And mobilization?
Enough to compel or even screw up the citizen who signs without flinching? And, further, prevent waves of protest movements: holding information and consultation meetings, sharing on networks via group discussions, petitions… Which would reduce the power of mobilization and opposition to any project.
Philippe Vautard (Les Engagés), mayor of Floreffe, presents this novelty which should henceforth accompany each public inquiry but is already troubling certain observers. “This is a completely normal process. In fact, we are asking for confidentiality to prevent, for example, citizens taking photos of images that are protected. You must still ask the author’s permission to distribute them in the press or on social networks.“
In June 2023, an example stood out to Philippe Vautard: the project for a dairy in a small street in Floriffoux against which quite a few local residents had mobilized. “Someone on social media had simply spread the project. The problem with the dairy is that it was the project of a young couple, and they obviously took things very badly. This is the reason why, now, we are making this confidentiality document sign, as we made municipal councilors sign it before, when we went to look for ultra-confidential files.“Public inquiry and public dissemination are not the same, judges the elected official.”But we will still ask our data protection officer if our document is valid, if it should not be done otherwise.“
Bad understanding?
As for the ASBL Union des Villes et Communes de Wallonie, we have never heard of a similar clause in other municipalities. “It’s quite originalexplains Nicolas Bonomi, spokesperson for the UVCW. A municipality must guarantee access to documents and cannot impose any agreement on the citizen.“
-When questioned, the office of François Desquesnes (Les Engagés), Walloon Minister of Local Authorities, took the time to carry out a legal analysis with his administration. The conclusions could not be clearer. “Neither the Territorial Development Code nor the Environment Code provide that consultation of the file of a public inquiry could be subject to a confidentiality commitment. This is a municipal initiative which is perhaps linked to a misunderstanding of the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) but it has no legal basis and it contravenes the provisions relating to publicity of the administration, especially those in the field of environmental information.”
Apart from the question of copyright relating to a photo or a plan, nothing keeps anyone from remaining tight-lipped. Even if it does not please administrations and promoters in the event of a controversial issue.
