The European Defence Agency (EDA) responded positively to a solution proposal by the Ombudsman in a case about public access to documents concerning the EU’s Preparatory Action on Defence Research.

The complainant sought access to the EDA's reviews of ethical, legal and societal aspects of project proposals submitted under the action. The EDA gave the complainant only partial access to most of the documents it identified, redacting personal data and commercial information that it considered to be sensitive.

The Ombudsman found that the EDA should not have restricted access to those project proposals that had been awarded funding. She therefore proposed that the EDA grant access to the commercial information on all projects that received EU funding. The EDA agreed and gave the complainant almost unrestricted access to the documents in question.