Open data

The Council of the EU participates in the EU open data portal with three datasets:

metadata of the Council's public register
metadata of the database on requests for public access to documents
Council votes on legislative acts

The EU open data portal was launched in December 2012. It is a single point of access to a growing range of data from the EU institutions and other EU bodies. The data are free for you to use and reuse for commercial or non-commercial purposes, provided that the source is acknowledged.

The EU open data portal aims to promote the innovative use of the data and unleash their economic potential. It also aims to help encourage the transparency and accountability of the EU's institutions and other EU bodies.

The datasets

Dataset: metadata of the Council's public register

License: General Secretariat of the Council (GSC) legal notice

The Council's public register of documents was set up in 1999. The register contains references to documents issued by the Council since that date (exceptions apply regarding classified documents). Public documents are also available for downloading through the register.

On average, around 25 000 documents are added to the register each year (original language). The information related to Council documents is public even if the contents of a document are not available to the public.

This dataset contains the following metadata on Council documents:

publication status
document category
document number
suffix
title
interinstitutional code
subject matter
originator (author)
addressee(s)
issue date
meeting related to document
document languages

Information contained in this dataset may still be subject to change. The dataset is updated daily.

Dataset: metadata of the database on requests for public access to Council documents

License: General Secretariat of the Council (GSC) legal notice

Each year the Council publishes an annual report on the implementation of regulation 1049/2001 on access to documents. The annual report contains statistical information on the requests for public access received by the Council. With the exception of personal data, information on such requests is public.

This dataset contains the following information on the requests for public access to documents received by the Council:

1. General information on the applicant (anonymous)

professional activity of applicant
geographic origin

2. General Information on the request

request number
type of request (initial request, confirmatory application)
date of request
deadline to reply
extended deadline to reply
date of reply
effort spent
follow-up
policy area(s)

3. Information on the requested documents

publication status (public or not)
type of reply
document category
document number

Information contained in this dataset may still be subject to change. The dataset is updated daily.

Dataset: Council votes on legislative acts

License: General Secretariat of the Council (GSC) legal notice

The Council's voting records are public whenever it adopts a legislative act under the ordinary or a special legislative procedure. On average, the Council adopts 120 legislative acts per year.

This database contains not only the votes of the Council when adopting a legislative act but also information related to that act, such as:

form of adoption (in a Council meeting or by written procedure)
Council session
Council configuration
date of adoption
policy area
act type (regulation, directive, decision or position)
act number (as published in the EU's Official Journal)
subject (title)
document number (submitted to the Council for adoption)
interinstitutional code
legislative procedure (ordinary or special legislative procedure)
action by the Council (according to the steps of the legislative procedure)
voting rule (qualified majority or unanimity)

Information contained in this dataset may still be subject to change. The dataset is updated daily.

Disclaimer

These datasets are exclusively for information purposes. Only Council minutes on the adoption of legislative acts and the Council's annual report on the implementation of regulation 1049/2001 are authentic. These documents are available through the Council's public register.

Information contained in these datasets may still be subject to change.

The General Secretariat of the Council aims to keep this information accurate. If errors are brought to our attention, we will try to correct them.