"Thousands of documents are produced and handled by the EU institutions daily — yet only a portion of those end up in the public register of documents, due to a culture of secrecy rooted in the EU’s tradition of behind-closed-doors decision-making.
Transparency veterans such as Emilio de Capitani, an Italian former senior official in the European Parliament known for his work on transparency and civil liberties, are trying to tear down this model.
Access to documents is guaranteed in Article 42 of the EU’s Charter of Fundamental Rights and Article 15 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). Regulation 1049/2001 was meant to operationalise and implement these constitutional provisions and increase the openness of the European policy-making machinery — but over time, this piece of legislation has been eroded by delays, loopholes and broad exemptions.
Legal battles in European courts and complaints to the European Ombudsman by rights groups, MEPs, academics, journalists, and ordinary citizens, have sought to ensure compliance with EU law.
And a familiar face in those EU courts is De Capitani, who tried to become the European Ombudsman last year. De Capitani has regularly challenged EU institutions that refused to provide or hindered access to documents."
https://euobserver.com/The%20EU's%20Unsung%20Heroes/arf16b144c
