CELEX: C2006/261/46
Language: en
Date: 2006-10-28 00:00:00
Title: Case T-236/06: Action brought on 1 September 2006 — Landtag Schleswig-Holstein v Commission

28.10.2006   
            
            
               EN
            
            
               Official Journal of the European Union
            
            
               C 261/24
            
         Action brought on 1 September 2006 — Landtag Schleswig-Holstein v Commission
   (Case T-236/06)
   (2006/C 261/46)
   Language of the case: German
   Parties
   
      Applicant: Landtag Schleswig-Holstein (Kiel, Germany) (represented by: S.R. Laskowski and J. Caspar)
   
      Defendant: Commission of the European Communities
   Form of order sought
   
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               suspend the proceedings, in so far as the European Court of Justice has not yet ruled on the dispute pending before it in the same case.
               In so far as the European Court of Justice declares that it has no jurisdiction and refers the case back to the Court of First Instance pursuant to Article 54 of the Statute of the Court of Justice;
            
         
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               annul the Commission decisions of 10 March 2006 and 23 June 2006; and
            
         
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               order the Commission to pay the costs.
            
         Pleas in law and main arguments
   In the contested decision, the Commission refused the applicant's request for access to document SEK (2005) 420 on the basis of the second indent of Article 4(2) of the transparency regulation (1). This document contains a legal analysis of the Community's competence in the field of the retention of personal data by operators of electronic communications networks.
   The applicant alleges, first, breach of Article 10 EC in conjunction with the second paragraph of Article 1 EU. The applicant takes the view that the Commission is under an obligation to grant it access to the document which it has applied for in the framework of the reciprocal duties of genuine cooperation in accordance with the principle of transparency, on the ground that there is a strong public and parliamentary interest in full disclosure of this document.
   The applicant further alleges breach of Article 255 EC and Article 2(1) of the transparency regulation. It submits in this regard that the Commission was wrong to base its refusal to grant access to the document applied for on the second indent of Article 4(2) of the transparency regulation, since disclosure of the document would not have prejudiced the Commission's legal advice. The defendant therefore incorrectly exercised its discretion.
   
      (1)  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 (OJ 2001 L 145, p. 43).