Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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106. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the Government's position regarding the EU Ombudsman’s recommendations of 9 February 2018 to end maladministration of the documents of Council; and his views on the EU Ombudsman’s recommendations. [12791/18]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The EU Ombudsman’s report follows the inquiry she opened last year on the level of public scrutiny of Council legislative work. Her recommendations go to the heart of Council decision making procedures and will require careful consideration, by both the Council of the European Union, to whom the recommendations are addressed, as well as by national Governments. The Ombudsman has asked the Council to reply within 3 months, by the 9^thof May next.

While the Ombudsman’s recommendations are not binding, she has recommended that appropriate new arrangements should be put in place within the next 2 years that would enable a greater range of legislative documents in Council to be directly accessible to the public, including information on Member State positions in Council Working Groups and Coreper.

The Council Legal Service is currently evaluating the Ombudsman’s recommendations and will report to Member States in due course.

There is a careful balance required between transparency and the need to safeguard Member State negotiating positions in Council and later in co-decision with the European Parliament, to enable sufficient space for compromise proposals to emerge and secure support.

The issue of transparency in EU institutions is, of course, also being considered by the Joint Oireachtas Committee on EU Affairs, whom the Ombudsman met recently. I await the outcome of its deliberations with interest.