2004/321/EC: Decision of the Administrative Board of the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions of 26 March 2004 on the adoption of rules for implementing Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 on public access to documents
Date: 2004-03-26
Institutions: Eurofound
Subjects: Eurofound, access to EU information

7.4.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 102/81

DECISION OF THE ADMINISTRATIVE BOARD OF THE EUROPEAN FOUNDATION FOR THE
IMPROVEMENT OF LIVING AND WORKING CONDITIONS

on the adoption of rules for implementing Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 on public access to
documents

of 26 March 2004

(2004/321/EC)

THE ADMINISTRATIVE BOARD,

Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 1649/2003
amending Regulation (EEC) No 1365/75 on the creation of a
European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and
Working Conditions and repealing Regulation (EEC) No 1417/
76 (1),

Whereas:

(1)

The general principles and limits governing right of
access to documents As provided for in Article 255 of
the Treaty have been laid down by Regulation (EC) No
1049/2001 of
the
Council of 30 May 2001 regarding public access to
European Parliament, Council and Commission docu-
ments (2).

the European Parliament and of

(2) When Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 was adopted, the
three institutions agreed in a joint declaration that the
Agencies and similar bodies should implement rules
conforming to those of that Regulation.

(3)

(4)

(5)

Regulation (EC) No 1649/2003 of 18 June 2003
amending Regulation (EEC) No 1365/75 on the creation
of a European Foundation for the Improvement of
Living and Working Conditions and repealing Regulation
(EEC) No 1417/76 states that Regulation EC 1049/2001
shall apply to documents held by the Foundation.

Regulation (EC) No 1649/2003 states also that
the
Administrative Board shall adopt practical arrangements
for implementing Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 within
six months of 29 September 2003, or entry into force of
Council Regulation (EC) No 1649/2003.

Clear rules will assist smooth administration by helping
those responsible to deal accurately and rapidly with
applications made by the public,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

Article 1

Applicability and scope

Citizens of

2.
the European Union and natural or legal
persons residing or having their registered office in a Member
State shall exercise right of access to Foundation documents
pursuant to Article 2(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001.

3.
Pursuant to Article 2(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1049/
2001, citizens of third countries not residing in a Member
State and legal persons not having their registered office in one
of the Member States shall enjoy the right of access to Founda-
tion documents on the same terms as the beneficiaries referred
to in Article 2(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001.

Article 2

Applications for access

1.
Applications for access to Foundation documents which
are not publicly available shall be made in written form,
including electronic form and in a sufficiently precise manner
to enable the Foundation to identify the documents.

2.
The Foundation shall answer initial and confirmatory
access applications within 15 working days from the date of
registration of the application.

3.
In the case of complex or bulky applications, the deadline
may be extended by 15 working days. Reasons must be given
for any extension of the deadline and it must be notified to the
applicant beforehand.

4.
If an application is imprecise, as referred to in Article 6(2)
of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001, the Foundation shall ask the
applicant to provide additional information making it possible
to identify the documents requested; the deadline for reply shall
run only from the time when the Foundation has this informa-
tion.

Any decision which is partly negative shall state the
5.
reason for the refusal based on one of the exceptions listed in
Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001.

Article 3

Treatment of initial applications

1.
The right of access concerns documents held by the Foun-
dation, that is to say, documents drawn up or received by it
and in its possession.

(1) OJ L 245, 29.9.2003, p. 25.
(2) OJ L 145, 31.5.2001, p. 43.

1.
As soon as the application is registered, an acknowledge-
ment of receipt shall be sent to the applicant, unless the answer
can be sent by return post. The acknowledgement of receipt
and the answer shall be sent in writing, where appropriate, by
electronic means.

L 102/82

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

7.4.2004

The applicant shall be informed of the response to his

2.
application by the Head of Administration.

3.
In the event of a total or partial refusal, the applicant may
within 15 working days of receiving the Foundation's reply,
make a confirmatory application asking the Foundation to
reconsider its position

4.
Failure by the Foundation to reply within the prescribed
time limit shall entitle the applicant to make a confirmatory
application.

If the document has been published, the answer shall
2.
consist of the publication references and/or the place where the
document
its web
is available and where appropriate, of
address on the Foundation's website.

3.
If the volume of the documents requested exceeds twenty
pages, the applicant may be charged a fee of EUR 0,40 per
page plus carriage costs. The charges for other media shall be
decided case by case but shall not exceed a reasonable amount.

Article 4

Treatment of confirmatory applications

Article 7

Register of documents

The Director shall

1.
relating to confirmatory applications. He shall
Administrative Board of the Foundation of such actions.

take the decisions refusing access
inform the

2.
The decision shall be notified to the applicant in writing,
or where appropriate by electronic means, and shall specify
which of the exceptions provided for in Article 4 of Regulation
(EC) No 1049/2001 it is based on and the reasons for it. It
shall also inform him of his right to bring an action before the
Court of First Instance or to lodge a complaint with the Euro-
pean Ombudsman.

Article 5

Consultations

1. Where the Foundation receives an application for access
to a document which it holds but which originates from a
third party, the Foundation shall check whether one of the
exceptions provided for under Article 4 of
the Regulation
applies.

If, after that examination, the Foundation considers that
2.
access to it must be refused under one of
the exceptions
provided for by Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001,
the negative answer shall be sent to the applicant without
consultation of the third-party author.

3.
The Foundation shall grant
consulting the third-party author where:

the application without

(a) the document requested has already been disclosed either
by its author or under the Regulation or similar provisions;

(b) the disclosure, or partial disclosure, of its contents will not
affect one of the interests referred to in Article 4 of the
Regulation.

Article 6

Exercise of the right of access

1.
In order to make citizen's rights deriving from Regulation
the Foundation shall provide
(EC) No 1049/2001 effective,
access to a register of documents available through the Founda-
tion's internet site.

The register shall contain the title of the document, a
2.
unique reference, the subject matter and/or a short description
of the document and the date on which it was received or
drawn up and recorded in the register.

Article 8

Documents directly accessible to the public

1.
This Article applies only to documents drawn up or
received after the date from which Regulation (EC) No 1049/
2001 applies.

The following documents shall be automatically provided

2.
on request and as far as possible made directly accessible:

(a) agendas and final minutes of meetings of the Administra-

tive Board and Bureau;

(b) decisions adopted by the Administrative Board and Bureau;

(c) documents originating from third parties which have
already been disclosed by their author or with his consent;

(d) documents already disclosed following a previous applica-

tion.

Article 9

Report

1.
Documents shall be sent by mail, fax or, if available, by e-
mail. If documents are voluminous or difficult to handle, the
applicant may be invited to consult the documents on the spot.
This consultation shall be free of charge.

information concerning the implementation of

The Foundation shall publish annually as part of the Annual
Report,
this
decision, in particular statistics on the number of requests for
access to documents of the Foundation, the number of refusals
and the reasons for such refusals.

7.4.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 102/83

Article 10

Entry into force

This decision shall be published in the Official Journal of the European Union and shall enter into force on
the day of its publication.

Done at Dublin, 26 March 2004.

For the Administrative Board

Marjaana VALKONEN