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Action brought on 12 June 2009 - Access Info Europe v Council

(Case T-233/09)

Language of the case: English

Parties

Applicant: Access Info Europe (Madrid, Spain) (represented by: O. Brouwer and J. Blockx, lawyers)

Defendant: Council of the European Union

Form of order sought

annul the contested decision;

order the Council to pay the applicant's costs pursuant to Article 87 of the Rules of Procedure of the Court of First Instance, including the costs of any intervening parties.

Pleas in law and main arguments

The applicant seeks, pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001¹, the annulment of the Council's decision to refuse full access to document 16338/08, a note from the General Secretariat to the Working Party on Information concerning the Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and the Council regarding public access to European Parliament, Council and Commission documents. The Council has allegedly only granted the applicant access to a redacted version of this document, excluding those parts which enable the delegations making proposals for modifications to be identified.

The applicant submits that the contested decision should be annulled on the following grounds:

First, the applicant claims that the Council breached Article 4(3), first subparagraph of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 in that

(a) it failed to show how the disclosure of the names of the delegations would seriously undermine the institution's decision-making process;

(b) it did not substantiate the risk that the delegations' views would cease to be submitted in writing nor how this would seriously undermine the institution's decision-making process; and in that

(c) it failed to take into account the overriding public interest in disclosure of the identity of the national delegations.

Second, the applicant submits that the Council violated the duty to state reasons as required by Article 253 EC and Articles 7(1) and 8(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001.

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¹ - 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 (OJ 2001 L 145, p. 43)