Any natural or legal person shall have a right of access to documents of the Translation Centre for the bodies of the European Union (the Centre) subject to the principles, conditions and limits laid down in Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 and in accordance with the provisions of this decision.
2004/605/EC: Decision of the Translation Centre for the bodies of the European Union of 13 April 2004 on the implementation of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council regarding public access to documents
2004/605/EC: Decision of the Translation Centre for the bodies of the European Union of 13 April 2004 on the implementation of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council regarding public access to documents
THE MANAGEMENT BOARD,
Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 2965/94 of 28 November 1994 setting up a Translation Centre for bodies of the European Union(1), as last amended by Council Regulation (EC) No 1645/2003(2) of 18 June 2003, in particular Article 18a 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 guarantees that the administration enjoys greater legitimacy and is more effective and more accountable to the citizen in a democratic system and contributes to strengthening the principles of democracy and respect for fundamental rights as laid down in Article 6 of the EU Treaty and in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union.
Article 18a of Regulation (EC) No 2965/94 provides that Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council regarding public access to European Parliament, Council and Commission documents(3) (hereinafter Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001) shall also apply to documents held by the Centre and it also provides that the Management Board shall adopt the practical arrangements for implementing Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001,
HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:
Article 1 Beneficiaries and scope
1.
2.
Documents in the Centre’s possession for translation purposes only are not held by the Centre within the meaning of Article 2(3) of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001.
Article 2 Definitions
For the purpose of this decision:
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‘document’ shall mean any content whatever its medium (written on paper or stored in electronic form or as a sound, visual or audiovisual recording) concerning a matter relating to the policies, activities and decisions falling within the Centre’s sphere of responsibility;
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‘third party’ shall mean any natural or legal person, or any entity outside the Centre, including the Member States, other Community or non-Community institutions and bodies and third countries.
Article 3 Applications
1.
All applications for access to a document shall be sent to the Centre via its website (www.cdt.eu.int), by e-mail (cdt@cdt.eu.int), by mail (Translation Centre for the Bodies of the European Union, Bâtiment Nouvel Hémicycle, 1 rue du Fort Thüngen, L-1499 Luxembourg), or by fax ((352) 421711 220). The Centre shall reply to initial and confirmatory access applications within 15 working days from the date of registration of the application. In the case of complex or bulky applications, the deadline may be extended by 15 working days. Reasons must be given for any extension of the deadline and be notified to the applicant in advance.
2.
If an application is not sufficiently precise, as referred to in Article 6(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001, the Centre shall ask the applicant to provide further information to help identify the documents requested; the deadline for reply shall run only from the date on which the Centre is in receipt of such information.
3.
Any decision which is even partly negative shall state the reason for the refusal based on one of the exceptions listed in Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 and shall inform the applicant of the remedies open to it.
Article 4 Processing of initial applications
1.
Once the application has been registered, an acknowledgement of receipt shall be sent to the applicant, unless a reply is sent immediately. The acknowledgement of receipt and the reply shall be sent in writing, where appropriate in electronic form.
2.
Subject to the provisions of Article 9 of this decision, the Administration Department shall have the power to decide on the action to be taken with regard to initial applications. To that end, a member of staff shall be assigned to process applications for access and to coordinate replies.
The applicant shall be informed of the outcome of its application.
Any reply which is even partly negative shall inform the applicant of its right to submit, within 15 working days from receipt of the reply, a confirmatory application to the Centre.
3.
In the event of a total or partial refusal, the applicant may, within 15 working days of receiving the Centre’s reply, make a confirmatory application asking the Centre to reconsider its position.
4.
Failure by the Centre to reply within the prescribed time-limit shall entitle the applicant to make a confirmatory application.