European Ombudsman opens public consultation on TTIP transparency

Published:

The public consultation on transparency of the TTIP negotiations by the European Ombudsman runs until 31 October 2014. Submissions can be made in any of the 24 official EU languages and can be provided by email, letter or fax. The European Ombudsman will take into account the input received by the public consultation before presenting a set of further suggestions to the European Commission on how to proceed with the TTIP negotiations.

The public consultation revolves around three questions:

  • Views on concrete measures the European Commission can take to make the TTIP negotiations more transparent
  • Examples of best practices
  • Explain how transparency affects the outcome of the negotiations

ETUCE welcomes the public consultation and encourages all member organisations to contribute to this consultation. ETUCE has continuously requested the European Commission to improve transparency in relation to the TTIP negotiations and to involve stakeholders in an active and meaningful way.

The European Ombudsman's public consultation follows the inquiry of the European Ombudsman towards the European Commission concerning transparency and public participation in relation to the TTIP negotiations. Particularly, the European Ombudsman asks the Council and the Commission to publish the TTIP mandate as well as a number of practical measures to enable timely public access to TTIP documents, and to details of meetings with stakeholders.

The European Ombudsman explained: "The EU institutions have made a considerable effort to promote transparency and public participation concerning TTIP. I agree that not all negotiating documents can be published at this stage, there needs to be room to negotiate. However, concerns have been raised about key documents not being disclosed, about delays, and about the alleged granting of privileged access to TTIP documents to certain stakeholders. Given the significant public interest and the potential impact of TTIP on the lives of citizens, I am urging the EU institutions to step up their proactive transparency policy."