1999/218/EC: Commission Decision of 25 February 1999 relating to the procedures whereby officials and employees of the European Commission may be allowed access to classified information held by the Commission (notified under document number C(1999) 423)

COMMISSION DECISION of 25 February 1999 relating to the procedures whereby officials and employees of the European Commission may be allowed access to classified information held by the Commission (notified under document number C(1999) 423) (1999/218/EC)
THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 162(2) thereof,
Whereas the Treaty on European Union introduced a common foreign and security policy encompassing all matters relating to the security of the European Union, including the eventual framing of a common defence policy, which might in time lead to a common defence;
Whereas, under Article J.4 of the said Treaty, the Western European Union (WEU) is an integral part of the development of the European Union, which requests the WEU to elaborate and implement decisions and actions of the Union which have defence implications;
Whereas, the common security policy of the Union may be developed further following the entry into force of the Treaty of Amsterdam; whereas, by virtue of Protocol No 1 on the new Article 17 of the Treaty on European Union, steps will be taken by the European Union to enhance cooperation between the European Union and the WEU;
Whereas, by virtue of Article J.9 of the Treaty on European Union, the Commission is fully associated with work carried out in the common foreign and security policy field; whereas the Commission accordingly receives and produces documents containing information of a sensitive nature the divulging of which might jeopardise the interests of the European Union, the Community and its Member States and those of international organisations such as the WEU and NATO;
Whereas, by Decision C(94) 3282 of 30 November 1994, the Commission adopted a decision on the security measures applicable to classified information produced or transmitted in connection with European Union activities;
Whereas, under Article 6(3) of the said Decision, information received from the WEU or NATO is governed by special rules;
Whereas the security rules must cover not only the physical protection of classified information held by the Commission but also the authorisation of officials and other servants of the Commission to have access to such information;
Whereas the procedure for authorising officials and other servants of the Commission who, by reason of their duties and for the requirements of the service, are required to have access to such information should be modified and such access restricted to authorised persons only;
Whereas decisions to grant authorisation will be taken only after security screening has been carried out by the competent national authorities of the Member States;
Whereas this Decision will be without prejudice to the rules governing public access to Commission information in the fields covered by the treaties establishing the European Communities, laid down in the Commission's Decision 94/90/ECSC, EC, Euratom (1);
Whereas this Decision is without prejudice to the specific security measures laid down in Council Regulation (Euratom) No 3 of 31 July 1958 implementing Article 24 of the Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community (2);
Whereas, under Article 5 of the EC Treaty, Member States are required to facilitate the accomplishment by the institutions of the tasks incumbent on them by virtue of the Treaties; whereas it is therefore incumbent on the authorities of the Member States to cooperate with the Commission in order to maintain a high standard of protection and, accordingly, to carry out security screening as provided for in this Decision,