LJUBLJANA (Slovenia), January 24 (SeeNews) – The European Commission said on Thursday it has decided to refer Slovenia to the Court of Justice of the EU for failure to respect the protected status of European Central Bank (ECB) documents and failure to cooperate sincerely.
The case refers to violation to the inviolability of the archives of the ECB and the duty of sincere cooperation in the context of the seizure of European Central Bank documents that took place at the central bank of Slovenia, the Commission said in its January infringements package.
“On 6 July 2016, in the context of a national investigation against central bank officials unrelated to the tasks of the ECB, the Slovenian authorities seized information at the Bank of Slovenia that included ECB documents and IT hardware. The ECB had given no prior authorisation for the seizure of those items, and subsequent attempts by the ECB to resolve the matter amicably have been unsuccessful,” the statement added.
The Commission also said that the unilateral seizure by Slovenia of ECB documents in an investigation about matters under national law at the premises of the Bank of Slovenia constitutes a violation of the inviolability of the archives of the ECB.
“The inviolability of the ECB's archives by national authorities is protected by Protocol 7 to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,” the Commission noted, adding that the EU law provides for procedures by which the privileges and immunities of the Union institutions can be lifted at the request of national authorities, which were not used in this case.
Attempts by the Commission to clarify the facts and circumstances were unsuccessful, it said, adding that these attempts included a pilot letter in December 2016, a letter of formal notice in May 2017 and a reasoned opinion in July 2018.