Answer given by First Vice-President Timmermans on behalf of the Commission

29.5.2018

1. The European Commission would like to draw the attention of the Honourable Member that it is not responsible for the issuing of long-term passes to the European Parliament. Organisations and individuals are required to register in the Transparency Register prior to requesting access to the European Parliament in the form of a long-term pass, but registration does not confer an automatic entitlement to such access. Any decision on a request for access to the European Parliament’s premises is the sole prerogative of the European Parliament.

2. The European Commission does not operate a system of granting long-term passes to its premises. Access to its buildings is granted on a ‘need-to-access basis’ and each request is evaluated on its own merits. Visitors must be accompanied by a Commission official at all times.

3. According to the provisions of the Interinstitutional Agreement on the Transparency Register, the Joint Transparency Register Secretariat may open an investigation into alleged breaches of the Transparency Register Code of Conduct. In case the Honourable Member has any concrete allegations relating to possible breaches of the Code of Conduct by the Open Dialog Foundation or its representatives, he is welcome to transmit them to the Joint Transparency Register Secretariat run by the European Parliament and the European Commission which will ensure due follow-up.