EC decisions are published in the L series of the Official Journal, and can be challenged in ECJ …. And/or, via a FOC(followonclaim) to CAT, (in UK) etc…(for orther eucountries)
Notifications on EC competition investigations are published in the C series of the Official Journal
DG website publishes all public information relating to competition
Selected notifications and decisions are also published in The Common Market Law Reports Antitrust Reports.
There may also be press releases, freely available from the EU Press Room.
EC: RIGHT OF ACCESS TO FILE
Access to the EC’s file is one of the procedural guarantees intended to apply the principle of equality of arms and to protect rights of defence. exceptions: commercial secrets and internal documents of EU and competition authorities of member states. Parties have access to a non-confidential version of the documents. In this way, the parties can protect their business secrets or other confidential information. In order to claim confidentiality, parties should provide a non-confidential version of their documents in which the information considered confidential is blackened out, and a non-confidential summary and a justification for each confidentiality claim. …. EC makes documents available to the parties on the eConfidentiality platform which is to host and orchestrate the confidentiality negotiations.
a.If an investigation leads to a Statement of Objections (SO), EC grants access to those documents.
b.Access to EC’s investigative file is granted upon request and only to those undertakings/associations of undertakings to which a SO is addressed.
c.Settlements: If the EC has decided to pursue the settlement procedure, will disclose information in its file to the parties that are engaged in settlement discussions, after agreeing on a non-confidential version of the relevant evidence.
c.Leniency :Oral statements made under the leniency programme are accessible only on Commission premises. Confidentiality claims cannot be made on oral statements.
(a) the public interest as regards:
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-public security,
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-defence and military matters,
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– international relations,
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– the financial, monetary or economic policy of the Community or a Member State;
(b) privacy and the integrity of the individual, in particular in accordance with Community legislation regarding the protection of personal data.
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2. The institutions shall refuse access to a document where disclosure would undermine the protection of:
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– commercial interests of a natural or legal person, including intellectual property,
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– court proceedings and legal advice,
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– the purpose of inspections, investigations and audits,
Applications
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1. Applications for access to a document shall be made in any written form, including electronic form, in one of the languages referred to in Article 314 of the EC Treaty and in a sufficiently precise manner to enable the institution to identify the document. The applicant is not obliged to state reasons for the application.
Article 7
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1. An application for access to a document shall be handled promptly. An acknowledgement of receipt shall be sent to the applicant. Within 15 working days from registration of the application, the institution shall either grant access to the document requested and provide access in accordance with Article 10 within that period or, in a written reply, state the reasons for the total or partial refusal and inform the applicant of his or her right to make a confirmatory application in accordance with paragraph 2 of this Article.
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2. In the event of a total or partial refusal, the applicant may, within 15 working days of receiving the institution’s reply, make a confirmatory application asking the institution to reconsider its position.
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3. In exceptional cases, for example in the event of an application relating to a very long document or to a very large number of documents, the time-limit provided for in paragraph 1 may be extended by 15 working days, provided that the applicant is notified in advance and that detailed reasons are given.
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4. Failure by the institution to reply within the prescribed time-limit shall entitle the applicant to make a confirmatory application.
Article 9: Treatment of sensitive documents
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1. Sensitive documents are documents originating from the institutions or the agencies established by them, from Member States, third countries or International Organisations, classified as “TRÈS SECRET/TOP SECRET”, “SECRET” or “CONFIDENTIEL” in accordance with the rules of the institution concerned, which protect essential interests of the European Union or of one or more of its Member States in the areas covered by Article 4(1)(a), notably public security, defence and military matters.
- 2. Applications for access to sensitive documents under the procedures laid down in Articles 7 and 8 shall be handled only by those persons who have a right to acquaint themselves with those documents. These persons shall also, without prejudice to Article 11(2), assess which references to sensitive documents could be made in the public register.
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3. Sensitive documents shall be recorded in the register or released only with the consent of the originator.
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4. An institution which decides to refuse access to a sensitive document shall give the reasons for its decision in a manner which does not harm the interests protected in Article 4.
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5. Member States shall take appropriate measures to ensure that when handling applications for sensitive documents the principles in this Article and Article 4 are respected.
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6. The rules of the institutions concerning sensitive documents shall be made public.
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7. The Commission and the Council shall inform the European Parliament regarding sensitive documents in accordance with arrangements agreed between the institutions.