Request for access to documents under Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 — ECRIS requests by purpose category, per Member State
To the Transparency Unit, Secretariat-General / Directorate-General for Justice and Consumers, European Commission
Under Article 15(3) TFEU and Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001, I request access to the following documents held by the Commission.
The non-personal ECRIS statistics, transmitted by the Member States to the Commission under Article 6 of Council Decision 2009/316/JHA and Article 13a(3) of Framework Decision 2009/315/JHA (as amended), showing — for each Member State and for each of the years 2020 to 2024 — the number of requests for information sent, broken down by the request-purpose categories used in ECRIS (i.e. the purpose codes in the 1000 series for criminal proceedings and the 2000, 3000, 4000, 5000 and 6000 series for other purposes), including at minimum the split between requests for criminal proceedings and requests for other purposes, and within the latter the categories for recruitment for activities involving contact with children (code 3101), requests by the person concerned for their own record (code 4000), general administrative purposes (code 2000) and employment vetting (code 3000).
The EU-aggregate version of this category breakdown is published in Section 2.7 of the Staff Working Document SWD(2026) 152 final accompanying the third ECRIS Statistical Report COM(2026) 284 final, but it is not disaggregated by Member State, and the per-Member-State tables in Section 3 do not include any breakdown of requests by purpose. This request seeks that same category breakdown at Member State level.
I am requesting aggregate, non-personal statistical data only; no personal data within the meaning of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 is sought, so the exception in Article 4(1)(b) of Regulation 1049/2001 should not apply.
Where available, I would be grateful to receive the data in a machine-readable format (Excel or CSV).
Yours faithfully,
Martí Rovira
Dear Sir,
We are writing to you concerning your request for access to documents.
Since you have not indicated your postal address, we are not able to start handling your request. The 15 working days to reply to your request will start running only when you send us your postal address.
You can send your postal address by replying to this e-mail. If we do not receive your reply we may close this case.
Why do we need your personal postal address?
Since 1 April 2014, the submission of a postal address became a mandatory feature when submitting an application for access to Commission documents via an e-mail. We would like to explain why we need your postal address in order to register and handle your application for access to documents when submitted via e-mail:
• Firstly, to obtain legal certainty as regards the date you received the European Commission reply to your application for public access to documents. Article 297 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) states that 'decisions which specify to whom they are addressed, shall be notified to those to whom they are addressed and shall take effect upon such notification.' In line with this provision, if the Commission does not grant full access to the requested documents, it notifies the reply to the applicant via registered mail with acknowledgement of receipt or via delivery service. This requires an indication of a valid postal address by the applicant;
• Secondly, to apply correctly the Data Protection Regulation (EU) 2018/1725. Knowing whether the applicant is an EU resident (or not) is necessary for deciding which conditions shall apply for the transmissions of personal data to applicants for access to documents. These conditions are not the same for recipients established in the Union and for recipients in third countries. As the vast majority of the documents requested contain personal data, the Commission cannot ensure the correct application of the data protection rules in the absence of a postal address;
• Thirdly, to apply correctly Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001. Article 4(1)(b) of that Regulation refers to the protection of the privacy and integrity of the individual and has to be applied in line with the Data Protection Regulation;
• Fourthly, to protect the interest of other citizens and safeguard the principle of good administration. The Commission has to treat all citizens equally by ensuring that the legal framework for public access to documents is respected. For example, it has to verify whether Article 6(3) of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 is being evaded by introducing several requests under different identities. Indeed, in its Ryanair judgment (EU:T:2010:511), the General Court confirmed that Article 6(3) of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 cannot be evaded by splitting an application into several, seemingly separate, parts. In addition, the Commission has to make sure that the legal framework is respected and the right of access to documents is not abused by making requests under an invented identity.
The considerations above show that the request for and the consequent processing of the applicant's postal address is not only appropriate, but also strictly necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest within the meaning of Article 5(1)(a) of Data Protection Regulation, namely providing a smooth and effective access to documents.
Yours faithfully,
Secretariat-General - Access to Documents
European Commission
Dear [email address],
My postal address is:
C/Ramon Trias Fargas, 25-27
08005 Barcelona, Spain
Yours sincerely,
M Rovira
Your message has been received by the Transparency Unit of the
Secretariat-General of the European Commission.
Requests for public access to documents are treated on the basis of
[1]Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 of 30 May 2001 regarding public access to
European Parliament, Council and Commission documents.
The Secretariat-General will reply to your request within 15 working days
upon registration of your request and will duly inform you of the
registration of the request (or of any additional information to be
provided in view of its registration and/or treatment).
L’unité «Transparence» du secrétariat général de la Commission européenne
a bien reçu votre message.
Les demandes d’accès du public aux documents sont traitées sur la base du
[2]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 la date d’enregistrement de votre demande, et vous
informera de cet enregistrement (ou vous indiquera toute information
supplémentaire à fournir en vue de l'enregistrement et/ou du traitement de
votre demande).
Ihre Nachricht ist beim Referat „Transparenz“ des Generalsekretariats der
Europäischen Kommission eingegangen.
Anträge auf Zugang zu Dokumenten werden auf der Grundlage der
[3]Verordnung (EG) Nr. 1049/2001 vom 30. Mai 2001 über den Zugang der
Öffentlichkeit zu Dokumenten des Europäischen Parlaments, des Rates und
der Kommission behandelt.
Das Generalsekretariat beantwortet Ihre Anfrage innerhalb von
15 Arbeitstagen nach deren Registrierung und wird Sie über die
Registrierung Ihres Antrags (oder die Notwendigkeit weiterer Informationen
im Hinblick auf dessen Registrierung und/oder Bearbeitung) unterrichten.
References
Visible links
1. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/...
2. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/...
3. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/...
Dear Sir or Madam,
We hereby acknowledge the receipt of your request for access to documents
sent on 30/06/2026 and registered on 01/07/2026 under the case number
2026/3332.
We will handle your request within 15 working days as of the date of
registration. The time-limit expires on 23/07/2026. We will let you know
if we need to extend this time limit for additional 15 working days.
To find more information on how we process your personal data, please see
[1]the privacy statement.
Yours faithfully,
Secretariat-General - Access to Documents
European Commission
References
Visible links
1. https://ec.europa.eu/info/principles-and...
Dear Secretariat General of the European Commission,
I have not yet recieved any response to my request. i would appreciate of you could get back to me promptly.
Yours faithfully,
M Rovira
Your message has been received by the Transparency Unit of the
Secretariat-General of the European Commission.
Requests for public access to documents are treated on the basis of
[1]Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 of 30 May 2001 regarding public access to
European Parliament, Council and Commission documents.
The Secretariat-General will reply to your request within 15 working days
upon registration of your request and will duly inform you of the
registration of the request (or of any additional information to be
provided in view of its registration and/or treatment).
L’unité «Transparence» du secrétariat général de la Commission européenne
a bien reçu votre message.
Les demandes d’accès du public aux documents sont traitées sur la base du
[2]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 la date d’enregistrement de votre demande, et vous
informera de cet enregistrement (ou vous indiquera toute information
supplémentaire à fournir en vue de l'enregistrement et/ou du traitement de
votre demande).
Ihre Nachricht ist beim Referat „Transparenz“ des Generalsekretariats der
Europäischen Kommission eingegangen.
Anträge auf Zugang zu Dokumenten werden auf der Grundlage der
[3]Verordnung (EG) Nr. 1049/2001 vom 30. Mai 2001 über den Zugang der
Öffentlichkeit zu Dokumenten des Europäischen Parlaments, des Rates und
der Kommission behandelt.
Das Generalsekretariat beantwortet Ihre Anfrage innerhalb von
15 Arbeitstagen nach deren Registrierung und wird Sie über die
Registrierung Ihres Antrags (oder die Notwendigkeit weiterer Informationen
im Hinblick auf dessen Registrierung und/oder Bearbeitung) unterrichten.
References
Visible links
1. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/...
2. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/...
3. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/...
Dear Mr. Rovira,
We refer to your access-to-documents request registered under reference
EASE 2026/3332.
Please be informed that the handling of your request is still ongoing.
We would like to reassure you that it is being processed with due
attention and that a reply will be provided as soon as possible.
We apologise for the delay and thank you for your patience and
understanding.
Kind regards,
JUST Access to documents team
