European Union · Access to Documents

Public access to EU documents under Regulation 1049/2001

AccessPoint runs requests for European Parliament, Council and Commission documents on the 15-working-day clock — with confirmatory applications, the Article 4 exceptions, and a record ready for the Ombudsman or the Court — inside your own Microsoft 365 tenant.

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European Union — Institutions at a glance

Response deadline
15 working days from registration of the application (Article 7)
Extensions
A further 15 working days in exceptional cases — very long or very numerous documents (Article 7(3))
Confirmatory application
Within 15 working days of a refusal; the institution replies within 15 working days, extendable by 15 (Article 8)
Exceptions
The Article 4 exceptions, most subject to an overriding-public-interest test
Fee
On-site consultation and copies below a threshold are free; a charge only for larger copy volumes (Article 10)
Oversight
European Ombudsman and the General Court (CJEU)
Languages
Any EU official language; ships English and French

Built for European Union — Institutions

One platform for the whole access-and-privacy mandate, pre-configured for this regime and running in your own Microsoft 365 tenant.

The 1049/2001 request lifecycle

Intake to disclosure on the 15-working-day clock, with the Article 7(3) exceptional extension, the Article 4 exception catalogue, and a record ready for Ombudsman or Court review — all built on Microsoft 365.

Confirmatory applications

Track the two-stage process — the initial reply, the applicant's confirmatory application within 15 working days, and the institution's reconsidered decision on its own statutory clock — as linked records.

The Article 4 exceptions

Apply the mandatory and discretionary exceptions — public security, defence, international relations, financial and economic policy, personal privacy, commercial interests, court proceedings, investigations, and internal decision-making — each weighed against the overriding public interest.

Third-party and member-state consultation

Where a document originates with a third party or a member state, run the consultation the Regulation requires before deciding on disclosure (Article 4(4) and (5)).

Document register and proactive publication

Keep the public register the Regulation expects and move routine categories to proactive publication, so fewer documents need a formal request at all.

In your own tenant

Every request, document, and decision stays inside your own Microsoft 365 and Azure tenant — no third-party cloud and no vendor access to your data.

From request to confirmatory review

Every refusal can be reconsidered — then reviewed by the Ombudsman or the Court. AccessPoint tracks the whole path.

Regulation 1049/2001 gives anyone the right to documents held by the Parliament, Council and Commission, answered within 15 working days. A refusal is not the end: the applicant can file a confirmatory application asking the institution to reconsider, and if that fails, complain to the European Ombudsman or bring the matter before the General Court. AccessPoint runs the initial application, the confirmatory stage, and the oversight track on one platform — each with its own clock and a complete, exportable record.

Initial application 15 working days to grant access or give reasons, with the exceptional 15-day extension.
Confirmatory stage The reconsideration request and the institution's second decision, tracked on its own clock.
Independent review A record ready for the European Ombudsman or the General Court of the CJEU.

Configured out of the box

Installing the eu-institutions-foi configuration pack seeds your tenant with everything this regime needs — a starting point you can adjust, not a lock-in.

Related guide: FOI Workflow Quick Check
  • Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 as the legal-authority and citation spine
  • The 15-working-day clock and the Article 7(3) exceptional extension
  • Confirmatory-application handling on its own statutory clock (Article 8)
  • The Article 4 exception catalogue with the public-interest balancing test
  • Third-party and member-state consultation regimes (Article 4(4) and (5))
  • Fee rules for copies above the free threshold (Article 10)
  • European Ombudsman and General Court review tracking
  • Correspondence templates in English and French, extendable to any EU official language

European Union — Institutions Questions

What deadline does Regulation 1049/2001 set?
An institution must handle an initial application within 15 working days of registration, either granting access or stating the reasons for refusal; in exceptional cases — a very long document or a very large number of documents — the limit may be extended by a further 15 working days (Article 7). AccessPoint calculates both on the working-day calendar.

How does the confirmatory application work?
If access is refused, the applicant has 15 working days to make a confirmatory application asking the institution to reconsider; the institution then has 15 working days, extendable by 15, to reply (Article 8). AccessPoint tracks the two stages as linked records, each on its own clock, so nothing falls between them.

Which exceptions can justify a refusal?
Article 4 sets out the exceptions — public security, defence and military matters, international relations, financial, monetary or economic policy, personal privacy and integrity, commercial interests, court proceedings and legal advice, inspections and investigations, and internal decision-making — most of them weighed against an overriding public interest. AccessPoint ships the catalogue for tagging and redaction.

Where does document data reside?
Entirely within your own Microsoft 365 and Azure tenant. Requests, documents, and decisions never leave your control — no third-party cloud, no vendor access, and no onward transfer of your data.

Run Access to Documents on One Platform

Try AccessPoint free for 30 days, pre-configured for Regulation 1049/2001. No credit card required.

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