Almost 600 respondents participated in the consultation on designing an online platform for public access to Commission documents

Between 29 June 2018 and 21 September 2018, the European Commission conducted a public consultation on a new online platform for public access to Commission documents, open to all citizens and entities with an interest in this field. 576 respondents in total took part in the consultation, 27 % of whom stated that they had already introduced a request for access to documents.

The project aims to design a new online platform for submitting and handling requests under Regulation 1049/2001 for public access to documents held by the Commission. In 2018, an action aimed at delivering a feasibility study for this project has become part of the ISA² Programme.

The general objective is to develop a more effective, user-friendly and electronic way to deal with requests for access to Commission documents, thereby bringing the Commission closer to citizens. The new online platform aims to facilitate electronic cross-border interactions with citizens, make it easier for them to track the documents they are interested in, and provide electronic access to the released documents.

The public consultation has enabled the European Commission to gather input from citizens on how to design the platform to best meet citizens’ needs.

Regarding the possible features of the future system, all received the highest possible score in terms of perceived usefulness (corresponding to the qualification ‘most useful’).

The following features were qualified as ‘most useful’ in order of decreasing relevance:

• access through the platform to the (fully or partially) released documents.
• step-by-step guidance on how best to identify the documents requested;
• an option to receive an email delivery every time there is a new development regarding the applicant’s request;
• a way of communicating directly with the Commission through the platform regarding the request;
• a form enabling the applicant to contest the initial decision;
• a personalised account enabling the user to submit requests, update his/her profile, etc.
• a smartphone-friendly interface;
• an overview of all requests launched up to now.

The European Commission is currently analysing the replies to the open questions. It is also seeking the views of the EU Member States, the European Parliament and the Council on those possible features which would be most of interest to them.