The complainant, a non-governmental organisation active in the area of civil liberties, asked the European External Action Service's (EEAS) to give it public access to documents related to the surveillance system used to secure its building. The EEAS refused to grant access to the documents. In doing so, it invoked an exception under the EU legislation on public access to documents, arguing that disclosure could undermine public security, by releasing sensitive information on how its buildings and staff are protected.

The Ombudsman opened an inquiry and sought to inspect the documents in question.