Answer given by Vice-President Jourová on behalf of the European Commission
18.1.2022
The Commission confirms that its document management policy with regard to instant messaging is in line with Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001[1] on access to documents. Under Article 7(1) of Commission Decision C(2020)4482[2], ‘[d]ocuments shall be registered if they contain important information which is not short-lived or if they may involve action or follow-up by the Commission or one of its departments’.
The three key registration criteria are therefore whether:
1. The information relates to the policies, activities or decisions falling within the institution's sphere of responsibility;
2. The information concerned is important and not short-lived;
3. The information concerned has been drawn up or received by the Commission.
Due to their short-lived and ephemeral nature, text and instant messages are not meant to contain important information relating to policies, activities and decisions of the Commission; they therefore neither qualify as a document subject to the Commission record-keeping policy nor are they falling within the scope of Regulation 1049/2001 on access to documents.