FOREWORD—What this
Report is about
Meetings of small groups of Member States to discuss
matters of common interest can be valuable in promoting dialogue
and facilitating decision-making. The largest Member States have
as much right to hold such meetings as the smallest. But this
should be limited to agreeing at such meetings matters which should
then be properly debated and decided by all the Member States
in the full Council of Ministers. The European Parliament and
national Parliaments also have a right to be involved in the development
of EU law and policy.
In July 2006 we reported on the meeting of the interior
ministers of the six largest Member States—the G6—at
Heiligendamm in Germany. We were very critical of the secrecy
that surrounded this meeting, and the details of what was discussed.
In this report we consider the meeting held in October 2006 at
Stratford-upon-Avon under United Kingdom chairmanship.
We look in particular at the transparency of these
meetings, and at the accountability of United Kingdom ministers
to Parliament and the public. We note an improvement, but consider
that there is still a lot to do.
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