On Wednesday, Member of the European Parliament Dr Milan Zver filed an official complaint with the European Ombudsman against the European Commission. After nine months of what has been called evasions, delays and fabrications, the European Commission has still not provided access to documents relating to the visit of the Vice-President of the European Commission, Věra Jourová, to Slovenia in March 2023. Commissioner Jourová was in Slovenia at the time to meet with the President of the Constitutional Court, Dr Matej Accetto. According to Dr Zver, there are serious fears that the Commissioner will try to delay the publication of the documents until the end of her mandate.
“Between the 1st and the 3rd of March 2023, Vice-President Věra Jourová, who is responsible for values and transparency at the European Commission, met with the President of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Slovenia, Dr Matej Accetto. This meeting was controversial as it took place only ten days after the Constitutional Court suspended the decision on the new law on the public service broadcaster Radio-Television Slovenia (RTVS). Jourova had previously publicly supported the amendment of the Radio-Television Slovenia Act, and many people in Slovenia believe that her visit was an attempt to unduly influence the court’s decision on the constitutionality of the law,” writes MEP Zver.
Zver then goes on to say that due to the intense public outcry and interest in the visit, he has submitted a request to the European Commission for access to the notes of the meeting between Commissioner Jourová and the President of the Constitutional Court, Dr Accetto, the internal communications between the European Commission cabinets on the subject of Vice-President Jourová’s visit to Slovenia, and all communications within Commissioner Jourová’s cabinet on the subject of her visit.
The Commission then responded to the request after the deadline for the response had already passed, and it sent its own request for an extension of the deadline for the reply due to the allegedly excessive documentation. It then sent a heavily redacted report on the mission that failed to provide any of the information requested.
“The report was heavily censored and did not contain the key information I requested. Nevertheless, the last paragraph of the report subtly hints that one of the key topics of the discussion was the amendment of the Radio-Television Slovenia Act, which raises strong doubts about Jourová’s previous claims regarding this meeting,” writes Zver.
Zver then submitted a new request to the Secretary-General of the European Commission for the publication of the unedited and unredacted report and all the other documents he had already requested, including the notes of the meeting between Jourová and Accetto, and a reminder on the situation in Slovenia, which had been prepared by the Commissioner’s office for the purpose of Věra Jourová’s visit.
The Secretariat-General also replied first asking for an extension of the deadline, as the consultations with the Commissioner’s Cabinet had not yet been completed. This was followed by a reply which Zver considers to be a kind of apology. The Secretary-General replied: “But we can assure you that we are doing our utmost to complete these procedures in order to provide you with a final answer as soon as possible.”
Since that day, which was the 28th of June 2023, MEP Zver has received no document from the European Commission, nor any explanation as to why this unacceptable delay has happened.
Jourová is intentionally stalling
“Meanwhile, Commissioner Jourová’s mandate is coming to an end. This fact raises concerns that the Commission is deliberately stalling to prevent Jourová from being held accountable for her actions. It is also controversial that the Commission has not even identified all the documents related to my request for documentation. In its reply to my initial request, the Commission stated that there was a ‘large dossier’ relating to the mission. However, the Commission did not provide me with any further information on the scope of this documentation – which is common practice for requests for the release of internal documents under Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council,” Zver states. The MEP believes that the Commission is violating his right of access to information by not giving him access to the requested documents. “I also believe that the Commission’s delaying tactics are a form of administrative abuse,” he writes.
In light of the above, he would like the European Ombudsman to:
1. Establish whether the European Commission has violated his right of access to information by failing to provide him with the requested documents;
2. order the European Commission to release the full report on the mission to Slovenia, including any other internal documents requested by him and including the reminder prepared by the Commissioner’s office for the visit to Slovenia;
3. declare that the European Commission has abused its powers by stalling its reply to his request;
4. recommend that the European Commission take steps to improve its transparency and accountability in its dealings with the public.
Zver has requested immediate action
Zver concludes by adding that, in view of the potential impact on public opinion on the independence of judicial proceedings and transparency in the European Union institutions, he asks for urgent intervention and that, in accordance with the European Ombudsman’s mandate, everything in their power should be done to speed up the European Commission’s response.
“An immediate and transparent resolution of this matter is essential to uphold the principles of transparency, accountability and public trust in the European Union,” concludes the MEP.
Ž. K.
