Media outlets, journalists’ associations and press freedom organizations have called on European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to improve journalists’ access to the institution’s documents. They warn that lengthy delays, rejected requests and excessive redaction of documents are obstructing reporting on matters of public interest.
In an open letter addressed to von der Leyen, the signatories state that the European Commission is failing to provide journalists with the documents they need to investigate issues of public interest, including scrutiny of the financial and political interests that affect the lives of EU citizens.
“Journalists’ requests for access to documents face serious delays. After a lengthy wait, access may be denied on questionable grounds, or journalists may receive documents with so much information redacted that no clear information can be extracted,” the letter states. It also adds that, in some cases, the European Commission has failed to properly preserve or archive key documents.
The signatories warned that public debate across Europe is being undermined, leaving citizens without essential information about political decision-making at critical moments.
They argued that this also damages the European Commission’s reputation as an institution that defends the EU’s democratic values, particularly at a time when democratic norms around the world are under pressure.
The letter, published by the EUobserver portal, was signed by 16 media outlets, associations and organizations, including Follow the Money, Investigate Europe, the European Federation of Journalists, the International Federation of Journalists, the Committee to Protect Journalists, the International Press Institute, the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), and PEN International.
As examples of cases in which journalists have faced obstacles in accessing essential documents for investigations into matters of public interest, EUobserver cited how member states spent billions of euros from post-COVID-19 recovery funds; the European Commission’s lack of transparency regarding its cooperation with Israel in research and armaments; and Ursula von der Leyen’s failure to preserve her correspondence with Pfizer’s chief executive.
The outlet also noted that the European Commission rejected its request to disclose 17 documents concerning EU funding for infrastructure projects in Gaza — a matter that prompted an investigation by the European Ombudsman.
The signatories called on the Commission to repeal its internal procedural rules adopted in 2024, which they say obstruct access to documents, and to ensure consistent implementation of the regulation governing public access to EU documents. They also called for the Commission to regularly publish data on journalists’ requests for access to information, including waiting times, and to support the European Ombudsman’s work in assessing whether decisions to withhold information were necessary and proportionate.
Another demand is the creation of a comprehensive public electronic register of documents, covering all legislative and preparatory documents, as well as documents that have already been made public in response to access-to-information requests.
The signatories also called for the reinstatement of an action plan aimed at improving journalists’ access to information.
According to the signatories, the plan should include the implementation of the European Ombudsman’s recommendations on deadlines for processing requests for access to documents, as well as full compliance with rulings by the Court of Justice of the European Union concerning access to documents.
They further called for improvements to internal procedures for registering and archiving documents, along with stronger capacity within the Commission to handle access requests quickly and efficiently.
Tom Gibson of the Committee to Protect Journalists, the main initiator of the letter, said that although the European Commission claims to defend press freedom — both within Europe and through its foreign policy — it is “in fact seeking to create obstacles to a favourable environment for journalists reporting on its institutions, apparently with the aim of maintaining control over the official narrative.”
“This must change; otherwise, the European Commission risks being accused of applying double standards,” Gibson noted, as reported by EUobserver.
