Posted on September, 10 2004

Case T 264/04 will be published this Saturday in the EU Official Journal 
 
Brussels, Belgium – WWF is taking the European Council of the European Union to the European Court over lack of transparency in its trade policy. An application to the European Court of First Instance by WWF over the council’s refusal to release key information is set to be published in the EU Official Journal tomorrow, 11 September. The case challenges the workings of the Article 133 Committee — a secretive and highly influential external trade body of the European Council made of EU member state trade officials.
 
WWF is taking the European Council to court over its refusal to release key documents, including the minutes of a meeting. In its application to the Court of First Instance, WWF argues that documents held by the Article 133 Committee of have been wrongly withheld. Furthermore, WWF believes that it is indicative of the secrecy under which the committee operates that officials claim minutes of meetings are not kept. 
 
"WWF is taking this step to make trade policy a more open and accountable process," said Tom Crompton, WWF Trade Policy Advisor. ‘We recognise, of course, that the details of negotiations may sometimes have to be secret, but this must not become an excuse for stifling public debate. Afterall, these are decisions which fundamentally affect all European citizens’.
 
In February, WWF sent a letter to the European Council of the EU asking for documents related to the agenda item "WTO – Sustainability and Trade after Cancun" at a meeting of the Article 133 Committee held on 19 December 2003. The council refused to provide the requested documents on the grounds of "sensitivity of the information requested".
 
WWF argues that the right of access applies to documents held and produced by the Article 133 Committee, as it does for any other European Community institution.
 
"For years, there has been growing concern about the manner in which the EU has run its trade policy. Since Seattle in 1999, trade policy has become a number one concern among large sections of public opinion concerned about the effects of globalization. Old ways of doing trade negotiations behind closed doors just won’t work anymore," said Crompton.
 
Public opinion in favor of more transparency 
Earlier this year, the German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF) published its public opinion survey Reconciling Trade and Poverty Reduction, which shows a high percentage of citizens in favor of an increased openness and accountability in trade policy. The survey shows that only 13 per cent of those polled in Germany believed that the way trade agreements are negotiated is "fine, with government negotiators acting on behalf of their citizens". To the same question, only 15 per cent of those polled in the US and 16 per cent of those polled in the UK gave a positive answer.

To another question as to whether there is a need for "greater openness and accountability in reaching trade agreements", over 80 per cent of the people surveyed in Germany (86 per cent), the UK (82 per cent) and in the US (81 per cent) responded in favor.

For further information: 
Louis Bélanger
Press Officer, WWF European Policy Officer
Tel: +32 2 743 8800
E-mail: lbelanger@wwfepo.org
 
Tom Crompton
WWF Trade Policy Advisor
Tel: +44 7776 467553
 
Carol Hatton
WWF Solicitor
Tel: +44 77 39 666836