So would information about border controls, the police network Europol and all but the most sensitive papers on EU defence and foreign policy. This exercise is about restoring confidence and establishing accountability in the European project. Public confidence in official decision making is very low. But there was criticism that the proposals did not go far enough and could still be watered down. The proposals call for a public register of documents, a minimal list of exemptions, and access to papers held by, and not just originating in, the EU's three big institutions.
Freedom of information is a sensitive issue in Brussels.
The previous European Commission, under Jacques Santer of Luxembourg, was discredited and eventually forced to resign partly over issues of lack of transparency. Romano Prodi, his Italian successor, has published a list of his correspondence on his website, though not the documents themselves, and has been sharply criticised by the EU ombudsman. Britain insists it is taking an open approach to the new code, with diplomats privately blaming France, currently holding the EU's rotating presidency, for resisting. Italy and Germany are also reluctant. Opponents of greater openness warn that Nato will be less willing to share its secrets with fledgling EU defence bodies if freedom of information procedures are too relaxed.