The ongoing revision of the Public Access Regulation
The proposed amendments of the Public Access Regulation are to be decided by the European Parliament and the Council.
The European Parliament has yet to vote on a legislative resolution, which means that the matter is still being prepared by the responsible committee (the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs - LIBE). However in March 2009, the Plenary voted on a large number of amendments on the Commission's proposal. The adopted amendments and the voting results are available on the European Parliaments' website.
The Council is also analyzing the Commission's proposal. The formal decision on the revised regulation will at a later stage be taken by the Council for General Affairs and External Relations. Before that the proposed amendments are negotiated in a working party (Working Party on Information) where all the Member States are represented. In these negotiations, Sweden is represented by lawyers from the Division for Constitutional Law at the Ministry of Justice.
What is happening now?
The Member who is responsible for drafting a report on the proposal, the so-called rapporteur, has presented a large number of amendments in relation to both of the Commission's proposals. The responsible committee, LIBE, continues to deal with the matter and is planning to vote on amendments proposed by the rapporteur and other Members of Parliament in November or December 2011. The intention is that the Plenary shall adopt a legislative resolution in December 2011 or in January 2012.
In the Council Working Party on Information, the Member States have exchanged general views on the Commission's two proposal and, in 2009, on some of the European Parliaments proposed amendments. After this the Council has awaited the decision of the European Parliament.
No time limit has been set for the conclusion of the revision.
