The Treaty of Amsterdam introduced a new Article 255, which provides for a right of access for citizens to documents of the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission. These three institutions have adopted Regulation (EC) 1049/2001 regarding public access to European Parliament, Council and Commission documents, and subsequently, in a joint declaration, have asked the other European agencies and bodies to adopt similar rules on the matter.

Within our committee, this request has led to a new policy on access to documents, giving maximum transparency to our work. This transparency will undoubtedly allow greater public participation in the Community decision-making process and will help to strengthen the principles of democracy and fundamental rights as defined by Article 6 of the EU Treaty and in the EU's Charter of Fundamental Rights.

One of the ways in which this new policy of transparency is being put into practice is the creation of an Electronic Document Register (EDR), accessible through our website, which facilitates public access to all documents relating to consultative and decision-making procedures at the various stages of their production.

This site aims to show citizens the most direct means of accessing these documents and to inform them about other institutional information sources.