The purpose of this Decision is to define the conditions and limits according to which the ECB shall give public access to ECB documents and to promote good administrative practice on public access to such documents.
Decision of the European Central Bank of 4 March 2004 on public access to European Central Bank documents (ECB/2004/3) (2004/258/EC)
Decision of the European Central Bank of 4 March 2004 on public access to European Central Bank documents (ECB/2004/3) (2004/258/EC)
THE GOVERNING COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK,
Having regard to the Statute of the European System of Central Banks and of the European Central Bank, and in particular to Article 12.3 thereof,
Having regard to the Rules of Procedure of the European Central Bank(1), and in particular to Article 23 thereof,
Whereas:
The second subparagraph of Article 1 of the Treaty on European Union enshrines the concept of openness, stating that the Treaty marks a new stage in the process of creating an ever closer union among the peoples of Europe, in which decisions are taken as openly as possible and as closely as possible to the citizen. Openness enhances the administration's legitimacy, effectiveness and accountability, thus strengthening the principles of democracy.
In the Joint Declaration(2) relating to Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2001 regarding public access to European Parliament, Council and Commission documents(3), the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission call on the other institutions and bodies of the Union to adopt internal rules on public access to documents which take account of the principles and limits set out in the Regulation. The regime on public access to ECB documents as laid down in Decision ECB/1998/12 of 3 November 1998 concerning public access to documentation and the archives of the European Central Bank(4) should be revised accordingly.
Wider access should be granted to ECB documents, while at the same time protecting the independence of the ECB and of the national central banks (NCBs) foreseen by Article 108 of the Treaty and Article 7 of the Statute, and the confidentiality of certain matters specific to the performance of the ECB's tasks. In order to safeguard the effectiveness of its decision-making process, including its internal consultations and preparations, the proceedings of the meetings of the ECB's decision-making bodies are confidential, unless the relevant body decides to make the outcome of its deliberations public.
However, certain public and private interests should be protected by way of exceptions. Furthermore, the ECB needs to protect the integrity of euro banknotes as a means of payment including, without limitation, the security features against counterfeiting, the technical production specifications, the physical security of stocks and the transportation of euro banknotes.
When NCBs handle requests for ECB documents that are in their possession, they should consult the ECB in order to ensure the full application of this Decision unless it is clear whether or not the document may be disclosed.
In order to bring about greater openness, the ECB should grant access not only to documents drawn up by it, but also to documents received by it while at the same time preserving the right for the third parties concerned to express their positions with regard to access to documents originating from those parties.
In order to ensure that good administrative practice is respected, the ECB should apply a two-stage procedure,
HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:
Article 1 Purpose
Article 2 Beneficiaries and scope
1.
Any citizen of the Union, and any natural or legal person residing or having its registered office in a Member State, has a right of access to ECB documents, subject to the conditions and limits defined in this Decision.
2.
The ECB may, subject to the same conditions and limits, grant access to ECB documents to any natural or legal person not residing or not having its registered office in a Member State.
3.
This Decision shall be without prejudice to rights of public access to ECB documents which might follow from instruments of international law or acts which implement them.
Article 3 Definitions
For the purpose of this Decision:
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‘document’ and ‘ECB document’ shall mean any content whatever its medium (written on paper or stored in electronic form or as a sound, visual or audiovisual recording) drawn up or held by the ECB and relating to its policies, activities or decisions, as well as documents originating from the European Monetary Institute (EMI) and from the Committee of Governors of the central banks of the Member States of the European Economic Community (Committee of Governors);
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‘third party’ shall mean any natural or legal person, or any entity outside the ECB;
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‘national competent authority’ (NCA) and ‘national designated authority’ (NDA) have the meaning given to them by Council Regulation (EU) No 1024/2013(5);
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‘other relevant authorities and bodies’ means relevant national authorities and bodies, Union institutions, bodies, offices and agencies, relevant international organisations, supervisory authorities and administrations of third countries.
Article 4 Exceptions
1.
The ECB shall refuse access to a document where disclosure would undermine the protection of:
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the public interest as regards:
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the confidentiality of the proceedings of the ECB's decision-making bodies, the Supervisory Board or other bodies established pursuant to Regulation (EU) No 1024/2013,
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the financial, monetary or economic policy of the Union or a Member State,
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the internal finances of the ECB or of the NCBs,
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protecting the integrity of euro banknotes,
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public security,
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international financial, monetary or economic relations,
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the stability of the financial system in the Union or in a Member State,
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the Union's or a Member State's policy relating to the prudential supervision of credit institutions and other financial institutions,
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the purpose of supervisory inspections,
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the soundness and security of financial market infrastructures, payment schemes or payment service providers;
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the privacy and the integrity of the individual, in particular in accordance with Union legislation regarding the protection of personal data;
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the confidentiality of information that is protected as such under Union law.
2.
The ECB shall refuse access to a document where disclosure would undermine the protection of:
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the commercial interests of a natural or legal person, including intellectual property,
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court proceedings and legal advice,
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the purpose of inspections, investigations and audits,
unless there is an overriding public interest in disclosure.
3.
Access to a document drafted or received by the ECB for internal use as part of deliberations and preliminary consultations within the ECB, or for exchanges of views between the ECB and NCBs, NCAs or NDAs, shall be refused even after the decision has been taken, unless there is an overriding public interest in disclosure.
Access to documents reflecting exchanges of views between the ECB and other relevant authorities and bodies shall be refused even after the decision has been taken, if disclosure of the document would seriously undermine the ECB's effectiveness in carrying out its tasks, unless there is an overriding public interest in disclosure.
4.
As regards third-party documents, the ECB shall consult the third party concerned with a view to assessing whether an exception in this Article is applicable, unless it is clear that the document shall or shall not be disclosed.
As regards requests for access to European Systemic Risk Board documents, Decision ESRB/2011/5 of the European Systemic Risk Board of 3 June 2011 on public access to European Systemic Risk Board documents(6), adopted on the basis of Article 7 of Council Regulation (EU) No 1096/2010 of 17 November 2010 conferring specific tasks upon the European Central Bank concerning the functioning of the European Systemic Risk Board(7), shall apply.
5.
If only parts of the requested document are covered by any of the exceptions, the remaining parts of the document shall be released.
6.
The exceptions as laid down in this Article shall only apply for the period during which protection is justified on the basis of the content of the document. The exceptions may apply for a maximum period of 30 years unless specifically provided otherwise by the ECB's Governing Council. In the case of documents covered by the exceptions relating to privacy or commercial interests, the exceptions may continue to apply after this period.