Judgment of the General Court (Sixth Chamber) of 13 September 2013 —
ClientEarth and PAN Europe v EFSA
(Case T‑214/11)
Access to documents — Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 — Names of experts who submitted comments on a guidance document relating to the scientific documents to be included in applications for authorisation to place plant protection products and the active substances contained in those products on the market — Refusal of access — Exception concerning protection of privacy and the integrity of the individual — Protection of personal data — Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 — Obligation to state reasons
1. Judicial proceedings — Decision or regulation replacing the contested measure in the course of proceedings — New factor — Extension of the initial pleadings (Rules of Procedure of the General Court, Art. 48(2)) (see para. 33)
2. Institutions of the European Union — Right of public access to documents — Regulation No 1049/2001 — Exceptions to the right of access to documents — Protection of the privacy and integrity of the individual — Scope — Obligation to assess in conformity with EU legislation on the protection of personal data — Full applicability of the provisions of Regulation No 45/2001 for any request for access to documents containing personal data (European Parliament and Council Regulations No 45/2001, Art. 8, and No 1049/2001, Art. 4(1)(b)) (see paras 39, 40)
3. Approximation of laws — Protection of natural persons in relation to the processing of personal data — Processing of those data by EU institutions and bodies — Information enabling identification of persons submitting observations on a guidance document — Personal data — Application for access to that information under Regulation No 1049/2001 — Obligation to establish the need to transfer those data (European Parliament and Council Regulations No 45/2001, Arts 2(a), 5(b) and 8(b), and No 1049/2001, Art. 4(1)(b)) (see paras 46, 64)
4. Institutions of the European Union — Right of public access to documents — Regulation No 1049/2001 — Exceptions to the right of access to documents — Obligation to state reasons — Scope (Art. 296 TFEU; European Parliament and Council Regulation No 1049/2001) (see paras 62, 63)
Re:
| APPLICATION, initially, for annulment of the EFSA decision of 10 February 2011 refusing an application for access, under 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), to certain working documents relating to a guidance document, prepared by EFSA, for the benefit of applicants for authorisation to place plant protection products on the market and, subsequently, for annulment of EFSA’s decision of 12 December 2011 withdrawing the earlier decision and granting the applicants access to all the information requested, except for the names of the external experts who made certain comments on the draft guidance document. |
Operative part
The Court:
2. | | Orders ClientEarth and Pesticide Action Network Europe (PAN Europe), the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and the European Commission each to bear their own costs. |