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Just weeks before British Prime Minister Theresa May is expected to trigger Article 50 and begin formal divorce negotiations with the European Union, the ombudsman wrote in a letter to European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker that she has already received complaints “arising from requests for public access to documents connected to the U.K. referendum.”
“I absolutely accept for certain negotiations there has to be a space for negotiation, deliberation … but there are millions of citizens potentially affected [by Brexit],” O’Reilly told POLITICO. “It is very important that people see where things are going.”
Ombudsman staff have already met with both the Commission’s Brexit task force and its counterpart in the Council of Ministers, headed by Belgian diplomat Didier Seeuws.
O’Reilly’s letter proposes the Commission set out which documents it intends to make public and how it is planning to gather input from those affected by Brexit.
“Our pitch if you like to the Commission and to the Council is it is in your interest to be proactive,” O’Reilly said. She added that being transparent would enable negotiators “to control the conversation” as talks progress. [...]
While no decision has been taken, POLITICO’s sources indicate the EU side of the negotiations will release some information, but reserve the right to guard certain sensitive material. [...]
O’Reilly in her letter also announced she will work with national watchdogs — including those based in the U.K. — on Brexit-related questions on free movement and will request the Commission lend its legal expertise on those issues.