Public Access to Documents in EU External Relations

As the EU’s competences and activities in external relations expand, more and more documents held by EU institutions potentially fall within the scope of the ‘international relations’ and ‘defence and military matters’ exception contained in the EU’s Access to Documents Regulation 1049/2001. The increasing potential for the use of exceptions to the general right to access to documents held by the EU institutions negatively affects the ability of citizens and civil society to participate in the democratic life in the EU. This contribution critically evaluates the case-law of the Court of Justice of the EU in interpreting these exceptions and argues for stronger judicial scrutiny over the use of these exceptions by the EU institutions.