More than 2 million documents in the public register

The Council of the European Union's public register has reached 2 million documents online. Around 75% of these documents are available in full and directly downloadable.

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The online public register offers citizens access to documents relating to the activities of the Council and its preparatory bodies. It contains references to all official Council documents and is constantly updated via an automatic archiving system. The register also contains documents relating to the activities of the European Council.

Among the documents that are directly accessible to the public are:

• documents relating to items discussed in public Council sessions
• certain preparatory documents relating to the Council's legislative activities
• various background documents, including meeting agendas and information notes

The register works in all official EU languages, but some documents are available only in a limited number of language versions. In 2012, around 750 000 users accessed the register, a 35% increase compared to 2011.

The Council was the first EU institution to establish a public register, on 1 January 1999, two years before the entry into force of Regulation 1049/2001 (pdf), which granted EU citizens a right of access to European Parliament, Council and Commission documents.

Access to documents is just one example of the Council's commitment to openness and transparency. The Council meets in public when discussing and voting on draft legislative acts or deliberating on issues affecting the EU and its citizens. In addition, results of votes on legislative acts, webcast recordings and press releases are all available on the Council's website.

The General Secretariat is working hard to make the public register more user-friendly. Moreover, additional measures to increase transparency are planned for the near future. The ongoing overhaul of the Council's website will simplify access to factual information and documents on the Council's work. By the end of 2013, a searchable database of voting records will become accessible online. 

See also: 

• Public register of Council documents
• Transparency and access to documents
• Open sessions
• Council's annual report on access to documents 2012 (pdf)
• Transparency portal (European Commission)