25 March 2025 – Access Info brings legal challenge against European Commission arguing that its new access to documents rules violate the Charter, the TFEU, and Regulation 1049/2001.
Access Info, together with Emilio de Capitani and Päivi Leino-Sandberg, has brought a direct legal challenge before the General Court of the European Union, arguing that various provisions of the European Commission’s revised internal rules on access to documents violate the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights (the Charter), the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), and Regulation 1049/2001.
Led by lawyers Rainer Hable, Onno Brouwer, Alvaro Pliego Selie, and Matthew Lawton, the case seeks to annul provisions that unlawfully restrict public access to documents, undermining democratic accountability and violating EU legal principles.
In parallel, ClientEarth has launched a separate legal action against the new rules through a request for internal review, citing breaches of environmental law alongside violations of Regulation 1049/2001 and the Charter.
Why This Matters
Access to EU Documents is classified as a fundamental right by the European Union, granted under Article 42 of the Charter and Article 15 TFEU. The enjoyment of this right contributes to strengthening the principles of democracy, enables citizens to participate more closely in the decision-making process of the Union and guarantees that the administration enjoys greater legitimacy.
Regulation 1049/2001, which was adopted before the Lisbon Treaty and the Charter, lays down the general principles and limits on access to documents. It expresses as its purpose to give the “fullest possible effect” to the right of public access to documents.
However, in December 2024, the European Commission adopted new internal rules that, in Access Info’s view, breach the fundamental right of access and Regulation 1049/2001 by imposing restrictions that undermine transparency and are not compliant with established CJEU case law.
How the New Rules Deviate from Regulation 1049/2001
While EU institutions have the authority to establish internal procedures for access to documents, they must do so in compliance with Regulation 1049/2001 and CJEU case law. Access Info argues that the new rules fail to meet these legal standards in several ways, including by:
- Narrowing the definition of what qualifies as a «document»;
- Adding exceptions to the obligation to register documents;
- Introducing an obligation to delete text messages;
- Restricting the definition of «legislative documents» that must be made directly accessible;
- Expanding general presumptions of non-disclosure for certain categories of documents.
The Court of Justice has ruled that exceptions to access must be interpreted strictly, and under Article 52 of the Charter any limitation of fundamental rights must be provided for by law and respect the essence of those rights.
The Commission’s new rules are not of a legislative nature and, in Access Info’s view, the restrictions they impose go beyond the legal framework set by the Treaties and Regulation 1049/2001.