Vol. 434 No. 2
121 Mr. Hogan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs when he will put forward a series of suggestions for making European Community decisions more comprehensible to the general public; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
The Special European Council of 16 October, 1992 held in Birmingham issued a declaration on "A Community close to its citizens". The Birmingham Declaration expressed the determination of Heads of State and Government to respond to the concerns that had been raised in public debate in the member states in the course of the ratification of the Maastricht Treaty.
On foot of this declaration the Edinburgh European Council of 11-12 December, 1992 adopted a number of specific measures aimed at bridging the gap between the Community institutions and the citizen. These measures include open debates in the Council of Ministers on work programmes and on major initiatives of public interest, better background information on Council decisions and greater efforts when drafting Council conclusions to make them comprehensible to the public. Since the Edinburgh European Council, debates in the various Councils have been televised.
The Commission has also opened up its decision-making processes through the publication of its work programme and the greater use of Green Papers. Commissioner Pinheiro has been given overall responsibility for information policy in the Commission. The role of the Commission is very important as it has the task both of proposing and executing Community legislation.
At national level the Government are committed to making Community issues more comprehensible and to improving the level of public debate. The establishment of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs is a major step in this direction. In addition, following consideration of the experience gained during last year's Referendum on the Maastricht Treaty, a number of measures will be implemented to ensure greater understanding of the Community agenda. These include a more systematic briefing of the media on EC issues, a new format for the Government's six-monthly reports on EC developments and greater participation by Ministers and officials in conferences and sessions on EC affairs.
