Ref. Ares(2022)987750 - 10/02/2022
COMMISSION DECISION
of XXX
on records management and archives
THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community, and in
particular Article 131 thereof,
Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC, Euratom) No 354/831, as amended by Council
Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1700/20032 and Council Regulation (EU) No 2015/4963,
Having regard to Regulation (EU) No 910/20144 of the European Parliament and of the
Council,
Having regard to Commission Decision (EU, Euratom) 2015/4435,
Having regard to Commission Decision (EU, Euratom) 2015/4446,
Having regard to Commission Decision (EU, Euratom) 2017/467,
Having regard to Regulation (EU) 2018/17258 of the European Parliament and of the Council,
Having regard to Regulation (EC) No 1049/20019 of the European Parliament and of the
Council,
Whereas:
1
Council Regulation (EEC, Euratom) No 354/83 concerning the opening to the public of the historical
archives of the European Economic Community and the European Atomic Energy Community (OJ L
43, 15.2.1983, p. 1).
2
Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1700/2003 amending Regulation (EEC, Euratom) No 354/83
concerning the opening to the public of the historical archives of the European Economic Community
and the European Atomic Energy Community (OJ L 243, 27.9.2003, pp. 1-4)
3
Council Regulation (EU) 2015/496 of 17 March 2015 amending Regulation (EEC, Euratom) No 354/83
as regards the deposit of the historical archives of the institutions at the European University Institute in
Florence (OJ L 79, 25.3.2015, pp. 1-5).
4
Regulation (EU) No 910/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 July 2014 on
electronic identification and trust services for electronic transactions in the internal market and
repealing Directive 1999/93/EC (OJ L 257, 28.8.2014, pp. 73-114).
5
Commission Decision (EU, Euratom) 2015/443 on security in the Commission (OJ L 72, 17.3.2015, pp.
41-52).
6
Commission Decision (EU, Euratom) 2015/444 on the security rules for protecting EU classified
information (OJ L 72, 17.3.2015, pp. 53-88).
7
Commission Decision (EU, Euratom) 2017/46 on the security of communication and information
systems in the Commission (OJ L 6, 11.1.2017, pp. 40-51).
8
Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the protection of natural
persons with regard to the processing of personal data by the Union institutions, bodies, offices and
agencies and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 and
Decision 1247/2002/EC ( OJ L 295, 21.11.2018, pp. 39-98).
9
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 L 145,
31.5.2001, pp. 43-48).
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(1)
The records held by the European Commission are the basis for the functioning of the
institution and its daily work. They form part of the Commission’s assets and are also
intended to preserve its memory, facilitate the exchange of information, provide
evidence of actions carried out, and meet the legal obligations incumbent on the
Commission. As a result, they must be managed in accordance with effective rules
applicable to all Directorates-General and equivalent departments.
(2)
Effective records management and archiving help fulfil transparency obligations, in
particular by promoting efficient public access to documents.
(3)
The records management and archiving policy should take account of the
Commission’s digital transformation10, legal provisions on information security11 and
the need to ensure a high level of security for sensitive information12, as well as data
protection13.
HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:
Chapter I
General provisions
Article 1
Purpose
This Decision:
1.
defines the principles of records and archives management, in order to ensure:
–
the creation, receipt and proper preservation of records, and their consultation
and communication,
–
the authenticity, integrity and legibility over time of records and the metadata
accompanying them,
–
the development, maintenance and updating of the structure of the
Commission’s records and archives management systems, its electronic
repository system and its repositories for paper or other analogue media,
intended to cover the lifecycle of its records, whatever their medium,
–
the identification of each record by means of a unique identifier, together with
the extraction and allocation of metadata, so that it can be filed, searched and is
easily traceable,
10
Communication to the Commission C (2018) 7118 on the European Commission Digital Strategy. See
also Commission Communication C (2016) 6626, which sets out the general orientations of the internal
policy for data, information and knowledge management at the Commission.
11
Commission Decision (EU, Euratom) 2015/443 on security in the Commission (OJ L 72, 17.3.2015,
p. 41).
12
Commission Decision (EU, Euratom) 2015/444 of 13 March 2015 on the security rules for the
protection of EU classified information, (OJ L 72, 17.3.2015, pp. 53-88).
13
Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the protection of natural
persons with regard to the processing of personal data by the Union institutions, bodies, offices and
agencies and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 and
Decision 1247/2002/EC (OJ L 295, 21.11.2018, pp. 39-98).
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of other nature require a more limited and targeted access based on the need-to-know
principle, which shall be implemented in a uniform and rigorous manner.
2.
In the interest of information sharing, Directorates-General and equivalent
departments shall ensure the widest visibility of their files, in proportion to the
sensitivity of their content.
Article 11
Data and information protection
Records shall be managed in accordance with the security rules applicable in the Commission
to the protection of information. To this end, records, files, IT systems, electronic repositories,
networks and means of transmission, and archives are protected by adequate security
measures for the management of classified information, management of sensitive
non-classified information, protection of information systems and protection of personal data.
Classified information shall be processed in accordance with the rules in force on security.
Chapter III
Preservation and historical archives
Article 12
Preservation and storage
1.
Records must be stored for the duration required under the following conditions:
(a) records shall be stored in the form in which they were created, sent or received
or in a form which preserves the integrity of their content and of the
accompanying metadata, according to the substitute retention principle;
(b) the contents of records and their relevant metadata must be readable throughout
their storage period by any person who is authorised to have access to them;
(c) in the case of records sent or received electronically, the information to
determine its origin and destination, as well as the date and time of dispatch or
receipt, shall form part of the minimum metadata to be stored;
(d) for electronic procedures managed by IT systems, information concerning the
formal stages of the procedure must be stored under such conditions as to
ensure that those stages and the authors and participants can be identified.
2.
The Secretariat-General, in cooperation with the Historical Archives Service, shall
put in place a digital preservation strategy to ensure long-term access to electronic
records on the basis of the retention lists set out in Article 13(1) of this Decision. The
strategy shall ensure that processes, tools and resources are in place to ensure the
authenticity of records and their accessibility for the time necessary.
Article 13
Appraisal and transfer to the Historical Archives Service
1.
The retention period for the various categories of files and, in certain cases, records,
is defined for the whole Commission using instruments with a regulatory value, such
as the common retention list for the Commission as a whole, or one or more specific
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retention lists drawn up on the basis of the administrative rules and legal obligations,
in accordance with the implementing rules.
2.
The department responsible for records management shall at regular intervals carry
out an appraisal of records and files likely to be transferred to the Commission’s
Historical Archives referred to in Article 14, or eliminated.
Some metadata of records and files are nevertheless kept in order to keep track of
them and to be able to respond to internal search requirements and to requests for
access to documents that have been eliminated.
3.
The responsibility of a Directorate-General or equivalent service for the intellectual
content of any file continues after the transfer to the Historical Archives Service.
Article 14
Historical Archives Service
The mission of the Historical Archives Service is to:
–
ensure the authenticity and integrity of the records, files and archives of the
Commission which have been transferred to it in accordance with the rules,
–
ensure the material protection and integrity of the metadata of records and files
provided by the transferring departments,
–
make records and files available on request to the Directorates-General or
equivalent departments,
–
deposit the historical archives with the EUI, in order to make records more than
30 years old available to the public, while taking into account the cases of
records covered by exceptions relating to the privacy and integrity of
individuals, as well as those concerning the commercial interests of a natural or
legal person, including intellectual property, as referred to in Article 2 of
Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1700/2003.
Article 15
Processing of personal data contained in the historical archives
1.
In accordance with Article 25, paragraph 4, and Recital 33 of Regulation (EU)
2018/1725, derogations from the rights of data subjects are possible where such
derogations are necessary to achieve the archiving purposes in the public interest.
The derogations specified in Article 25, paragraph 3 of that Regulation are necessary
to preserve the integrity of the historical archives.
2.
The following exceptions shall apply to the rights of data subjects as defined in
Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council where
their personal data are processed for archiving purposes in the public interest:
–
exception to the right to be informed, based on Article 16(5)(b) of the
Regulation, since the provision of such information would prove impossible or
would involve a disproportionate effort,
–
exception to the right of rectification, based on Article 19(3)(d) of the
Regulation, since the Commission’s processing for archiving purposes in the
public interest is necessary in order for it to be in conformity with the legal
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Article 16
Deposit of the historical archives to the European University Institute (EUI)
1.
Responsibility for the physical protection of the archives on analogue media
deposited there shall be entrusted to the EUI in accordance with the standards laid
down in Article 8(6) of Council Regulation (EEC, Euratom) No 354/83.
2.
The Historical Archives Service shall provide the EUI with access to digitised copies
of records on an analogue medium, where possible, in order to promote the online
consultation of the historical archives.
3.
The EUI shall be the access point to the Commission’s historical archives that are
open to the public, without the Commission being excluded from the right to provide
direct access to its historical archives.
4.
The Historical Archives Service shall forward the description of the archives that are
the subject of the deposit to the EUI. In order to facilitate the exchange of metadata
with the EUI, interoperability shall be used in accordance with international
standards.
5.
The Historical Archives Service cooperates with the EUI in the declassification of
records under 30 years of age that originate from the Commission, when the
classified records concerned are part of ‘private archives’ deposited at the EUI by
individual persons or entities.
6.
The Historical Archives Service provides the necessary instructions for the
processing of personal data contained in the deposited archives by the EUI and
monitors its performance.
Chapter IV
Governance and implementation
Article 17
Governance at Commission level
1.
Each Director-General or Head of Department shall put in place the necessary
organisational, administrative and physical structure and provide the staff required
for the implementation of this Decision and the implementing rules by his
departments.
2.
The Secretariat-General is responsible for ensuring that this Decision and its
implementing rules are implemented.
Article 18
Network of Document Management Officers
The role of the Network of Document Management Officers, chaired by the Secretariat-
General, is to:
–
ensure the correct and uniform application of this Decision and its implementing
rules within the services,
–
deal with any issues which may arise from their application,
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–
relay the requirements of Directorates-General and equivalent departments as regards
training and support measures.
Article 19
Information, training and support
The Secretariat-General, in close cooperation with the Directorate-General for Informatics,
the Directorate-General for Human Resources and Security and the Historical Archives
Service, shall put in place the information, training and support measures necessary to ensure
the implementation and application of this Decision within the Directorates-General and
equivalent departments.
Article 20
Implementing rules
This decision is accompanied by implementing rules. They shall be regularly updated taking
account in particular of:
–
developments regarding records and archives management and results of academic
and scientific research, including the emergence of related standards,
–
information and communication technologies’ development,
–
the applicable rules on the probative value of electronic records,
–
the Commission’s obligations as regards transparency, public access to documents
and the opening to the public of archives,
–
new obligations by which the Commission may be bound,
–
harmonisation in the presentation of records from the Commission and its
departments.
Article 21
Repeal of previous acts
Commission Decision 2002/47/EC, ECSC, Euratom and Commission Decision 2004/563/EC,
Euratom are repealed.
[Article 22
Entry in force
This Decision shall enter into force on the day following that of its publication in the
Official
Journal of the European Union.]
Done at Brussels,
For the Commission
[…]
The President
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