Request for access to documents – objection to Bulgarian “Bulgarian Alphabet” €2 commemorative coin (ST 9874 2026 INIT)
Dear Council of the European Union,
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:
I would like to receive:
The information note ST 9874 2026 INIT concerning the objection by a euro‑area Member State to Bulgaria’s planned €2 commemorative coin “The Bulgarian Alphabet”, including any later revised versions.
The reasoned opinion(s) submitted by Member State(s) under Article 10(4) of Council Regulation (EU) No 729/2014 regarding the draft design of this coin, plus any cover letters or emails transmitting them to the Council or the General Secretariat.
Any minutes, summary records or “outcome of proceedings” of Council preparatory bodies (including working parties and COREPER) where this objection is explicitly discussed.
If full access cannot be granted, please provide partial access to the rest of the documents in line with Article 4(6) of Regulation 1049/2001. I would prefer to receive the documents in electronic form by email.
Yours faithfully,
Svilen Oprikov
Your message has been received by the Transparency and Access to Documents Unit of the General Secretariat of the Council of the European Union. All requests for access to documents are treated on the basis of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 of 30 May 2001 regarding public access to
European Parliament, Council and Commission documents. The General Secretariat will reply to your request within 15 working days upon registration of your request. Requests received before 5 PM on a working day are registered on the same day. Requests received after 5 PM are registered on the first following working day.
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L'unité "Transparence et accès aux documents" du Secrétariat général du Conseil de l'Union européenne a bien reçu votre message. Toutes les demandes d'accès à des documents sont traitées conformément au règlement (CE) n° 1049/2001 du 30 mai 2001 relatif à l'accès du public aux documents du Parlement européen, du Conseil et de la Commission. Le Secrétariat général répondra à votre demande dans un délai de 15 jours ouvrables à compter de l'enregistrement de celle-ci. Les demandes reçues les jours ouvrables avant 17 heures sont enregistrées le jour même. Les demandes reçues après 17 heures sont enregistrées le premier jour ouvrable suivant.
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Pour consulter le texte du règlement (CE) n° 1049/2001, cliquez ici:
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Ihre Nachricht ist bei der Dienststelle "Transparenz und Zugang zu Dokumenten" des General-sekretariats des Rates der Europäischen Union eingegangen. Alle Anträge auf Zugang zu Dokumenten werden gemäß der Verordnung (EG) Nr. 1049/2001 vom 30. Mai 2001 über den Zugang der Öffentlichkeit zu Dokumenten des Europäischen Parlaments, des Rates und der Kommission bearbeitet. Das Generalsekretariat wird Ihnen binnen fünfzehn Arbeitstagen nach Registrierung Ihres Antrags eine Antwort übermitteln. Anträge, die an einem Arbeitstag vor 17.00 Uhr eingehen, werden noch am selben Tages registriert. Nach 17.00 Uhr eingehende Anträge werden am erstfolgenden Arbeitstag registriert.
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Den Text der Verordnung (EG) Nr. 1049/2001 finden Sie hier:
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Please find attached a letter from the General Secretariat of the Council
concerning your request for access to documents.
Yours sincerely,
Transparency
General Secretariat of the Council
Directorate-General Communication and Information - COMM
Directorate Information and Outreach
Information Services Unit / Transparency
Rue de la Loi/Wetstraat, 175 - B-1048 Bruxelles/Brussel - Belgique/België
[1]www.consilium.europa.eu | [2][email address]
Please find attached a letter from the General Secretariat of the Council
concerning your request for access to documents under Regulation (EC) No
1049/2001.
Yours sincerely,
Transparency
Council of the European Union
General Secretariat
Communication and Information
Knowledge Management
Transparency
Rue de la Loi/Wetstraat, 175 - B-1048 Bruxelles/Brussel - Belgique/België
www.consilium.europa.eu | [email address]
Disclaimer: The views expressed are solely those of the writer and may not
be regarded as stating an official position of the Council of the EU
Clause de non-responsabilité: Les avis exprimés n'engagent que leur auteur
et ne peuvent être considérés comme une position officielle du Conseil de
l'UE
Dear Council of the European Union,
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 'Request for access to documents – objection to Bulgarian “Bulgarian Alphabet” €2 commemorative coin (ST 9874 2026 INIT)'.
I refer to your letter of 24 July 2026 (Ref. 26/2202), in which the General Secretariat of the Council granted partial access to document 9874/26 but refused disclosure of the letter and identity of the objecting Member State, citing Article 4(5) (third-party objection) and Article 4(3) (protection of an ongoing decision-making process) of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001.
Pursuant to Article 7(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001, I hereby request a review of this decision, on the following grounds:
Overriding public interest in disclosure: The identity of the objecting Member State and its stated reasons are already the subject of widespread public reporting in Bulgarian and international media, citing diplomatic sources naming Greece as the objecting party, allegedly due to concerns over the term "Bulgarian alphabet" as opposed to "Cyrillic script." Given that this information already circulates publicly without official confirmation, there is a strong public interest in transparency and in enabling verification of accurate versus speculative reporting, which continued redaction does not serve.
Proportionality of continued withholding: Since the substance of the objection is already known to the public through media coverage, withholding formal confirmation no longer meaningfully protects the "delicate decision-making process" claimed, and instead undermines public trust in the Council's transparency obligations.
Partial disclosure: I ask that, at minimum, the Council reconsider partial access under Article 4(6), disclosing the identity of the objecting Member State while withholding any genuinely sensitive diplomatic correspondence, if such distinction is feasible.
I would be grateful for confirmation of receipt and for the Council's response within the statutory timeframe.
A full history of my request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.asktheeu.org/request/request...
Yours faithfully,
Svilen Oprikov
Your message has been received by the Transparency and Access to Documents Unit of the General Secretariat of the Council of the European Union. All requests for access to documents are treated on the basis of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 of 30 May 2001 regarding public access to
European Parliament, Council and Commission documents. The General Secretariat will reply to your request within 15 working days upon registration of your request. Requests received before 5 PM on a working day are registered on the same day. Requests received after 5 PM are registered on the first following working day.
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This notification was sent from an unattended mailbox. Please do not reply.
***
To see the text of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001, please click here:
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexU...
If the link doesn't open when you click on it, please copy - paste it into your browser.
***
L'unité "Transparence et accès aux documents" du Secrétariat général du Conseil de l'Union européenne a bien reçu votre message. Toutes les demandes d'accès à des documents sont traitées conformément au règlement (CE) n° 1049/2001 du 30 mai 2001 relatif à l'accès du public aux documents du Parlement européen, du Conseil et de la Commission. Le Secrétariat général répondra à votre demande dans un délai de 15 jours ouvrables à compter de l'enregistrement de celle-ci. Les demandes reçues les jours ouvrables avant 17 heures sont enregistrées le jour même. Les demandes reçues après 17 heures sont enregistrées le premier jour ouvrable suivant.
***
S'il vous plaît ne répondez pas à ce message, car il a été envoyé d'une boîte aux lettres sans surveillance.
***
Pour consulter le texte du règlement (CE) n° 1049/2001, cliquez ici:
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexU...
Si le lien ne s'ouvre pas lorsque vous cliquez dessus, veuillez copier-coller l'adresse dans votre navigateur.
***
Ihre Nachricht ist bei der Dienststelle "Transparenz und Zugang zu Dokumenten" des General-sekretariats des Rates der Europäischen Union eingegangen. Alle Anträge auf Zugang zu Dokumenten werden gemäß der Verordnung (EG) Nr. 1049/2001 vom 30. Mai 2001 über den Zugang der Öffentlichkeit zu Dokumenten des Europäischen Parlaments, des Rates und der Kommission bearbeitet. Das Generalsekretariat wird Ihnen binnen fünfzehn Arbeitstagen nach Registrierung Ihres Antrags eine Antwort übermitteln. Anträge, die an einem Arbeitstag vor 17.00 Uhr eingehen, werden noch am selben Tages registriert. Nach 17.00 Uhr eingehende Anträge werden am erstfolgenden Arbeitstag registriert.
***
Diese Nachricht wurde automatisch generiert. Bitte nicht antworten.
***
Den Text der Verordnung (EG) Nr. 1049/2001 finden Sie hier:
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexU...
Wenn sich der Link beim Anklicken nicht öffnet, kopieren Sie den bitte mit "copy/paste" in Ihren Browser.
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