Head of Unit - Legal Services Unit Institutional and Horizontal Affairs Centre European Union Agency for Asylum

 

 

Dear Ms X,

The Ombudsman has received a complaint against the European Union Agency for Asylum (EUAA). The complaint concerns the refusal of the EUAA to give public access to several documents containing information about the reception conditions of migrants in Greece.

The complainant’s access request of 11 October 2023 concerned “all documents (...) pertaining to and/or mentioning reception conditions in camps and/or detention centres on the Greek islands of Lesbos, Samos, Chios, Kos and Leros”, including fundamental rights aspects. The request covered the period 1 May 2023 - 9 October 2023. On 19 December 2023, the EUAA identified 133 documents falling under the scope of the request, and refused access to all but one document. In doing so, the EUAA relied on three exceptions under the EU legislation on access to documents (Regulation 1049/2001), namely the need to protect the public interest as regards public security, personal data, and its decision-making process.

On 4 January 2024, the complainant asked the EUAA to review its initial decision and to provide (partial) access to the documents with the exception of personal data. On that occasion, he also asked the EUAA to provide him with a detailed list of identified documents. On 20 February 2024, the EUAA adopted a confirmatory decision maintaining the decision to refuse access to the remaining 132 documents for the reasons stated in its initial decision. At that stage, the EUAA provided the complainant with a list of the documents he had requested. 

The complainant is dissatisfied with the EUAA’s refusal to provide (partial) access to the documents. He also takes issue with the absence of a detailed list of documents in the EUAA’s initial reply, which he argues made the confirmatory application more challenging.

We have decided to open an inquiry into the complaint against the EUAA’s decision to refuse access to the 132 remaining documents under Regulation 1049/2001.

Regulation 1049/2001 states that applications for access should be handled promptly. It is in line with this principle that the Ombudsman also seeks to deal with cases such as this as quickly as possible.

As a first step, we consider it necessary to review the documents at issue in the complaint, as well as any third-party consultations[1] conducted by the EUAA in relation to the access request. We would be grateful if the EUAA could provide these documents, preferably in electronic format through encrypted e-mail,[2] by 19 April 2024.

The documents subject to the public access request will be treated confidentially, along with any other material the EUAA chooses to share with us that it marks confidential. Documents of this kind will be handled and stored in line with this confidential status and will be deleted from the Ombudsman’s files shortly after the inquiry has ended.

The EUAA’s position has been set out in its confirmatory decision of 20 February 2024. However, should the EUAA wish to provide additional views, to be taken into account by the Ombudsman during this inquiry, we would be grateful if they could be provided to us within fifteen working days from the receipt of this letter, that is, 3 May 2024.

In case the size of the documents poses a problem or for any other question, please feel free to contact the inquiries officer responsible for the case, Amandine Le Bellec.

Rosita Hickey
Director of Inquiries

Strasbourg, 12/04/2024

 

[1] We understand from the confirmatory decision that both the Greek authorities and the European Commission were consulted.

[2] Encrypted emails can be sent to our dedicated mailbox.