Public Access to Documents in EU External Relations
Amsterdam Law School Research Paper No. 2022-08
Amsterdam Centre for European Law and Governance Research Paper No. 2022-02
Amsterdam Centre for European Studies Research Paper No. 2022
27 Pages Posted: 5 Apr 2022
Date Written: March 22, 2022
Abstract
As the EU’s competences and activities in external relations expand, more and more documents held by EU institutions potentially fall within the scope of the ‘international relations’ and ‘defence and military matters’ exception contained in the EU’s Access to Documents Regulation 1049/2001. The increasing potential for the use of exceptions to the general right to access to documents held by the EU institutions negatively affects the ability of citizens and civil society to participate in the democratic life in the EU. This contribution critically evaluates the case-law of the Court of Justice of the EU in interpreting these exceptions and argues for stronger judicial scrutiny over the use of these exceptions by the EU institutions.
Keywords: Access to documents, regulation 1049/2001, international relations exception, transparency in international relations, EU transparency law
JEL Classification: K23, K29, K39
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation