Draft agreement on access to classified information
Alexander Fanta made this access to documents request to European Parliament Automatic anti-spam measures are in place for this older request. Please let us know if a further response is expected or if you are having trouble responding.
Dear European Parliament,
Under the right of access to documents in the EU treaties, as developed in Regulation 1049/2001, I am requesting documents which contain the following information:
- All documents concerning a draft arrangement between the European Parliament, the Council and the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy concerning access by the European Parliament to classified information held by the Council and the European External Action Service in the area of the common foreign and security policy. This is meant to include versions of the draft agreement, legal opinions, exchanges with the Parliament, etc.
Yours faithfully,
Alexander Fanta
Follow the Money
Rue Auguste Orts 2
1000 Bruxelles
Our reference: 2024-0301
Dear Mr. Fanta,
The European Parliament hereby acknowledges receipt of your message, which
was registered on March 25, 2024.
All applications for public access to documents are treated in compliance
with Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 of 30 May 2001 regarding public access
to European Parliament, Council and Commission documents.
In accordance with the above-mentioned Regulation, your application will
be handled within 15 working days upon registration of your request.
Your personal data will be processed in accordance with Regulation (EU)
2018/1725 of 23 October 2018 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. A
detailed privacy statement is available [1]here.
The European Parliament reserves the right to ask for additional
information regarding your identity in order to verify compliance with
Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 and the European Parliament’s implementing
measures.
Your attention is drawn to the fact that you have lodged your application
via the AsktheEU.org website, which is a private website not officially
related to the European Parliament. Therefore, the European Parliament
cannot be held accountable for any technical issues or problems linked to
the use of this system.
In addition, please note that any personal data that you provide by using
AsktheEU.org website may be disclosed to the general public and visible on
this private website. The European Parliament cannot be held responsible
for such disclosure. Should you need to communicate directly to Parliament
any personal data and would like to avoid public disclosure, you may do so
from your private email address by using the following functional mailbox
address: AccesDocs(at)europarl.europa.eu
Best regards,
TRANSPARENCY UNIT
European Parliament
Directorate-General for the Presidency
Directorate-General for Interinstitutional Affairs and Legislative
Coordination
[2][European Parliament request email]
[3]www.europarl.europa.eu/RegistreWeb
References
Visible links
1. https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegistreW...
2. mailto:[European Parliament request email]
3. http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegistreWeb
Our reference: 2024-0301
Dear Mr Fanta,
The time limit for responding to your application for public access to
documents under Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001, as registered on Mar 25,
2024, expires tomorrow, on Apr 18, 2024.
However, since our consultations are taking more time than expected,
Parliament must exceptionally extend the time limit provided by Article
7(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 by a further 15 working days in
accordance with Article 7(3) of that Regulation in order to reply to your
application.
Please accept our apologies for any inconvenience. We thank you for your
understanding.
Best regards,
TRANSPARENCY UNIT
European Parliament
Directorate-General for the Presidency
Directorate-General for Interinstitutional Affairs and Legislative
Coordination
[1][European Parliament request email]
[2]www.europarl.europa.eu/RegistreWeb
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[European Parliament request email]
2. http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegistreWeb
Our reference: 2024-0301
Dear Mr Fanta,
The time limit for responding to your application for public access to
documents under Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001, as registered on Mar 25,
2024, expires today, on May 14, 2024.
However, the decision concerning your application is being prepared, and
will be sent to you by post without delay once finalised.
Please accept our apologies for any inconvenience. We thank you for your
understanding.
Best regards,
TRANSPARENCY UNIT
European Parliament
Directorate-General for the Presidency
Directorate-General for Interinstitutional Affairs and Legislative
Coordination
[1][European Parliament request email]
[2]www.europarl.europa.eu/RegistreWeb
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[European Parliament request email]
2. http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegistreWeb
Dear Transparency Unit,
no need to send the reply by post, e-mail works just fine.
Yours faithfully,
Alexander Fanta
Dear European Parliament,
Please pass this on to the person who reviews confirmatory applications.
I am filing the following confirmatory application with regards to my access to documents request 'Draft agreement on access to classified information'.
The reply to my initial request, dated to 29 May 2024, states that I am denied access to document 3 to 7 based on the exception for the protection of ongoing decision-making. The Parliament argues that, as a consequence of a possible disclosure of the document, Parliament would be "subject to internal and external pressure to amend its position". In the De Capitani ruling (T-540/15), the Court accepted that a risk of external pressure could constitute a legitimate ground for restricting access to documents related to the decision-making process, but “the reality of such external pressure must … be established with certainty, and evidence must be adduced to show that there is a reasonably foreseeable risk that the decision to be taken would be substantially affected owing to that external pressure”. [para. 99] I contend that Parliament has not sufficiently shown that in this case, and that in fact no such assertion can be made as this agreement has rarely been discussed anywhere, and pressure on this matter is highly unlikely.
Furthermore, I argue for an overriding public interest in disclosure of the documents in question. It appears that the negotiations in question have been stalled for several years, and I believe there is a public interest in understanding the matter. Access to documents is a fundamental right under the Charter, and even in cases where a document is secret, Members of the European Parliament should be able to exercise some level of scrutiny as a proxy for the general public. I therefore consider the matter at hand of importance to the public's right of exercise of a fundamental right, and apparent gridlock in the negotiations an obstruction of that right. Access to the documents in question should allow to understand the balance of negotiations over the inter-institutional agreement, and advance a correct assessment of the current and potential future possibility of scrutiny.
Also, I note that I received the initial reply only by post, while I sent my request via e-mail (on AsktheEU). Is the postal reply a matter of policy at the European Parliament? In this case, I ask for an explanation which policy exactly that is.
Yours faithfully,
Alexander Fanta
Follow the Money
Rue Auguste Orts 2
1000 Bruxelles
Our reference: 2024-0301
Dear Mr Fanta,
The European Parliament hereby acknowledges receipt of your confirmatory
application, which was registered on June 3, 2024.
All applications for public access to documents are treated in compliance
with Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 of 30 May 2001 regarding public access
to European Parliament, Council and Commission documents.
In accordance with the above-mentioned Regulation, your application will
be handled within 15 working days upon registration of your request.
Your personal data will be processed in accordance with Regulation (EU)
2018/1725 of 23 October 2018 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. A
detailed privacy statement is available [1]here.
The European Parliament reserves the right to ask for additional
information regarding your identity in order to verify compliance with
Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 and the European Parliament’s implementing
measures.
Your attention is drawn to the fact that you have lodged your application
via the AsktheEU.org website, which is a private website not officially
related to the European Parliament. Therefore, the European Parliament
cannot be held accountable for any technical issues or problems linked to
the use of this system.
In addition, please note that any personal data that you provide by using
AsktheEU.org website may be disclosed to the general public and visible on
this private website. The European Parliament cannot be held responsible
for such disclosure. Should you need to communicate directly to Parliament
any personal data and would like to avoid public disclosure, you may do so
from your private email address by using the following functional mailbox
address: AccesDocs(at)europarl.europa.eu
Best regards,
TRANSPARENCY UNIT
European Parliament
Directorate-General for the Presidency
Directorate-General for Interinstitutional Affairs and Legislative
Coordination
[2][European Parliament request email]
[3]www.europarl.europa.eu/RegistreWeb
References
Visible links
1. https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegistreW...
2. mailto:[European Parliament request email]
3. http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegistreWeb
Our reference: 2024-0301C
Dear Mr/Ms Mr Fanta Alexander,
The time limit for responding to your confirmatory application for public
access to documents under Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001, as registered on
Jun 3, 2024, expires today, on Jun 24, 2024.
However, due to our consultations taking longer than expected, Parliament
must exceptionally extend the time limit provided by Article 7(1) of
Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 by a further 15 working days in accordance
with Article 8(2) of that Regulation in order to reply to your
application.
Please accept our apologies for any inconvenience. We thank you for your
understanding.
Best regards,
TRANSPARENCY UNIT
European Parliament
Directorate-General for the Presidency
Directorate-General for Interinstitutional Affairs and Legislative
Coordination
[1][European Parliament request email]
[2]www.europarl.europa.eu/RegistreWeb
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[European Parliament request email]
2. http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegistreWeb
Our reference: 2024-0301C
Dear Mr Fanta,
the time limit for responding to your confirmatory application expired
yesterday. A decision is being prepared and will be sent to you via mail
as soon as it is adopted.
We apologise for any inconvenience caused by this delay.
Best regards,
TRANSPARENCY UNIT
European Parliament
Directorate-General for the Presidency
Directorate-General for Interinstitutional Affairs and Legislative
Coordination
[1][European Parliament request email]
[2]www.europarl.europa.eu/RegistreWeb
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[European Parliament request email]
2. http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegistreWeb