Judgment of the General Court (Fourth Chamber) of 25 March 2015 — Sea Handling v Commission

(Case T‑456/13)

‛Access to documents — Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 — Documents relating to a procedure for reviewing State aid — Refusal to grant access — Exception relating to the protection of the purpose of inspections, investigations and audits — Exception relating to the protection of the commercial interests of a third party — Obligation to carry out a concrete and individual examination — Overriding public interest — Partial access’

1. Actions for annulment — Actionable measures — Concept — Measures producing binding legal effects — Preparatory measures — Not included — Position originally adopted in the procedure for access for the public to Commission documents — Preparatory act (Art. 263, fourth para., TFEU; European Parliament and Council Regulation No 1049/2001) (see para. 28)

2. EU institutions — Right of public access to documents — Regulation No 1049/2001 — Period prescribed for responding to an application for access to documents — Extension — Conditions (European Parliament and Council Regulation No 1049/2001, Art. 8) (see paras 33-37, 43)

3. EU institutions — Right of public access to documents — Regulation No 1049/2001 — Exceptions to the right of access to documents — Mandatory exceptions — Account taken of a special interest of the applicant — Exclusion (European Parliament and Council Regulation No 1049/2001, Arts 2(1), and 4(2) and (3)) (see paras 41, 42)

4. EU institutions — Right of public access to documents — Regulation No 1049/2001 — Period prescribed for responding to an application for access to documents — Exceeded — Consequences (Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, Article 41; European Parliament and Council Regulation No 1049/2001, Arts 7 and 8) (see para. 43)

5. EU institutions — Right of public access to documents — Regulation No 1049/2001 — Exceptions to the right of access to documents — Weighing-up of all the interests — Right to effective judicial protection — Pursuit of an annulment action in the context of a State aid procedure — Exclusion (Art. 107 TFEU; European Parliament and Council Regulation No 1049/2001, Art. 4(2)) (see para. 44)

6. EU institutions — Right of public access to documents — Regulation No 1049/2001 — Exceptions to the right of access to documents — Protection of the objectives of inspection, investigation and audit activities — Scope — Application to administrative files relating to procedures for reviewing State aid — General presumption that the exception applies to the right of access to all the documents on the administrative file — Limits — Rebuttal of that presumption — Limits (Art. 108(2) TFEU; European Parliament and Council Regulation No 1049/2001, Art. 4(2), third indent; Council Regulation No 659/1999, Arts 6(2), and 20) (see paras 55-63)

7. EU institutions — Right of public access to documents — Regulation No 1049/2001 — Exceptions to the right of access to documents — Protection of the objectives of inspection, investigation and audit activities — Scope — Application to administrative files relating to procedures for reviewing State aid — General presumption that the exception applies to the right of access to all the documents on the administrative file — Application for access formulated during the court proceedings concerning the decision on the substance — Admissibility of the refusal (European Parliament and Council Regulation No 1049/2001, Art. 4(2), third indent) (see paras 70, 71)

8. EU institutions — Right of public access to documents — Regulation No 1049/2001 — Exceptions to the right of access to documents — Obligation to grant partial access to data not covered by the exceptions (European Parliament and Council Regulation No 1049/2001, Art. 4(1) to (3) and (6)) (see paras 89-91)

9. EU institutions — Right of public access to documents — Regulation No 1049/2001 — Exceptions to the right of access to documents — Protection of the objectives of inspection, investigation and audit activities — Overriding public interest justifying the disclosure of documents — Concept — Obligation on the institution or body to balance the interests at stake — Distinction from the principle of transparency (European Parliament and Council Regulation No 1049/2001, Art. 4(2) and (3)) (see paras 95, 98, 100, 101, 104-106)

Re:

APPLICATION for annulment of the Commission decision of 12 June 2013 refusing to grant Sea Handling access to documents relating to a procedure for reviewing State aid.

Operative part

The Court:

1. Dismisses the action;