President
European Commission

Dear President,

Thank you for your letter of 22 May 2025 informing me about the Commission’s detailed position on the Ombudsman’s suggestions in the above case.

It is encouraging to note that the Commission has shared the Ombudsman’s decision among its departments to raise their awareness, in particular, of the requirements set out in the case law when they refuse public access to legislative documents. As mentioned in the decision, it is crucial that, in a Union based on the rule of law, the EU institutions give full effect to the case law and apply the highest standards of transparency of legislative documents.

I also welcome the information on further steps taken by the Commission to improve its proactive transparency.

This inquiry found that, in many cases in which public access was refused or only partial access granted, the Commission did not provide sufficiently concrete arguments and evidence justifying non-disclosure of legislative documents or their parts. In this context, I encourage the Commission to further reflect on the kind of arguments it advances when it refuses public access to legislative documents, taking into account the case law of the EU Courts.

I appreciate that it might be burdensome to proactively ask third parties about the disclosure of their submissions related to the Commission’s legislative files. However, I wish to draw the Commission’s attention to the rationale for the related suggestion, which is to ensure that third parties be made aware that their submissions become legislative documents and, as such, can in principle be disclosed to the public.

Please note that I intend to monitor how the Commission implements the suggestions made in the context of this inquiry based on any future complaints.

Yours sincerely,

Teresa Anjinho
European Ombudsman

Strasbourg, 18/08/2025