Challenge to Blair on EU secrecy

6.07.53pm UTC (GMT +0000) Wed 22nd Jun 2005

Tony Blair will be challenged by Liberal Democrats in the European Parliament tomorrow (Thursday) to allow public scrutiny of the whole Brussels law-making process, not just the European Parliament.

Europe's most powerful law-making body is the Council of Ministers but its deliberations take place behind closed doors. (MEPs have to agree to some, but not all laws).

Sarah Ludford, deputy leader of the British Liberal Democrat MEPs, said:

"It's no wonder that the EU is accused of having a democratic deficit at its heart when ministers debate laws in secret. The Prime Minister must use the UK's presidency of the EU to bring in transparency and openness."

"I heard a very senior British minister comment recently that this request was like asking the Cabinet to meet in public. But this is a complete misunderstanding. Making laws means acting as legislators, and only in dictatorships does this happen secretly!"

Every EU head of government made a commitment to change the procedures when they signed the Constitutional Treaty. But in fact a simple alteration in the Council's standing orders, requiring the votes of just 13 member states, is all that is required to implement the agreement.

Sarah Ludford added:

"It is not only MEPs who should care about this, Westminster MPs should too. National parliaments need to be able to hold ministers to account but they cannot succeed in that task if they don't know what is being said in their country's name."

ENDS