EU Commission wrong to deny access to interchange fee research, say EU judges

The European Commission was wrong to deny MasterCard access to research that fed into the draft regulation capping cross-border card payments, EU judges in Luxembourg ruled today (9 September).

The decision could encourage businesses, NGOs and journalists to demand impact assessment documents, including those produced by third parties such as consultants, used by the Commission to justify its regulatory decisions. That could lead to research and methodologies being challenged by industry before officials propose binding rules.

Steven Peers, professor of EU law and human rights law at the University of Essex, told EurActiv, “The important feature of this judgment is that it applies the right of access to documents very strongly as regards the Commission's impact assessment process, including the draft documents drawn up by the consultants during that process.

Read more: Commission wrong to deny access to interchange fee research, say EU judges | EurActiv