Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

To be fair to all concerned there are unprecedented efforts taking place to make the EU-US trade agreement as transparent as possible. All EU text proposals on the EU-US trade negotiations are now published on the European Commission website, generally within a week or two after each negotiating round. The website also includes a wide range of position papers, fact sheets and documents explaining positions. In addition, there is consultation with stakeholders after those rounds. All departmental documentation is available on request, subject to any legal restrictions, and my Department has published relevant documents, such as the recently commissioned study on the economic impact of an agreement on Ireland. I have briefed the committees of the Oireachtas and my officials are available to respond to any requests, subject to any legal restrictions.

The European Commission is obliged under the treaty to keep the European Parliament informed about trade negotiations. The arrangements in place between the European Commission and the European Parliament as regards access to documents, which are governed by the framework agreement between the European Parliament and the European Commission, are a matter for the two institutions concerned. There are not, to my knowledge, any similar framework agreements with national parliaments. However, the rules governing access to EU documents contained in Regulation (EC) No. 1049/2001 have as their purpose the widest possible access to documents. The procedures for applying for access to documents from the relevant EU institutions are set out in the regulation.

By their nature, negotiations are evolving and not all documents considered in such context are for publication. Notwithstanding those constraints, the European Commission is determined to make the process as transparent as possible.

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