2000/23/EC: Council Decision of 6 December 1999 on the improvement of information on the Council's legislative activities and the public register of Council documents
L 9/22 EN Official Journal of the European Communities 13. 1. 2000 II (Acts whose publication is not obligatory) COUNCIL COUNCIL DECISION of 6 December 1999 on the improvement of information on the Council's legislative activities and the public register of Council documents (2000/23/EC) THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS: Having regard to its Rules of Procedure, and in particular Article 8 thereof, Article 1 Whereas: (1) for democracy and accountability Openness is vital within the European Union and information to the public is one of the instruments to enhance such open- ness; The General Secretariat of the Council shall make accessible to the public a list of the items on the provisional agendas of meetings of the Council and its preparatory bodies referring to cases where the Council acts in its legislative capacity, as defined in Article 6 of its Rules of Procedure. This list shall include references to the documents considered in respect of those items. It shall be available in advance of the respective meeting and be updated in case of any changes. (2) Without prejudice to Council Decision 93/731/EC of 20 December 1993 on public access to Council docu- ments (1) and to the principles and limits governing the right of access to documents to be adopted under Article 255 European Community: establishing Treaty the the of — further efforts should be made to improve informa- tion on the Council's legislative activities as defined in Article 6 of its Rules of Procedure, — measures should be taken to enhance further the performance of the public register of Council docu- ments accessible on the Internet (http://ue. eu. int) since 1 January 1999, — the Council's internal procedures for public access to its documents should be further rationalised by using information technologies and avoiding excessive bureaucracy, (1) OJ L 340, 31. 12. 1993, p. 43. Decision as amended by Decision 96/705/EC, ECSC, Euratom (OJ L 325, 14. 12. 1996, p. 19). Article 2 The public register of Council documents shall also include references to the document number and the subject matter of classified documents. No reference shall be made to the subject matter if disclosure of this information could undermine: — the protection of the public interest (public security, inter- national relations, monetary stability, court proceedings, inspections and investigations), — the protection of the individual and of privacy, — the protection of commercial and industrial secrecy, — the protection of the Community's financial interests, — the protection of confidentiality as requested by the natural or legal person who supplied any of the information contained in the document or as required by the legislation of the Member State which supplied any of that informa- tion. 13. 1. 2000 EN Official Journal of the European Communities L 9/23 As soon as the necessary technical preparations have been made and at the latest by 1 July 2000, it shall be indicated in the register which documents have already been released to the public, and their content shall be made available on the Internet. Article 3 This Decision shall be published in the Official Journal. It shall take effect as from 1 January 2000. Article 4 Done at Brussels, 6 December 1999. For the Council The President T. HALONEN