91997E3527

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3527/97 by Kirsi Piha (PPE) to the Commission (12 November 1997)

Subject: Leaking of information about the Commission's Agenda 2000 programme before its official publication

Commissioner Van den Broek's answer of 1 October 1997 to my written question E-2669/97 ((OJ C 102, 3.4.1998, p. 86. )) was unsatisfactory because it totally failed to deal with the central point of my question, namely the problem of information leaks. The Commissioner himself was present at the EPP Group meeting last July, the evening before the publication of the Agenda 2000 document, at which he categorically refused to comment on the substance of the document on the grounds of its confidentiality. However, very detailed information had already been transmitted the same day in all the mass media, e.g. on which countries were at the top of the Commission's list.

In view of the above I should like to put a follow-up question (in fact the same question to which I did not receive an answer the first time):

What action does the Commission propose to take to clarify how and why detailed information on the substance of the opinions on individual countries has leaked prior to publication?

Answer given by Mr Van den Broek on behalf of the Commission (11 December 1997)

The Commission set out in Reply to the Honourable Member's previous question the efforts it made to ensure that Parliament was informed first about Agenda 2000, right after the Commission formally presented the individual opinions to the ambassadors of the candidate countries.

Unfortunately leaks cannot always be avoided, despite the Commission's best efforts. Such leaks are damaging, not only to the Commission but also to other interested parties and the Commission regrets possible embarrassment which was caused.