The Council of the European Union has initiated a written procedure to adopt its reply to confirmatory application No 39/c/01/26, extending the deadline for Member States to submit their votes to 11 August 2026, noon (Brussels time). The procedure, launched on 7 August 2026, asks Member States to decide on three questions: whether to use the written procedure for adoption, whether to adopt the reply as set out in document 11403/26 REV 1, and whether to publish the outcome, including the voting records of Member States that vote NO or abstain, as well as any unilateral statements. Votes must be sent by email to the Council's transparency unit by the stated deadline.
The written procedure is based on Article 12 of the Council's Rules of Procedure, which allows decisions to be taken without a formal meeting. Member States may vote YES or NO on each question, with abstention permitted only for questions 2 and 3. Unilateral statements must be submitted separately. The reply itself addresses a confirmatory application under Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 regarding public access to Council documents, a file that has seen no prior coverage in recent months.
This procedural step follows the standard practice for handling access-to-documents requests, where the Council's General Secretariat prepares a draft reply and Member States are consulted. The outcome of the written procedure will determine the final response to the applicant, and the publication of the outcome will include the individual voting positions of Member States, a transparency measure that has been standard practice in such procedures.
For stakeholders, the decision affects the applicant seeking access to the documents, who will receive the Council's final reply once adopted. Member States face the administrative burden of submitting their votes by the deadline, while the Council's transparency unit manages the process. The publication of voting records enhances transparency for the public and civil society, but may expose Member States' positions on sensitive access requests. The extension of the deadline to 11 August provides additional time for national administrations to coordinate their positions, but also delays the final response to the applicant.
No further institutional follow-up is specified in the document; the next step is the collection of votes and the formal adoption of the reply, after which the outcome will be communicated to the applicant and published.