No more secretive EU-law making!

1.40.24pm UTC (GMT +0000) Wed 26th Oct 2005

Lib Dem MEPs Chris Davies, Sarah Ludford, Fiona Hall and Sharon Bowles (l-r) protest against secretive law making

Members of the European Liberal Democrat Group (ALDE) today used Tony Blair's arrival at the European Parliament to demonstrate for transparency and against secretive law-making in the Council of Ministers.

Liberal Democrat MEP for London Baroness Sarah Ludford said:

"Laws should not be made behind closed doors, but that is exactly what our ministers do when they get together in Brussels.

The European Ombudsman recently declared the Council of Ministers guilty of maladministration for their lack of openness, and rightly so. How can British ministers be held to account by the public and Westminster MPs if they keep what they say secret?

Britain holds the presidency of the EU until the end of the year, so Tony Blair is the man who can propose the reform. If he doesn't, surely his rhetoric about modernisation and participation will correctly be judged empty and hypocritical?"

Notes to Editors:

The leaders of all the UK delegations in the Parliament, including Labour's Gary Titley and the Conservative's Timothy Kirkhope, joined last month in saying that rules should be changed to end the practice of ministers meeting to debate EU laws behind closed doors.

EU laws are drafted by the European Commission and then amended or rejected both by the European Parliament and by the Council of Ministers. While MEPs meet in public, government ministers debate new laws behind closed doors.

MEPs point out that the improvement requires only a simple change in the standing orders governing ministerial meetings, needing the support of just 13 of Europe's 25 member states