TRAINING ON TRANSPARENCY, ACCESS TO DOCUMENTS
AND THE ARCHIVES
(4 May 2012)
ARTICLE 1 TEU
(…)
This 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.
(…)
ARTICLE 15 TFEU
1.
In order to promote good governance and ensure the participation of civil society, the
Union’s institutions, bodies, offices and agencies shall conduct their work as openly as
possible.
2.
The European Parliament shall meet in public, as shall the Council when considering
and voting on a draft legislative act.
3.
Any citizen 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 documents of the Union’s
institutions, bodies, offices and agencies, whatever their medium, subject to the principles and
the conditions to be defined in accordance with this paragraph.
General principles and limits on grounds of public or private interest governing this right of
access to documents shall be determined by the European Parliament and the Council, by
means of regulations, acting in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure.
Each institution, body, office or agency shall ensure that its proceedings are transparent and
shall elaborate in its own Rules of Procedure specific provisions regarding access to its
documents, in accordance with the regulations referred to in the second subparagraph.
The Court of Justice of the European Union, the European Central Bank and the European
Investment Bank shall be subject to this paragraph only when exercising their administrative
tasks.
The European Parliament and the Council shall ensure publication of the documents relating
to the legislative procedures under the terms laid down by the regulations referred to in the
second subparagraph.
1