Article 10 Access to documents and confidentiality

Requests addressed to the Group for access to the documents concerning its activities shall be handled by the Commission in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council^f1.

The Group's discussions shall not be open to the public. In agreement with the Chair, the Group may decide, for certain subject matters to open up its discussions to the public.

Documents submitted to members of the Group, representatives of third parties and experts shall not be disclosed to the public, unless access is granted to those documents pursuant to paragraph 1 or they are otherwise made public by the Commission.

The Commission's rule on security regarding the protection of Union classified information laid down in Commission Decisions (EU, Euratom) 2015/443^f2 and (EU, Euratom) 2015/444^f3 shall apply to any such information received, created or handled by the Group. Information handled by the Group which is covered by an obligation of professional secrecy, shall be duly protected.

Members of the Group as well as representatives of third parties and experts shall be required to respect the confidentiality obligations set out in this Article. The chair shall ensure that representatives of third parties and experts are made aware of the confidentiality requirements imposed upon them.