ACCESS TO DOCUMENTS AND PROTECTION OF PERSONAL DATA : ADVOCATE-GENERAL: BOTH REGULATIONS CAN BE RECONCILED.

Is there a conflict between the regulation on access to the documents of Community institutions - Regulation 1049/2001 - and that on the protection of personal data by the institutions - Regulation (EC) 45/2001? This is the question analysed by Advocate-General Eleanor Sharpston in her conclusions, issued on 15 October, in the Commission vs Bavarian Lager case (C-28/08). There is no conflict, everything depends on the "proportion" and nature of the personal data contained in the documents requested from the institution, she essentially writes.

THE DISPUTE

This legal issue stems from a refusal by the Commission to disclose the names of participants in a meeting held in October 1996 in the framework of an infringement proceeding against the United Kingdom, a proceeding suspended following the regularisation carried out by this member state. Bavarian Lager, at the origin of the complaint, asked the Commission for the minutes of this meeting according to the regulation on access to documents and found itself opposed by an exception founded on the protection of personal data. After several attempts, Bavarian Lager only obtained the names of persons having explicitly authorised this communication. It referred the matter to the Court of First Instance (CFI), in 2004, which considered that, according to the regulation on access to documents, the Commission could not base its refusal on a breach of privacy. Nevertheless, it examined whether the provisions of the Data Protection Regulation in terms of the protection of privacy were applicable. It considered that the persons having taken part in the meeting were doing so as representatives of a collective body and that the communication of their names did not constitute a potential interference with privacy. Furthermore, it considered that there was no investigation underway that could have been compromised by this disclosure (Case T-194/04). The Commission appealed to the Court of Justice, considering that the CFI had made several errors of law.

DATA PROTECTION AND TRANSPARENCY

The advocate-general believes that the purpose of the Personal Data Regulation is to protect any processing of personal data, wholly or partly, by automatic means, which form part of a filing system or are intended to form part of a filing system in the context of the activities of the institutions. Outside of these specific circumstances, other provisions apply, particularly when it concerns access to documents - Regulation...