Commission
Consultations: The general principles and minimum standards in
detail[16]
The general principles for consultation are
participation, openness, accountability, effectiveness and coherence.
In practice, this means ensuring that the Commission consults
widely and that its consultation processes are transparent, efficient
and consistent. The five minimum standards focus on different
aspects of the consultation process:
A. Clear content of the consultation process
"All communications relating to consultation
should be clear and concise, and should include all necessary
information to facilitate responses."
B. Consultation target groups
"When defining the target group(s) in a consultation
process, the Commission should ensure that relevant parties have
an opportunity to express their opinions."
C. Publication
"The Commission should ensure adequate awareness-raising
publicity and adapt its communication channels to meet the needs
of all target audiences. Without excluding other communication
tools, open public consultations should be published on the internet
and announced at the 'single access point'".[17]
D. Time limits for participation
"The Commission should provide sufficient time
for planning and responses to invitations and written contributions.
The Commission should strive to allow at least 8 weeks for reception
of responses to written public consultations and 20 working days
notice for meetings."
E. Acknowledgement and feedback
"Receipt of contributions should be acknowledged.
Results of open public consultation should be displayed on websites
linked to the single access point on the internet. […] Contributions
to open public consultations will be made public on the single
access point. Results of other forms of consultation should, as
far as possible, also be subject to public scrutiny on the single
access point on the Internet. The Commission will provide adequate
feedback to responding parties and to the public at large."[18]
16 For the full content of the principles and standards,
see COM(2002) 704, Chapter V. http://europa.eu.int/comm/secretariat_general/sgc/consultation/index_en.htm. Back
17
The 'Your Voice in Europe' portal (http://europa.eu.int/yourvoice/consultations/index_en.htm)
was subsequently set up as the Commission's single access point
for consultation. It consists of two parts: on its home page the
Commission departments have anv opportunity specially to promote
their consultations. Most consultations are posted only on the
pages for individual policy activities, maintained by the relevant
Commission departments, which are equally linked to the single
access point. Back
18
Feedback should be provided in explanatory memoranda accompanying
legislative proposals, in communications following a consultation
process and in impact assessment reports. For these documents
in 2003-05, see the impact assessment site: http://europa.eu.int/comm/secretariat_general/impact/practice_en.htm. Back
