31.12. 93 Official Journal of the European Communities ' No L 340/43 COUNCIL DECISION of 20 December 1993 on public access to Council documents (93/731/EC) THE COUNCIL, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 151 (3) thereof, Having regard. to its Rules of Procedure, and in particular Article 22 thereof, ' Whereas on 6 December 1993 the Council and the Commissioni approved a code of conduct concerning public access to Council and Commission documents, reaching common agreement on the principles which must govern such access; Whereas . provisions should be adopted for the implementation of those principles by the Council; Whereas these provisions are applicable to any document held by the Council, whatever its medium, excluding documents written by a person, body or institution outside the Council; Whereas the principle of allowing the public wide access to Council documents, as part of greater transparency in the Council’s work, must however be subject to exceptions, particularly as regards protection of the public interest, the individual and privacy; : Whereas, in the interests of rationalization and efficiency, the Secretary-General of the Council should sign on behalf of the Council and on its authorization replies to applications for access to documents, except in cases where the Council is called upon to reply to a confirmatory application; Whereas this Decision must apply with due regard for provisions governing the protection of classified information, ' - HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS: Article 1 1. The public shall have access to Council documents under the conditions laid down in this Decision. 2. ‘Council document’” means any written text, whatever its medium, containing existing data and held by the Council, subject to-Article 2 (2). Article 2 1.  An application for access to a Council document shall be sent in writing to the Council ("). It must be made in a sufficiently precise manner and must contain information enabling the document or documents requested to be identified. Where necessary, the applicant shall be asked for further details. 2.  Where the requested document was written by a natural or legal person, a Member State, another Community institution or body, or any other national or international body, the application must not be sent to the Council, but direct to the author. : Article 3 1. The applicant shall have access to a Council document either by consulting it on the spot or by having a copy sent at his own expense. The fee shall be set by the Secretary-General. ‘ 2. The relevant departments of the General Secretariat shall endeavour to find a fair solution to deal with repeat applications and/or those which relate to very large documents. : 3. Anyone given access to a Council document may not reproduce or circulate the document for commercial purposes through direct sale without prior authorization from the Secretary-General. i Article 4 1.  Access to a Council document shall not be granted where its disclosure could undermine: — the protection of the public interest (public security, international relations, monetary stability, court proceedings, inspections and investigations), — the protection of the individual and of privacy, — the protection of commercial and industrial secrecy, ~ — the protection of the Community’s financial interests, (") The Secretary-General of the Council of the European Union, 170 rue de la Loi, 1048 Brussels, Belgium.