Public access to Commission documents
The European Commission has adopted a code of conduct for public access to Commission documents. Its aim is to uphold the declaration on the right of access to information annexed to the final act on the Treaty on European Union, which emphasizes that transparency of the decision-making process strengthens the democratic nature of the institutions and the public's confidence in the administration. In order to ensure that effect is given to the code, the following measures are adopted: - Applications for access to documents shall be made in writing to the relevant Commission department at its headquarters, Commission Offices in the Member States or Commission Delegations in non-member countries. - The relevant Director-General or Head of Department, the designated Director or an officer acting on their behalf, shall inform the applicant in writing, within one month, whether the application is granted or whether he intends to refuse access. In the latter case the applicant shall also be notified that he has one month in which to apply to the Secretary-General of the Commission for review of the intention to refuse access. - The President shall be empowered to decide on applications for review in agreement with the relevant Member of the Commission. - A fee of ECU 10, plus ECU 0.036 per sheet of paper, shall be charged for copies of printed documents exceeding 30 pages. Charges for information in other formats shall be set on a case by case basis. - If an applicant wishes to consult a document on Commission premises, the relevant department shall try to accommodate him. Where the department is unable to provide appropriate facilities, the document shall be consulted in either of the Commission's central libraries in Brussels and Luxembourg in any of the Commission's Offices in the Member States or in its Delegations in the non-member countries. The Decision will take effect from 15 February 1994. The code of conduct is set out in an Annex to the Decision.