Public access to Council Documents
A Council Decision of 20 December 1993 on public access to Council documents establishes the principle of allowing wide access to any text held by the Council, stored on whatever medium, and sets out the conditions for such access (Decision 93/731/EC) Applicants shall have access to a Council document either by consulting it on the spot or by having a copy sent to them at their own expense. Where the requested document was written by a natural or legal person, a Member State, another Community institute or body, or any other national or international body, the application must not be sent to the Council, but directly to the author. An applicant given access to a document may not reproduce or circulate it for commercial purposes through direct sale without prior authorization from the Secretary-General. Access to a Council document may not be granted where its disclosure could undermine the protection of the public interest, the protection of the individual and of privacy, commercial and industrial secrecy, the EU's financial interests, or confidentiality requested by the natural or legal person supplying any of the information contained in the document. Access may also be refused in order to protect the confidentiality of Council proceedings.