2003/603/EC: Decision of the European Economic and Social Committee of 1 July 2003 on public access to European Economic and Social Committee documents
Date: 2003-07-01
Institutions: European Economic and Social Committee
Subjects: European Economic and Social Committee, access to EU information

14.8.2003

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Official Journal of the European Union

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(Acts whose publication is not obligatory)

ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE

DECISION OF THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE

of 1 July 2003

on public access to European Economic and Social Committee documents

(2003/603/EC)

THE SECRETARY-GENERAL,

Having regard to Article 255(2) and (3) of the Treaty estab-
lishing the European Community (TEC),

Having regard to Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 of
the
European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2001
regarding public access to European Parliament, Council and
Commission documents (1),

regard to the European Economic

Having
Committee (EESC) Rules of Procedure,
(1 and 2) thereof,

and Social
in particular Rule 64

Whereas in the Joint Declaration on European Parliament and
Council Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 of 30 May 2001 (2) the
European Parliament, the Council and the Commission request
the other institutions to adopt internal rules regarding public
access to documents, taking into account the principles and
limits set out in this Regulation;

Having regard to the content of the EESC Bureau Decision of
27 May 1997 on public access to EESC documents (3),

Having regard to the measures adopted by the European Parlia-
ment, the Council, the Commission and the Committee of the
Regions on public access to official documents,

HEREBY DECIDES:

TITLE I

PUBLIC REGISTER OF EESC DOCUMENTS

Article 1

Scope

Any citizens of the Union and any natural or legal person
residing or having its registered office in a Member State shall
have a right of access to European Economic and Social
Committee documents, subject to the principles, conditions and
limits set out
in Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 and the
specific provisions laid down in this Decision.

2.
The register thus created shall contain opinions adopted
by the EESC and draft opinions adopted by the sections, as well
as the documents listed in the Annex. It may also contain other
decisions or documents produced by the Committee or refer-
ences to documents drawn up or received by the institution as
from 3 December 2001, the date from which Regulation (EC)
No 1049/2001 is applicable.

Article 2

Establishment

A public register of European Economic and Social
1.
Committee documents shall be established in accordance with
Article 11 of European Parliament and Council Regulation (EC)
No 1049/2001 of 30 May 2001.

3.
The full texts of documents shall be published on the
Committee's Internet site, subject to Regulation (EC) No 45/
2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18
December 2000 on the protection of individuals with regard to
the processing of personal data by Community institutions and
bodies and on the free movement of such data, and Article 16
of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001.

(1) OJ L 145, 31.5.2001, p. 43.

(2) OJ L 173, 27.6.2001, p. 5.
(3) OJ L 339, 10.12.1997, p. 18.

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Article 3

Registration of documents

In this connection,

its
2.
opinions accessible through the register, to enable citizens to
have direct access to the full text of documents.

the Committee will make all

1.
The documents listed in Article 2(2) shall be entered in
the register as soon as possible. The General Affairs Directorate
shall adopt the necessary internal
implementing measures to
ensure that this is done.

3.
The Committee will make this register electronically
accessible on its Internet site and will provide on-line assistance
to citizens concerning arrangements for submitting applications
for access to documents.

2.
Documents drawn up under the consultative procedure
or for the purpose of other Committee business shall be
entered in the register as soon as they have been submitted or
made public, under the responsibility of the body or directorate
responsible for the document.

Any document received by the Committee from a third
3.
party within the meaning of Article 3 of Regulation (EC) No
1049/2001 may be entered in the register unless it is a sensi-
tive document within the meaning of Article 9 of the above
Regulation,
limits
for which compliance with the
prescribed in that Article is required.

time

Article 4

Documents directly accessible

1.
All documents drawn up by the Committee under the
consultative procedure must be accessible to citizens in elec-
tronic form, as far as possible, subject to the limits laid down
in Articles 4 and 9 of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001.

Other documents, in particular more political or strategic

4.
documents, shall be made directly accessible as far as possible.

Article 5

Documents accessible on request

Documents drawn up by the EESC outside the consulta-
1.
tive procedure, as well as other documents of interest received
by the Committee shall, as far as possible, be directly accessible
to citizens through the register, subject to the limits laid down
in Articles 4 and 9 of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001.

2. Where entry of a document in the register does not
permit direct access to the full text, either because the docu-
ment is not available in electronic form or because the excep-
tions provided for in Articles 4 and 9 of Regulation (EC) No
1049/2001 are applicable, the applicant may request access to
the document in writing, or using the electronic form available
on the website. The Committee may either grant access to the
document or give the reasons for its total or partial refusal in
writing.

TITLE II

INITIAL APPLICATION

Article 6

Article 7

Submission of the initial application

Processing of the initial application

1.
Applications for access to a document shall be sent in
writing (by post, fax or electronic mail) to the Secretary-General
of the Committee or to the open address given on the Commit-
tee's website, in one of the languages listed in Article 314 of
the EC Treaty.

1.
An application for access to a document held by the
Committee shall be processed on the same day as it is regis-
tered by the official mail/records service, which must acknowl-
edge receipt of the application, draft a reply and deliver the
document within the prescribed time limit.

Applications

shall be made in a sufficiently precise
2.
manner and in particular contain information enabling the
document or documents requested to be identified and the
name and address of the applicant.

2. When the application relates to a document drawn up by
the Committee to which one of the exceptions laid down in
Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 is applicable, the
mail/records service shall contact the service or body that is the
originator of the document, which shall suggest the course of
action to be taken within five working days.

3.
If an application is not sufficiently precise, the Committee
shall ask the applicant to clarify it and shall assist him or her in
doing so; in this case, the deadline for reply shall apply from
the date by which the Committee receives this information.

The applicant is not obliged to state the reasons for the

4.
application.

3. When the doubt as to disclosure concerns documents
from third parties, the Committee shall consult the latter giving
them five working days in which to make their position known
with a view to assessing whether one of the exceptions laid
down in Article 4 and 9 of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 is
applicable. If no reply is received within five working days, the
Committee shall carry on with the procedure.

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Article 8

Deadline for reply

Failure by the Committee to reply within the prescribed
5.
time limit shall entitle the applicant to make a confirmatory
application.

1. Within a time limit of 15 working days from the registra-
tion of the application, the mail/records service shall grant
access to the requested document and shall supply it within the
same time limit.

2. Where the Committee is unable to grant access to the
requested document, it shall notify the applicant in writing of
the grounds for its total or partial refusal and inform the appli-
cant of his or her right to make a confirmatory application.

In this case the applicant will have 15 working days from

3.
receiving the reply to make a confirmatory application.

4.
In exceptional cases, where an application relates to a
very long document or a large number of documents, the time
limit provided for in paragraph 1 of
this Article may be
extended by 15 working days, provided the applicant is notified
in advance and that detailed reasons are given.

Article 9

Competent authorities

Initial applications shall be handled by the mail/records

1.
service.

Favourable replies to initial applications shall be sent to
2.
the applicant by the director of the abovementioned service,
who may delegate this responsibility.

3.
Refusal of an initial application, with a statement of the
reasons, shall be decided by the abovementioned director on a
proposal from the mail/records service or from the body that is
the originator of the document.

4.
The director may, at any time, refer an application to the
Legal Service and/or the officer responsible for data protection.

TITLE III

CONFIRMATORY APPLICATIONS AND REMEDIES

Article 10

Article 12

Submission of confirmatory applications

Competent authority

1.
Confirmatory applications shall be sent to the Committee
in writing within 15 working days, either from receipt of the
total or partial refusal of access to the document requested, or
in the absence of any reply to the initial application.

The reply to any confirmatory application shall be a
1.
matter for the Secretary-General of the Committee, who may
delegate this responsibility.

Confirmatory applications must be made in accordance
initial
requirements

formal

same

the

for

as

2.
with the
application.

Article 11

Processing and deadline for reply

Confirmatory

in
1.
accordance with the provisions laid down in Article 7 of this
Decision.

applications

processed

shall

be

2.
The Secretary-General may refer the matter to the Legal
Service and/or the officer responsible for data protection, who
shall give an opinion within three working days.

Article 13

Remedies to the confirmatory application

2. Within 15 working days of registration of the confirma-
tory application, the Committee shall either grant access to the
document or notify the applicant in writing of the reasons for
its total or partial refusal.

1. Where the EESC totally or partially refuses to grant access
to a document, it shall inform the applicant of the remedies
instituting court proceedings
open to him or her, namely:
against
to the
the institution and/or making a complaint
Ombudsman under the conditions laid down in Articles 230
and 195 of the EC Treaty.

3.
In exceptional cases, where an application relates to a
very long document or a large number of documents, the time
limit provided for in the previous paragraph may be extended
is notified in
by 15 working days, provided the applicant
advance and that detailed reasons are given.

2.
Failure to reply within the prescribed time limit is to be
regarded as a negative response and will entitle the applicant to
bring an action or complaint under the conditions set out in
the previous paragraph.

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TITLE IV

ISSUE OF DOCUMENTS AND COST OF THE REPLY

Article 14

Issue

Documents are to be supplied in the form of a copy, or
regard to the applicant's

1.
in electronic format, with full
preference.

If

a document has

2.
already been released by the
Committee or by another institution and is easily accessible,
the Committee may facilitate access to the document by
requested
informing
document.

applicant how to obtain the

the

Article 15

Cost of the reply

1.
The cost of producing and sending copies may be
charged to the applicant. This charge may not exceed the real
cost of the operation.

Consultation on the spot, copies of less than 20 A4 pages
2.
and direct access in electronic form or through the register
shall be free of charge.

Article 16

Additional translation costs

Documents shall be provided in the available languages. The
applicant may however ask for the document to be translated
the
into another official
existing freelance rates applied by the Committee to external
translations shall apply.

In this case,

language of

the EU.

The amount of this fee may be revised by a decision of

2.
the authority as laid down in Article 9(2).

3.
Expenses relating to other means of transmission shall be
decided by the competent authority as laid down in Article
9(2), but may not exceed the real cost of the operation.

In the event of

4.
successive applications
repeated or
concerning very long documents or a large number of docu-
ments, the Committee may confer with the applicant informally
with a view to finding a solution.

Published documents are not covered by this Decision

5.
and shall continue to be subject to their own pricing system.

Article 18

Final provision

This Decision repeals the EESC Bureau Decision of 27 May
1997 on public access to Committee documents.

Article 19

Entry into force

This Decision shall enter into force on the date of its publica-
tion in the Official Journal of the European Union. The Decision
on establishing the register of documents shall take effect from
1 August 2003.

The Decision shall be enforced by the Director for General
Affairs.

Article 17

Applications for very large documents

Done at Brussels, 1 July 2003.

The issuing of documents exceeding 20 A4 pages shall be

1.
subject to a fee of EUR 10, plus EUR 0,03 per page.

Secretary-General

Patrick VENTURINI

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List of EESC documents to be made accessible to the public through the register

ANNEX

Committee opinions

Section opinions

Brochures

Bulletins

Press releases

Record of proceedings of opinions adopted at plenary session

Information memos on own-initiative opinions

Information memos on new referrals

Information memos on information reports

Information memos for plenary sessions

Minutes of section meetings and plenary sessions

Activity reports

Information reports

Resolutions