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From Access to Documents to Consumption of Information: The European Commission Transparency Policy for the TTIP Negotiations

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  • Evelyn Coremans

    (Leuven International and European Studies, KU Leuven, Belgium)

Abstract

To increase transparency of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) negotiations, the European Commission has reformed existing information sharing systems for trade policy. The Commission has moved from a strategy of providing transparency in the form of access to documents to one of access to information, geared specifically towards enhancing consumption of the available information. In both public and institutional transparency policy, the width of the target audience and the depth of the information have increased, and the manner of provision has shifted from reactive to proactive provision of information. As a result, the TTIP is now being coined as the most transparent trade negotiation ever in the EU’s history and a pilot project for transparency policy in future trade negotiations. The article adopts a supply-centred perspective to explain a transparency policy that goes beyond the legal minimum imposed by formal requirements. It relies on interview data of the changes brought about in inter-institutional relations since 2014, basic quantitative and qualitative analysis of document material, and a five-month participatory observation by the author in the secretariat of the European Parliament’s Committee on International Trade.

Suggested Citation

  • Evelyn Coremans, 2017. "From Access to Documents to Consumption of Information: The European Commission Transparency Policy for the TTIP Negotiations," Politics and Governance, Cogitatio Press, vol. 5(3), pages 29-39.
    • Handle: RePEc:cog:poango:v5:y:2017:i:3:p:29-39
    DOI: 10.17645/pag.v5i3.1022
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Ripoll Servent, Ariadna and Amy Busby, 2013. "Introduction: Agency and influence inside the EU institutions," European Integration online Papers (EIoP), European Community Studies Association Austria (ECSA-A), vol. 17, July.
    2. Niels Gheyle & Ferdi De Ville, 2017. "How Much Is Enough? Explaining the Continuous Transparency Conflict in TTIP," Politics and Governance, Cogitatio Press, vol. 5(3), pages 16-28.
    3. Guri Rosén & Anne Elizabeth Stie, 2017. "Not Worth the Net Worth? The Democratic Dilemmas of Privileged Access to Information," Politics and Governance, Cogitatio Press, vol. 5(3), pages 51-61.
    4. Niels Gheyle & Ferdi De Ville, 2017. "How Much Is Enough? Explaining the Continuous Transparency Conflict in TTIP," Politics and Governance, Cogitatio Press, vol. 5(3), pages 16-28.
    5. Vigjilenca Abazi & Johan Adriaensen, 2017. "Allies in Transparency? Parliamentary, Judicial and Administrative Interplays in the EU’s International Negotiations," Politics and Governance, Cogitatio Press, vol. 5(3), pages 75-86.
    6. Albert Meijer, 2015. "Government Transparency in Historical Perspective: From the Ancient Regime to Open Data in The Netherlands," International Journal of Public Administration, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 38(3), pages 189-199, February.
    7. Guri Rosén & Anne Elizabeth Stie, 2017. "Not Worth the Net Worth? The Democratic Dilemmas of Privileged Access to Information," Politics and Governance, Cogitatio Press, vol. 5(3), pages 51-61.
    8. Vigjilenca Abazi & Johan Adriaensen, 2017. "Allies in Transparency? Parliamentary, Judicial and Administrative Interplays in the EU’s International Negotiations," Politics and Governance, Cogitatio Press, vol. 5(3), pages 75-86.
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    Cited by:

    1. Guri Rosén & Anne Elizabeth Stie, 2017. "Not Worth the Net Worth? The Democratic Dilemmas of Privileged Access to Information," Politics and Governance, Cogitatio Press, vol. 5(3), pages 51-61.
    2. Niels Gheyle & Ferdi De Ville, 2017. "How Much Is Enough? Explaining the Continuous Transparency Conflict in TTIP," Politics and Governance, Cogitatio Press, vol. 5(3), pages 16-28.
    3. William Dinan, 2021. "Lobbying Transparency: The Limits of EU Monitory Democracy," Politics and Governance, Cogitatio Press, vol. 9(1), pages 237-247.
    4. Maarten Hillebrandt, 2017. "Transparency as a Platform for Institutional Politics: The Case of the Council of the European Union," Politics and Governance, Cogitatio Press, vol. 5(3), pages 62-74.
    5. Axel Marx & Guillaume Van der Loo, 2021. "Transparency in EU Trade Policy: A Comprehensive Assessment of Current Achievements," Politics and Governance, Cogitatio Press, vol. 9(1), pages 261-271.
    6. Vigjilenca Abazi & Johan Adriaensen, 2017. "EU Institutional Politics of Secrecy and Transparency in Foreign Affairs," Politics and Governance, Cogitatio Press, vol. 5(3), pages 1-5.
    7. Vigjilenca Abazi & Johan Adriaensen, 2017. "Allies in Transparency? Parliamentary, Judicial and Administrative Interplays in the EU’s International Negotiations," Politics and Governance, Cogitatio Press, vol. 5(3), pages 75-86.

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