This document is an excerpt from the EUR-Lex website
Document 62015TJ0451
Judgment of the General Court (Sixth Chamber) of 7 September 2017.
AlzChem AG v European Commission.
Access to documents — Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 — Documents relating to a procedure for reviewing State aid — Refusal to grant access — Exception relating to the protection of the purpose of inspections, investigations and audits — Obligation to carry out a specific and individual examination — Overriding public interest.
Case T-451/15.
Judgment of the General Court (Sixth Chamber) of 7 September 2017.
AlzChem AG v European Commission.
Access to documents — Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 — Documents relating to a procedure for reviewing State aid — Refusal to grant access — Exception relating to the protection of the purpose of inspections, investigations and audits — Obligation to carry out a specific and individual examination — Overriding public interest.
Case T-451/15.
Court reports – general
Judgment of the General Court (Sixth Chamber) of 7 September 2017 — AlzChem v Commission
(Case T‑451/15)
(Access to documents — Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 — Documents relating to a procedure for reviewing State aid — Refusal to grant access — Exception relating to the protection of the purpose of inspections, investigations and audits — Obligation to carry out a specific and individual examination — Overriding public interest)
1. |
EU institutions — Right of public access to documents — Regulation No 1049/2001 — Exceptions to the right of access to documents — Refusal to grant access — Possibility of relying on general presumptions applicable to certain categories of documents — Purpose (European Parliament and Council Regulation No 1049/2001, Art. 4) (see paras 20, 21) |
2. |
EU institutions — Right of public access to documents — Regulation No 1049/2001 — Exceptions to the right of access to documents — Protection of the purpose of inspections, investigations and audits — Scope — Application to administrative files relating to procedures for reviewing State aid — General presumption that the exception applies to the right of access to all the documents on the administrative file — Scope — Quantitative criterion — Exclusion — Qualitative criterion — Document relative to the procedure for reviewing a state aid — Included (European Parliament and Council Regulation No 1049/2001, Art. 4) (see paras 22, 23, 25, 27, 28) |
3. |
EU institutions — Right of public access to documents — Regulation No 1049/2001 — Exceptions to the right of access to documents — Protection of the purpose of inspections, investigations and audits — Invocation of a general presumption that the exception applies to the documents requested — Rebuttable (European Parliament and Council Regulation No 1049/2001, Art. 4(2)) (see paras 31, 32) |
4. |
EU institutions — Right of public access to documents — Regulation No 1049/2001 — Exceptions to the right of access to documents — Protection of the purpose of inspections, investigations and audits — Scope — Application to administrative files relating to procedures for reviewing State aid — General presumption that the exception applies to the right of access to all the documents on the administrative file — Application for access formulated during the court proceedings concerning the decision on the substance — Admissibility of the refusal (European Parliament and Council Regulation No 1049/2001, Art. 4(2), third indent) (see paras 41, 42, 50) |
5. |
EU institutions — Right of public access to documents — Regulation No 1049/2001 — Exceptions to the right of access to documents — Protection of the purpose of inspections, investigations and audits — Scope — Application to administrative files relating to procedures for reviewing State aid (Art. 108 TFEU; European Parliament and Council Regulation No 1049/2001, Art. 4(2), third indent; Council Regulation No 659/1999, Art. 20) (see paras 54-57) |
6. |
EU institutions — Right of public access to documents — Regulation No 1049/2001 — Exceptions to the right of access to documents — Protection of the purpose of inspections, investigations and audits — Overriding public interest justifying the disclosure of documents — Concept — Obligation on the institution or body to balance the interests at stake (European Parliament and Council Regulation No 1049/2001, second recital and Art. 4(2), third indent) (see paras 65, 66) |
7. |
EU institutions — Right of public access to documents — Regulation No 1049/2001 — Exceptions to the right of access to documents — Overriding public interest justifying the disclosure of documents — Concept — Subjective interest of the person concerned in defending himself — Exclusion (European Parliament and Council Regulation No 1049/2001, Art. 4(2)) (see paras 71-73) |
8. |
EU institutions — Right of public access to documents — Regulation No 1049/2001 — Exceptions to the right of access to documents — Protection of the purpose of inspections, investigations and audits — Invocation of a general presumption that the exception applies to the documents requested — Effects of applying the presumption — Partial disclosue of the content — Exclusion (European Parliament and Council Regulation No 1049/2001, Art. 4(2)) (see paras 93, 94) |
Re:
ACTION under Article 263 TFEU seeking annulment of the Commission decision of 26 May 2015 refusing to grant the applicant access to documents relating to a procedure for reviewing State aid.
Operative part
The Court:
1. |
Dismisses the action; |
2. |
Orders AlzChem AG to pay the costs. |