ARHIVSKI VJESNIK 42. (ZAGREB, 1999.)

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C. Gränström, Access to current records and archives, as a tool of democracy, transparency and openness of the government administration, Arh. vjesn., god. 42 (1999), str. 79—92 in accordance with the procedure referred to in article 251 within two years of the entry into force of the treaty of Amsterdam 3. Each institution referred to above shall elaborate in its Rules of Procedure specific provisions regarding access to its documents." It must be seen as a major step forward that it is so clearly stated that citizens have a right of access to documents. The European Ombudsman, Jacob Soderman, has played an important role in this area and has launched several important initiatives. He has used decisions of the Court of Justice, where it is said that Community institutions and bodies have a legal obligation to take appropriate measures to act in conformity with the interests of good administration. Good administration means that all Community institutions and bodies shall take into account the Union's commitment to transparency and openness. This requires not only that documents shall be made publicly available to the maximum extent but that a refusal of access should be justified by reference to rules laid down in advance. In absence of rules, it is difficult to be sure that different requests for access to documents are dealt with consistently, fairly and without discrimination. It can also be argued that an efficient administration has nothing to hide. It has not been shown that an adoption of rules concerning public access would be impractical or unduly burdensome. It is to be expected that principles and limits governing the right of access mentioned in article 255 in the Amsterdam treaty will be elaborated soon and adopted. Regarding access within the member states of the European Union, the Green Paper on Public sector information, newly published, has stated that concerning access to public sector information, that is official documents, the situation is not so clear and differs from country to country. This situation is mainly due to different national legislation on the ways information/documents can be accessed and exploited and to the various practices which hamper the availability of data. The Green Paper means that the European industry and companies are at a serious competitive disadvantage compared to the American counterparts regarding the ready availability of public information. The US Government has since the introduction of the Freedom of Information Act in 1966 pursued a very active policy of both access to and commercial exploitation of public sector information, which has greatly stimulated the development of the US information industry. In this Green paper there is an interesting annex on Current situation in Member States regarding legislation and policy on access to public sector information. It is too early to make prognosis about what will happen in this area but it is possible that - when information flows in enormous masses quickly between the countries - this is the beginning of a harmonisation of access rules in Europe. One reflection can be made. The Green Paper and the discus87