PRESIDENCY URGES MINISTERIAL-LEVEL DOCUMENT ACCESS DEBATE.

The Swedish Presidency is still keen on concluding a first-reading agreement with the European Parliament on the proposal for a Regulation concerning public access to documents. Meetings within the working group on information and COREPER (Committee of Member States' Permanent Representatives to EU) seemed to have failed to produce the agreement required to initiate decisive talks with MEPs. The 19 March General Affairs Council considered this matter ahead of the next trialogue, on 26 March.During their 19 March meeting, the Ministers concurred with the Presidency upon the need to conclude an agreement with the European Parliament on the proposal for a Regulation concerning public access to documents. However a majority of Ministers emphasised the importance of establishing the Council's common position before engaging in talks with the Parliament, and not simultaneously as envisaged by the Presidency which had hoped to conclude a pre-conciliation agreement at first reading. It would appear that many Ministers no longer attach any great importance to strict compliance with the timetable laid down in the Amsterdam Treaty, Article 225 of which provides for adoption "within two years" of its entry into force on 1 May 1999. It is unlikely that the Ministers will reach a consensus at their next session on 9 April, although the Parliament's Committee on Civil Liberties expects to adopt its report on 10 April in anticipation of the Parliament's May plenary session. Ministers also approved a Decision on 19 March on the communication to the public of certain categories of unclassified documents, as well as a Decision adapting the Council's security regulation in order to unite the legal, physical...