WRITTEN QUESTION P-0203/01

by Gabriele Stauner (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(29 January 2001)

Subject: Access to confidential information pursuant to Article 197(3) of the Treaty

In his decision of 15 January 2001 in case T-236/00 the President of the Court of First instance of the European Communities expressly stated in paragraph 49 that Members of the European Parliament have the right, as individuals, to table questions to the Commission and to receive from it answers which may involve the forwarding of confidential information.

However, in recent months the Commission has repeatedly refused, on the grounds of confidentiality of information, to answer questions or to forward documents.

1. Is the Commission now prepared to forward copies of the documents I requested in my letter of 13 April 2000/No 202497 to Mrs Schreyer (Echo affair. UCLAF reports of 19 December 1997 and 18 May 1998, Lowe report; Pappas/Timmermans report; Med affair: minutes of proceedings and questions on the report of 12 January 1998)?

2. Is the Commission prepared to provide straightforward answers to the individual points in my Written Questions E-3240/00, E-3241/00 and P-3478/00 in connection with fraud involving adulterated butter, without using the pretext of confidentiality, as it did in the answers provided in December 2000?

Answer given by Mr Prodi on behalf of the Commission

(19 February 2001)

In the order he made on 15 January 2001 in Case T-236/00 R Gabriele Stauner and Others v. European Parliament and Commission, the President of the Court of First Instance ruled at paragraph 49:

The fact that the Framework Agreement lays down that certain information may be forwarded only to the parliamentary authorities referred to in point 1.4 of Annex III to the Agreement, that is, the President of the European Parliament, the chairpersons of the parliamentary committees concerned, the Bureau and the Conference of Presidents, does not deprive Members of Parliament, acting in an individual capacity, of their right to put questions to the Commission and to obtain answers that may in certain cases involve the forwarding of confidential information, as was the case before the Agreement was concluded.

It should be borne in mind that the Agreement does not affect, even indirectly, the Commission's discretion in deciding to disclose confidential information in its answer to a question put to it by a Member of Parliament acting in an individual capacity under the third paragraph of Article 197 of the EC Treaty and the relevant Rules of Procedure of the European Parliament.

That paragraph must be viewed in conjunction with paragraphs 50 and 51, which read as follows:

On the other hand, if the request for confidential information is put by Parliament, that is, by one of the parliamentary authorities referred to in point 1.4 of Annex III to the Framework Agreement, the transmission of that information by the Commission is governed by the Agreement.

It follows that the Framework Agreement, which governs only relations between Parliament and the Commission, has not prima facie altered the legal position of Members of Parliament acting in an individual capacity regarding their right under the third paragraph of Article 197 of the EC Treaty, does not affect the right conferred by that article and therefore has no legal effect on Members acting in an individual capacity.

Accordingly, the President of the Court of First Instance points out that the Framework Agreement, which was approved by Parliament on 5 July 2000, does not alter the Commission's procedure for dealing with questions put to it by Members of Parliament acting under Article 197 of the EC Treaty. He further indicates that the Commission enjoys a discretion in deciding whether to communicate confidential information in an answer to a question put under Article 197 of the EC Treaty.

In view of the decision of the President of the Court of First Instance, the Commission considers it unnecessary for it to review the answers it gave to the questions put by the Honourable Member.