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Advisor(s)
Abstract(s)
Apresentam-se referências aos documentos que regulam a política de acesso
público aos documentos da União Europeia e alguns aspectos da sua incidência em matérias
de direito da concorrência. O acesso público aos documentos da União Europeia configura
hoje um verdadeiro direito fundamental. O direito de acesso aos documentos constitui um
aspecto da política de abertura e deve ser apreciado no âmbito da política de informação e
comunicação das instituições.
Uma vez que a questão do acesso aos documentos não foi regulada nos Tratados, coube
ao direito derivado regulamentar a matéria. Foi, assim, adoptado o acto que tem por objecto
permitir o acesso aos documentos das instituições europeias, para que se possa entregar
aos cidadãos qualquer tipo de documento, nas condições previstas e dentro dos limites das
excepções previstas, o Regulamento (CE) n.º 1049/2001. O regulamento, provocou, como
demonstram os relatórios publicados pelas três instituições, um aumento notório e constante
dos pedidos de acesso aos documentos, com um decréscimo do número de recusas.
Colocou-se na doutrina a questão de saber se, havendo normas específicas previstas em
regulamentos sectoriais, o regime geral seria necessário para tais casos. A avaliação final de
muitas questões envolvidas está caso a caso na decisão final do Tribunal de Justiça, muito
embora a abertura e transparência no decurso dos processos de aplicação das normas da
concorrência sejam assumidamente objectivos a prosseguir pela Comissão. Impõe-se uma
valoração circunstanciada de cada caso concreto examinado, coordenando o direito de
acesso à informação num processo administrativo com os interesses públicos e privados em
causa, mantendo um equilíbrio entre o conhecimento processual de determinados dados e a
defesa dos interesses maiores.
This paper presents references to the documents governing the policy of public access to EU documents as a fundamental right and some aspects of their impact on issues of competition law matters. Public access to EU documents today is a true fundamental right. The right of access to documents is an aspect of the policy of openness and must be assessed in the context of the institutions’ information and communication policy. Since the issue of access to documents was not regulated in the Treaties, the secondary legislation was the subject matter. The purpose of the measure was therefore to provide access to the documents of the European institutions so that citizens can be given any type of document, under the conditions laid down and within the limits of the exceptions provided, to Regulation (EC) 1049/2001. As the reports published by the three institutions show, the Regulation has led to a marked and constant increase in requests for access to documents, with a decline in the number of refusals. The question arose as to whether, if there were specific rules laid down in sectoral regulations, the general scheme would be necessary for such cases. The final assessment of many issues involved is on a case-by-case basis in the final decision of the Court of Justice, although openness and transparency in the procedures for the application of competition rules are clearly intended to be pursued by the Commission. A detailed assessment must be made of each individual case examined, coordinating the right of access to information in an administrative procedure with the public and private interests concerned, maintaining a balance between the procedural knowledge of certain data and the defense of the larger interests.
This paper presents references to the documents governing the policy of public access to EU documents as a fundamental right and some aspects of their impact on issues of competition law matters. Public access to EU documents today is a true fundamental right. The right of access to documents is an aspect of the policy of openness and must be assessed in the context of the institutions’ information and communication policy. Since the issue of access to documents was not regulated in the Treaties, the secondary legislation was the subject matter. The purpose of the measure was therefore to provide access to the documents of the European institutions so that citizens can be given any type of document, under the conditions laid down and within the limits of the exceptions provided, to Regulation (EC) 1049/2001. As the reports published by the three institutions show, the Regulation has led to a marked and constant increase in requests for access to documents, with a decline in the number of refusals. The question arose as to whether, if there were specific rules laid down in sectoral regulations, the general scheme would be necessary for such cases. The final assessment of many issues involved is on a case-by-case basis in the final decision of the Court of Justice, although openness and transparency in the procedures for the application of competition rules are clearly intended to be pursued by the Commission. A detailed assessment must be made of each individual case examined, coordinating the right of access to information in an administrative procedure with the public and private interests concerned, maintaining a balance between the procedural knowledge of certain data and the defense of the larger interests.
Description
Keywords
Comissão Europeia Documentos da União Europeia Acesso público European Commission European Union documents Public access
Citation
Publisher
Instituto Politécnico do Porto, Instituto Superior de Contabilidade e Administração do Instituto Politécnico