Treatment of initial applications
1. Without prejudice to Article 8 of this Decision, as soon as the application is registered, an acknowledgement of receipt shall be sent to the applicant, unless the answer can be sent by return post.
The acknowledgement of receipt and the answer shall be sent in writing, where appropriate, by electronic means.
2. The applicant shall be informed of the response to his/her application by the Head of Unit concerned.
3. Any answer which is even partly negative shall inform the applicant of his/her right to submit, within 15 working days from receipt of the answer, a confirmatory application to the Agency to reconsider its position.
4. Failure by the Agency to reply within the prescribed time limit shall entitle the applicant to make a confirmatory application.
Article 4
Treatment of confirmatory applications
1. The Director of the Agency shall take the decisions refusing access relating to confirmatory applications. He/she shall inform the Administrative Board of the Agency of such actions.
2. The decision shall be notified to the applicant in writing, where appropriate by electronic means, and shall inform him/her of his/her right to bring an action before the Court of First Instance or to lodge a complaint with the European Ombudsman.
Article 5
Consultations
1. Where the Agency receives an application for access to a document which it holds but which originates from a third party, the Agency shall check whether one of the exceptions provided for under Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 applies.
2. If, after that examination, the Agency considers that access to it must be refused under one of the exceptions provided for by Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001, the negative answer shall be sent to the applicant without consultation of the third-party author.
3. The Agency shall grant the application without consulting the third-party author where:
(a) the document requested has already been disclosed either by its author or under Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 or similar provisions;
(b) it is obvious that the disclosure, or partial disclosure, of its contents would not affect one of the interests referred to in Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001.
4. In all other cases, the third-party author shall be consulted. In particular, if an application for access concerns a document originating from a Member State, the Agency shall consult the originating authority where:
(a) the document was forwarded to the Agency before the date from which Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 applies;
(b) the Member State has requested the Agency not to disclose the document without its prior agreement, in accordance with Article 4(5) of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001.
5. The third party consulted shall have a deadline for reply which shall be no shorter than five working days but must allow the Agency to abide by its own deadlines for reply. In the absence of an answer within the prescribed period, or if the third party is untraceable or not identifiable, the Agency shall decide in accordance with the rules on exceptions in Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001, taking into account the legitimate interests of the third party on the basis of the information at its disposal.
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