Report on the application in 2016 of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 regarding public access to European Parliament, Council and Commission documents

Within the broader transparency agenda, the right of access to documents features as a prominent part of the Commission's approach to transparency. In addition to providing access to documents in its possession under Regulation 1049/2001, the Commission also proactively published, in a user friendly way, a wide range of information and documents, both in its various public registers and on its webpages.

This report provides the overview of how the Commission applied the access-to-documents rules in 2016. The report is based on statistical data which are summarised in the Annex. The statistics reflect the number of applications received in 2016 and the replies provided to them. They do not reflect the number of documents requested or (partially) disclosed, which were far more numerous. Whereas applicants may ask for access to a single document, they more frequently request access to a multitude of documents, or even to entire files concerning a specific subject or procedure.

The statistics show the importance of the right of access to documents as part of the Commission's overall transparency policy. The requested documents were fully or partially disclosed in 81.3% of cases at the initial stage, and wider or even full access was granted in 52% of cases reviewed at the confirmatory stage.