Judgment of the General Court Sixth Chamber, Extended Composition of 14 September 2022, Pollinis France v Commission, T-371/20 and T-554/20

• Date: 14 September 2022
• Year: 2022

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I. INSTITUTIONAL PROVISIONS: ACCESS TO DOCUMENTS

Judgment of the General Court (Sixth Chamber, Extended Composition) of 14 Septem ber

2022, Pollinis France v Commission, T-371/20 and T-554/20

Link to the full text of the judgment

Access to documents – Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 – Standing Co mmittee for Plants, Animals, Food and

Feed – EFSA guidance document on the risk assessment of plant protection products on bees – Individual

positions of the Member States – Refusal to grant access – Article 4(3) of Regulation No 1049/2001 –

Exception relating to protection of the decision-making process

The applicant, Pollinis France, is a French non-governmental organisation whose activity concerns the

protection of the environment and whose purpose is the protection of wild and honey bees and the

promotion of sustainable agriculture in order to help preserve pollinators.

On 27 January 2020 and on 8 April 2020, the applicant lodged with the European Commission two

requests for access

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to certain documents concerning the Guidance Document of the European Food

Safety Authority (EFSA) on the risk assessment of plant protection products on bees, adopted by the

EFSA on 27 June 2013 (‘the 2013 guidance document on bees’).

By two decisions of 19 June 2020 and 21 July 2020,

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the Commission refuse d to grant the applicant

access to certain documents and granted partial access to certain other documents concerning the

2013 guidance document on bees (‘the contested decisions’). The refusals to grant access were based

on the exception relating to the protection of the privacy and the integrity of the individual

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and the

exception relating to the protection of the decision-making process, both of which are provided for in

Regulation No 1049/2001.

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The applicant lodged before the General Court two actions seeking the annulment of the contested

decisions.

By its judgment, the General Court, in an extended composition, annuls those decisions in that they

refuse access to the documents requested on the basis of the exception relating to protection of the

decision-making process. On this occasion, it rules on whether a decision-making process is to be

classified as being ongoing or closed, and on the access to documents setting out the individual

positions of the Member States expressed within a comitology committee.

Findings of the Court

Before turning to examine the merits of the actions, the General Court first of all clarifies the subject

matter of the action for the annulment of the decision of 19 June 2020.

In the present case, that decision replaced the implied rejection decision, by providing an express

response to the confirmatory request lodged by the applicant on 25 March 2020.

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Pursuant to Regulation (EC) No1049/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2001 regarding public access to

European Parliament, Council and Commission documents (OJ 2001 L 145 , p. 43) and Regulation (EC) No1367/2006 of the European

Parliament and of the Counc il of 6 September 2006 on the app lication of the provisions of the Aarhus Convention on Access to Information,

Public Participation in the Decision -making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters to Community institutions and bodies (OJ 2 006

L 264, p. 13).

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Commission Decisions C(2020) 4231 final of 19 June 2020 and C(2020 ) 5120 final of 21 July 2020.

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Article 4(1)(b) of Regulation No1049/2001.

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First subparagraph of Article 4(3) of Regulation No1049/2001.