Secret ballots
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:
I hereby request access to the following documents and information concerning all secret ballots held during the 10th parliamentary term of the European Parliament.
I request, for each secret ballot conducted in plenary or committee proceedings during this term:
- The date of the vote.
- The agenda item, report, or procedure to which the vote related.
- The legal basis under the Parliament’s Rules of Procedure for holding the vote by secret ballot.
- The full tally of votes cast, including votes in favour, against, abstentions, and invalid or spoiled ballots, where available.
- Any breakdown available by political group in the relevant records.
- The names of Members who participated in the secret ballot, to the extent recorded in the minutes or other official documents.
- Any internal record, note, minute, or document containing a detailed breakdown of the ballot results.
If any part of this request is too broad, I ask that it be treated as a request for access to each identifiable document or set of documents containing the requested information, and that you indicate which documents are held and which can be disclosed. I also ask that, where possible, the Parliament provide the documents in electronic form.
If the Parliament considers that any exception applies to some material, I request partial access to all non-exempt parts, together with a clear statement of the grounds for any redactions or refusals.
Please acknowledge receipt of this request and provide your reasoned reply within the statutory time limit.
Yours faithfully,
Nikolaj Nielsen
EUobserver
Résidence Palace, International Press Centre
Rue de la Loi / Wetstraat 155
1040 Brussels
Belgium
Our reference: 2026-0203
Dear Mr Nielsen,
The European Parliament hereby acknowledges receipt of your message, which
was registered on May 4, 2026.
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: 2026-0203
Dear Mr Nielsen,
This concerns your request for public access to documents concerning all
secret ballots held during the 10th parliamentary term of Parliament both
in plenary and committee proceedings.
Please note that Parliament does not hold any already existing lists of
secret ballots or documents gathering the information listed in your
request and Regulation (EC) 1049/2001 does not provide for the creation of
new documents upon request.
Please be informed that most of the requested information is publicly
available on Parliament’s website. For example, when it comes to plenary
proceedings, you may find information on secret ballots, in Parliament’s
[1]Plenary website. From there, you can search using the searching
criteria, for certain periods and with specific keywords, i.e. “secret
ballot”. By using these keywords, a list of relevant results will appear;
for instance, the [2]Appointment of the European Chief Prosecutor, showing
the date of the vote, the item, the legal basis, and the detailed voting
results. From there, you may also access the [3]verbatim report, as well
as the [4]video of the speeches.
As regards committee proceedings, the relevant data is available on each
committee’s [5]website, under Meetings à Votes.
Please note that there is no breakdown of secret votes by political groups
as secret votes, per definition, are secret and, therefore, they do not
produce individual voting records.
On this basis, Parliament considers your application handled and the
procedure closed. Should you wish to submit any new requests for specific
Parliament documents, [6]please do not hesitate to come back to us.
Best regards,
TRANSPARENCY UNIT
European Parliament
Directorate-General for the Presidency
Directorate-General for Interinstitutional Affairs and Legislative
Coordination
[7][European Parliament request email]
[8]www.europarl.europa.eu/RegistreWeb
References
Visible links
1. https://www.europarl.europa.eu/plenary/e...
2. https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/doc...
3. https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/doc...
4. https://www.europarl.europa.eu/plenary/e...
5. https://www.europarl.europa.eu/committee...
6. https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegistreW...
7. mailto:[European Parliament request email]
8. http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegistreWeb