BRUSSELS – Freedom of Information (FOI) requests have potential as one of the most powerful investigative tools for journalists covering the European Union. That’s despite delays, redactions and barriers to accessing official documents.
“This right to access information is an essential part of the journalist toolbox,” said Pascal Hansens (Investigate Europe).
Together with Alexander Fanta (Follow the Money), Hansens hosted a 90-minute workshop for more than 40 journalists at Brussels’ Residence Palace on mastering Freedom of Information (FOI) requests and the EU’s access-to-documents legislation.
“Many journalists in Brussels don’t actually make EU access-to-documents requests. But whenever journalists exercise that right, we keep it alive,” Hansens added.
The workshop, organised by Brussels-based foreign correspondents’ association API‘s transparency group, encouraged reporters to make greater use of EU transparency laws, arguing that every Freedom of Information request helps protect public access to information and strengthens democratic accountability.
“The internal process is quite opaque. It’s an extremely political process. Your access request will be sent from the Access to Documents team to the cabinet, to the comms people, back and forth, until it actually gets through to the people where the documents originate from,” said Fanta.
Hansens and Fanta described filing Freedom of Information requests as an act of solidarity with fellow journalists, arguing that every request demonstrates continued public demand for transparency and helps preserve the right to access EU documents.
FOI requests ‘an act of solidarity’ for journalists
The workshop outlined how Regulation 1049/2001 gives EU citizens and residents the right to request documents from EU institutions. In theory, institutions must respond within 15 working days, although deadlines can be extended and appeals frequently add months to the process.
The speakers warned, however, that obtaining meaningful documents from the European Commission and other EU institutions has become increasingly difficult.
According to figures presented during the workshop, the European Commission received around 6,000 access-to-documents requests last year, with only about 30% resulting in full disclosure. Many requests are only partially granted or heavily redacted, while others face significant delays.
Both Fanta and Hansens pointed to the Commission’s use of the general presumption of confidentiality, under which entire categories of documents, including competition cases, are considered outside the scope of Freedom of Information requests.
“It’s funny how far that general presumption stretches. A lot of the lobbying by the tech companies around how to apply the Digital Services Act is deemed to be part of that kind of black hole area,” said Fanta.
Despite these obstacles, both journalists highlighted investigations made possible through Freedom of Information requests, including access to Council working papers, lobbying documents and internal communications. Such documents have revealed member states’ negotiating positions, lobbying activities and draft legislation that would otherwise have remained hidden.
The speakers also advised journalists to submit narrowly focused requests, keep track of applications and appeal refusals where appropriate. They recommended requesting specific documents such as flash notes, readouts and pre-briefings instead of relying solely on publicly available meeting summaries, which they said often lack meaningful detail.
Even FOI refusals can become news stories
Fanta cited his efforts to obtain documents linked to the “Pfizergate” affair. The European Commission replied that it did not hold any documents corresponding to text messages exchanged by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
“We knew this SMS did exist,” said Fanta.
“I made an Ombudsman complaint and they said: we don’t have text messages. We never keep text messages. It became the Pfizergate Affair,” he added.
While acknowledging that the EU access-to-documents system can be frustrating, Hansens argued that persistence remains essential.
“Whenever journalists exercise that right, we keep it alive,” he said, urging reporters to continue using access-to-documents laws not only for individual investigations but also to strengthen transparency across the European Union.
FOI at the National Level for EU Investigations
National Freedom of Information (FOI) laws are often faster and less restrictive than EU regulations, making them a powerful backdoor for covering Brussels, say Fanta and Hansens. Because EU member states and EEA partners receive draft texts, lobbying inputs, and regulatory updates, reporters can bypass EU delays by targeting national authorities:
- Top Jurisdictions: Norway’s searchable public register operates like a searchable database for official correspondence. Sweden’s strong access laws frequently disclose uncensored civil servant names, while Slovenia offers robust transparency.
- Key Targets: Submit requests to Permanent Representations, national ministries, or via environmental info laws (transposing the Environmental Information Directive).
- Parallel Requests: Filing simultaneously in multiple countries often bypasses Commission redactions and exposes individual state positions.
- Think out of the box: Countries like Hungary and Turkey can also be surprisingly effective for FOI requests; despite their overall press freedom challenges, specific administrative mechanisms and legal channels may yield swift, unexpected document releases. And best practices are to be found outside the EU in Switzerland and Norway.