62019TJ0252_INF
Judgment of the General Court (Second Chamber) of 21 April 2021 –Pech v Council
(Case T‑252/19)
(Access to documents – Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 – Second indent of Article 4(2) of Regulation No 1049/2001 – Protection of legal advice – First subparagraph of Article 4(3) of Regulation No 1049/2001 – Protection of the decision-making process – Refusal to grant full access to a legal opinion of the Council’s Legal Service)
1.
EU institutions – Right of public access to documents – Regulation No 1049/2001 – Exceptions to the right of access to documents – Strict interpretation and application – Requirement that the institution should examine the documents specifically and individually – Scope
(European Parliament and Council Regulation No 1049/2001, Art. 4)
(see paras 27-30)
2.
EU institutions – Right of public access to documents – Regulation No 1049/2001 – Exceptions to the right of access to documents – Protection of the decision-making process – Conditions – Concrete, actual and serious detriment to that process – Scope – Refusal to grant full access to a legal opinion of the Council’s Legal Service – No such detriment
(European Parliament and Council Regulation No 1049/2001, Art. 4(3), first subpara.)
(see paras 42-44, 48)
3.
EU institutions – Right of public access to documents – Regulation No 1049/2001 – Exceptions to the right of access to documents – Protection of legal advice – Obligation on the institution to examine the nature of the measure as legal advice and the actual possibility of the protection of legal advice being undermined, and to verify the absence of an overriding public interest in disclosure
(European Parliament and Council Regulation No 1049/2001, Art. 4(2), second indent)
(see paras 78, 79, 83)
4.
EU institutions – Right of public access to documents – Regulation No 1049/2001 – Exceptions to the right of access to documents – Protection of legal advice – Overriding public interest justifying the disclosure of documents – Concept – Requirement that the institution should weigh the opposing interests – Disclosure of legal opinions concerning legislative processes – Obligation on the institution to state in detail its reasons for any decision refusing access
(European Parliament and Council Regulation No 1049/2001, Art. 4(2), second indent)
(see paras 80, 81)
Re:
Application under Article 263 TFEU seeking annulment of the decision of the Council of 12 February 2019 refusing to grant full access to the opinion of its Legal Service contained in document ST 13593 2018 INIT concerning the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council of 2 May 2018 on the protection of the European Union’s budget in case of generalised deficiencies as regards the rule of law in the Member States (COM(2018) 324 final).
Operative part
The Court:
1.
Annuls the decision of the Council of the European Union of 12 February 2019 refusing full access to document ST 13593 2018 INIT, containing the opinion of the Legal Service of the Council concerning the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the protection of the Union’s budget in case of generalised deficiencies as regards the rule of law in the Member States (COM(2018) 324 final);
2.
Orders the Council to bear its own costs and to pay those incurred by Mr Laurent Pech;
3.
Orders the Kingdom of Sweden to bear its own costs.