, in particular when ordering vaccines. Regarding international agreements, MEPs underline that the Parliament should be fully and immediately informed at every stage of the negotiations, as established in the EU Treaties. MEPs welcome the new Code of Conduct for the Commission’s members -about their meetings and trips- and recommend the Council to follow suit. They also defend the establishment of a dedicated and user-friendly joint database on the state of EU legislative files. Following the conclusion of the inter-institutional agreement for a mandatory Transparency Register, MEPs urge the three institutions to swiftly implement it. Regarding votes in Parliament, the report suggests setting up a user-friendly system which includes search and filtering functions. They also point to the European Court of Justice and suggest that their public hearings be live streamed.
“The EU has to make an effort to reach high standards of transparency and integrity”, said rapporteur Ioan-Rareş Bogdan (EPP, RO). “Being open about our decision-making process will also help to reduce Euroscepticism. We need to prove citizens that they are at the centre, showing how money is spent and what priority criteria are applied. When access to an EU document is refused, it needs be duly justified and document”, he explained during the presentation of the report to the plenary.
