2004/258/EC: Decision of the European Central Bank of 4 March 2004 on public access to European Central Bank documents (ECB/2004/3)
Date: 2004-03-04
Institutions: European Central Bank
Subjects: European Central Bank, access to EU information

L 80/42

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

18.3.2004

DECISION OF THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK

of 4 March 2004

on public access to European Central Bank documents

(ECB/2004/3)

(2004/258/EC)

THE GOVERNING COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK,

(4)

Having regard to the Statute of the European System of Central
Banks and of the European Central Bank, and in particular to
Article 12.3 thereof,

Having regard to the Rules of Procedure of
Central Bank (1), and in particular to Article 23 thereof,

the European

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

The second subparagraph of Article 1 of the Treaty on
European Union enshrines the concept of openness,
stating that the Treaty marks a new stage in the process
of creating an ever closer union among the peoples of
Europe,
in which decisions are taken as openly as
possible and as closely as possible to the citizen. Open-
ness enhances the administration's legitimacy, effective-
ness and accountability, thus strengthening the princi-
ples of democracy.

the European Parliament and of

In the Joint Declaration (2) relating to Regulation (EC) No
1049/2001 of
the
Council of 30 May 2001 regarding public access to
European Parliament, Council and Commission docu-
ments (3), the European Parliament, the Council and the
Commission call on the other institutions and bodies of
the Union to adopt internal rules on public access to
documents which take account of the principles and
limits set out in the Regulation. The regime on public
access to ECB documents as laid down in Decision ECB/
1998/12 of 3 November 1998 concerning public access
the European
to documentation and the archives of
Central Bank (4) should be revised accordingly.

(3) Wider access should be granted to ECB documents,
while at the same time protecting the independence of
the ECB and of the national central banks (NCBs) fore-
seen by Article 108 of the Treaty and Article 7 of the
Statute, and the confidentiality of certain matters specific
to the performance of the ECB's tasks. In order to safe-
guard the effectiveness of its decision-making process,
including its internal consultations and preparations, the
proceedings of
the ECB's decision-
making bodies are confidential, unless the relevant body
decides to make the outcome of its deliberations public.

the meetings of

(1) Decision ECB/2004/2 of 19 February 2004 adopting the Rules of
Procedure of the European Central Bank. See page 33 of this Official
Journal.

(2) OJ L 173, 27.6.2001, p. 5.
(3) OJ L 145, 31.5.2001, p. 43.
(4) OJ L 110, 28.4.1999, p. 30.

However, certain public and private interests should be
protected by way of exceptions. Furthermore, the ECB
needs to protect the integrity of euro banknotes as a
the
including, without
means of payment
limitation,
security features against counterfeiting,
the technical
production specifications, the physical security of stocks
and the transportation of euro banknotes.

(5) When NCBs handle requests for ECB documents that are
in their possession, they should consult the ECB in order
to ensure the full application of this Decision unless it is
clear whether or not the document may be disclosed.

(6)

In order to bring about greater openness,
the ECB
should grant access not only to documents drawn up by
it, but also to documents received by it while at the
for the third parties
same time preserving the right
concerned to express their positions with regard to
access to documents originating from those parties.

(7)

In order to ensure that good administrative practice is
respected, the ECB should apply a two-stage procedure,

HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:

Article 1

Purpose

The purpose of this Decision is to define the conditions and
limits according to which the ECB shall give public access to
ECB documents and to promote good administrative practice
on public access to such documents.

Article 2

Beneficiaries and scope

1.
Any citizen of the Union, and any natural or legal person
residing or having its registered office in a Member State, has a
right of access to ECB documents, subject to the conditions and
limits defined in this Decision.

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Official Journal of the European Union

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The ECB may, subject to the same conditions and limits,
2.
grant access to ECB documents to any natural or legal person
not residing or not having its registered office in a Member
State.

— court proceedings and legal advice,

— the purpose of inspections, investigations and audits,

unless there is an overriding public interest in disclosure.

This Decision shall be without prejudice to rights of
follow from
law or acts which implement

3.
public access to ECB documents which might
instruments of
them.

international

Article 3

Definitions

For the purpose of this Decision:

(a) ‘document’ and ‘ECB document’ shall mean any content
whatever its medium (written on paper or stored in elec-
tronic form or as a sound, visual or audiovisual recording)
drawn up or held by the ECB and relating to its policies,
activities or decisions, as well as documents originating
from the European Monetary Institute (EMI) and from the
Committee of Governors of
the
Member States of
the European Economic Community
(Committee of Governors);

the central banks of

(b) ‘third party’ shall mean any natural or legal person, or any

entity outside the ECB.

Article 4

Exceptions

The ECB shall refuse access to a document where disclo-

1.
sure would undermine the protection of:

(a) the public interest as regards:

— the confidentiality of the proceedings of the ECB's deci-

sion-making bodies,

— the financial, monetary or economic policy of the Com-

munity or a Member State,

— the internal finances of the ECB or of the NCBs,

— protecting the integrity of euro banknotes,

— public security,

— international financial, monetary or economic relations;

(b) the privacy and the integrity of the individual, in particular
in accordance with Community legislation regarding the
protection of personal data;

(c) the confidentiality of information that is protected as such

under Community law.

The ECB shall refuse access to a document where disclo-

2.
sure would undermine the protection of:

3.
Access to a document containing opinions for internal
use as part of deliberations and preliminary consultations
within the ECB or with NCBs shall be refused even after the
decision has been taken, unless there is an overriding public
interest in disclosure.

4.
As regards third-party documents, the ECB shall consult
the third party concerned with a view to assessing whether an
exception in this Article is applicable, unless it is clear that the
document shall or shall not be disclosed.

5.
If only parts of the requested document are covered by
any of the exceptions, the remaining parts of the document
shall be released.

6.
The exceptions as laid down in this Article shall only
apply for the period during which protection is justified on the
basis of the content of the document. The exceptions may
apply for a maximum period of 30 years unless specifically
provided otherwise by the ECB's Governing Council. In the
case of documents covered by the exceptions relating to
privacy or commercial interests, the exceptions may continue
to apply after this period.

Article 5

Documents at the NCBs

Documents that are in the possession of an NCB and have been
drawn up by the ECB as well as documents originating from
the EMI or the Committee of Governors may be disclosed by
the NCB only subject
the ECB
concerning the scope of access, unless it is clear that the docu-
ment shall or shall not be disclosed.

to prior consultation of

Alternatively the NCB may refer the request to the ECB.

Article 6

Applications

1.
An application for access to a document shall be made to
the ECB (1) in any written form, including electronic form, in
one of the official languages of the Union and in a sufficiently
precise manner to enable the ECB to identify the document.
The applicant is not obliged to state the reasons for the applica-
tion.

If an application is not sufficiently precise, the ECB shall
2.
ask the applicant to clarify the application and shall assist the
applicant in doing so.

— the commercial

interests of a natural or legal person,

including intellectual property,

(1) Addressed to the European Central Bank, Secretariat Division,
Kaiserstrasse 29, D-60311 Frankfurt am Main. Fax: + 49 (69) 1344
6170. E-mail: ecb.secretariat@ecb.int.

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In the event of an application relating to a very long
3.
document or to a very large number of documents, the ECB
may confer with the applicant
informally, with a view to
finding a fair solution.

Failure by the ECB to reply within the prescribed time
3.
limit shall be considered to be a negative reply and shall entitle
the applicant to institute court proceedings and/or submit a
complaint to the European Ombudsman, under Articles 230
and 195 of the Treaty, respectively.

Article 7

Processing of initial applications

1.
An application for access to a document shall be handled
promptly. An acknowledgement of receipt shall be sent to the
applicant. Within 20 working days from the receipt of the
application, or on receipt of the clarifications requested in
accordance with Article 6(2), the Director General Secretariat
and Language Services of the ECB shall either grant access to
the document requested and provide access in accordance with
Article 9 or, in a written reply, state the reasons for total or
partial refusal and inform the applicant of their right to make a
confirmatory application in accordance with paragraph 2.

In the event of total or partial refusal, the applicant may,
2.
within 20 working days of receiving the ECB's reply, make a
confirmatory application asking the ECB's Executive Board to
reconsider its position. Furthermore, failure by the ECB to reply
within the prescribed 20 working days' time limit for handling
the initial application shall entitle the applicant to make a
confirmatory application.

3.
In exceptional cases, for example in the event of an appli-
cation relating to a very long document or to a very large
number of documents, or if the consultation of a third party is
required, the ECB may extend the time limit provided for in
paragraph 1 by 20 working days, provided that the applicant is
notified in advance and that detailed reasons are given.

Paragraph 1 shall not apply in case of excessive or unrea-
4.
sonable applications, in particular when they are of a repetitive
nature.

Article 8

Processing of confirmatory applications

1.
A confirmatory application shall be handled promptly.
Within 20 working days from the receipt of such application,
the Executive Board shall either grant access to the document
requested and provide access in accordance with Article 9 or,
in a written reply, state the reasons for the total or partial
refusal. In the event of a total or partial refusal, the ECB shall
inform the applicant of the remedies open to them in accord-
ance with Articles 230 and 195 of the Treaty.

2.
In exceptional cases, for example in the event of an appli-
cation relating to a very long document or to a very large
number of documents, the ECB may extend the time limit
provided for in paragraph 1 by 20 working days, provided that
the applicant is notified in advance and that detailed reasons
are given.

Article 9

Access following an application

Applicants may consult documents to which the ECB has
1.
granted access either at its premises or by receiving a copy,
including, where available, an electronic copy. The costs of
producing and sending copies may be charged to the applicant.
This charge shall not exceed the real cost of producing and
sending the copies. Consultation on the spot, copies of less
than 20 A4 pages and direct access in electronic form shall be
free of charge.

If a document has already been released by the ECB and
2.
is easily accessible, the ECB may fulfil its obligation of granting
access to it by informing the applicant how to obtain the
requested document.

Documents shall be supplied in an existing version and
3.
format (including electronically or in an alternative format) as
requested by the applicant.

Article 10

Reproduction of documents

1.
Documents released in accordance with this Decision
shall not be reproduced or exploited for commercial purposes
without the ECB's prior specific authorisation. The ECB may
withhold such authorisation without stating reasons.

2.
This Decision shall be without prejudice to any existing
rules on copyright which may limit a third party's right to
reproduce or exploit released documents.

Article 11

Final provisions

This Decision shall enter into force on the day following its
publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

Decision ECB/1998/12 shall be repealed.

Done at Frankfurt am Main, 4 March 2004.

The President of the ECB

Jean-Claude TRICHET