Explanatory Memorandum to COM(2002)462 - Amendment of Regulation (EEC, Euratom) No 354/83 concerning the opening to the public of the historical archives of the EEC and Euratom - Main contents
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This page contains a limited version of this dossier in the EU Monitor.
| dossier | COM(2002)462 - Amendment of Regulation (EEC, Euratom) No 354/83 concerning the opening to the public of the historical archives of the EEC ... |
|---|---|
| source | COM(2002)462  |
| date | 19-08-2002 |
On 30 May 2001 the European Parliament and the Council adopted Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 laying down the general framework for public access to European Parliament, Council and Commission documents.
Article 18 of the Regulation states that the Commission will examine the conformity of Regulation No 354/83 concerning the opening to the public of the historical archives of the EEC and the EAEC with the principles and limits laid down by the new Regulation on public access to documents.
Article 4 i of the Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 states that exceptions to the right of access referred to in paragraphs 1 to 3 of that Article apply only for a maximum of thirty years. However, exceptions relating to protection of privacy (Article 4(1)(b)) or of commercial interests (first indent of Article 4(2)) and the specific provisions relating to sensitive documents (Article 9) may, if necessary, be applied after that period.
2. Institutions covered (Article 1)
Now that the Court of Auditors is an institution, pursuant to Article 7 of the EC Treaty, i it is no longer necessary for Article 1 to specify that it be treated in the same way as an institution. For the purposes of the new Regulation, the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions will be treated in the same way as the institutions referred to in Article 7 i of the Treaty.
3. Exceptions applicable after thirty years
- Protection of privacy: Regulation (EEC, Euratom) No 354/83 does not apply to the files of staff of the European Communities or to documents containing information on the private or professional life of an individual; there is no right of access to these documents. Excluding a category of documents in this way is not compatible with the general principle of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001, which grants access to all documents unless disclosure of its contents is liable to harm one of the interests specifically protected by the Regulation.
Protection of privacy constitutes an exception to right of access and it can last beyond the thirty-year deadline laid down by Regulation (EC) No 45/2001. i
- Protection of commercial interests: before deciding, on expiry of the thirty-year period, to give the public access to documents and records which could affect commercial interests if disclosed, the institution will inform the firms or other interested parties, in accordance with rules to be defined by each institution, of its intention to make the documents accessible to the public.
- Protection of sensitive documents: Regulation No 1049/2001 defines sensitive documents as documents classified as 'confidential' or higher in order to protect the public interest, notably public security, defence and military matters, international relations and financial, monetary and economic policy of the Community or a Member State.
At the end of the thirty-year period, the Institution decides whether sensitive documents should be declassified. Documents not declassified are not given public access and will be re-examined periodically under Article 5 i of Regulation (EEC, Euratom) No 354/83.
4. Abolition of category exemptions (Article 3)
Article 3(1)(b), (c) and i of Regulation (EEC, Euratom) No 354/83 excludes certain categories of documents from the right to public access: contracts concluded by the Euratom Supply Agency, documents and records of cases submitted for judgment to the Court of Justice of the European Communities and documents classified as 'confidential' or higher.
In Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001, these documents are covered by the right of access and their disclosure may be refused only on the basis of the exceptions in Article 4 and the special provisions of Article 9. It is therefore necessary to abolish the category exceptions in Regulation (EEC, Euratom) No 354/83 and, if necessary, protect documents on the basis of one of the exceptions to right of access, the application of which may be extended under Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001.
It is, however, necessary to maintain the exception to public access provided for in Article 3(1)(a) of Regulation (EEC, Euratom) No 354/83, which concerns documents classified in accordance with Regulation No 3 of 1958 implementing Article 24 of the Euratom Treaty. The Court of Justice has ruled (Judgment of 15 December 1987 in Deutsche Babcock, Case 328/85, [1987] ECR 5119) that the provisions of the EC Treaty and those adopted under the Treaty are applicable to matters covered by the Euratom Treaty only by default. The classifications in question are therefore not covered by the access rules of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 and Regulation (EEC, Euratom) No 354/83. On the other hand, as there are no Euratom provisions requiring that supply contracts be excluded, Article 3(1)(b) cannot be retained. However, the protection of supply contracts is ensured through the exception relating to commercial interests.