Decision given by the Board of Appeal of the European Supervisory Authorities on the request for public access to documents in the appeal case brought by NOVIS Insurance Company, NOVIS Versicherungsgesellschaft, NOVIS Compagnia di Assicurazioni, NOVIS Poisťovňa a.s. (“NOVIS”) [Appellant] against The European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) [Respondent] - APPEAL under Article 60 of Regulation (EU) No 1093/2010, Regulation (EU) No 1094/2010 and Regulation (EU) No 1095/2010 of the European Parliament and of the Council (the “ESAs Regulations”) (BoA-D-2024-05)
Board of Appeal
Michele Siri (President and Co-Rapporteur)
Margarida Lima Rego (Vice President)
Gerben Everts
Christos Gortsos
Geneviève Helleringer
Carsten Zatschler (Co-Rapporteur)
Place of this decision: Paris
Date: 30 July 2024
Summary
The Appellant is an insurance company established in Slovakia and was directly supervised by Národná banka Slovenska (Slovak National Bank, “NBS”) until its authorisation to conduct insurance business was withdrawn by the NBS with effect on 5 June 2023. The case concerns a request for public access to documents, based on Regulation No 1049/2001, by which the Appellant seeks public disclosure of nine documents held by EIOPA relating to a procedure under Article 17 of the EIOPA Regulation.
Regulation No 1049/2001 lays down specific rules for the right to access to documents enshrined in the EU Treaties and the Charter of fundamental rights and it aims to provide the widest possible access to documents. Even though, in principle, all documents of the institutions should be accessible to the public, certain public and private interests are protected by way of exceptions. The Regulation relies on a ‘rule versus exception’ system: the rule is disclosure, and the exception is non-disclosure. Moreover, where only part of a document is covered by an exception, the Regulation requires partial access to be given to those parts which are not covered by an exception. In parallel, EU institutions and agencies are required to protect the confidential data of all entities, including business secrets.