1.This Decision sets out the handling conditions for EU classified information (EUCI) of CONFIDENTIEL UE/EU CONFIDENTIAL(1) and SECRET UE/EU SECRET(2) level in compliance with Decision (EU, Euratom) 2015/444.
2.This Decision shall apply to all Commission departments and in all premises of the Commission.
1.Access to information classified as CONFIDENTIEL UE/EU CONFIDENTIAL or SECRET UE/EU SECRET may be granted after:
(a)The need for an individual to have access to certain CONFIDENTIEL UE/EU CONFIDENTIAL or SECRET UE/EU SECRET information in order to be able to perform a professional function or task for the European Commission has been determined;
(b)The individual has been briefed on the rules and the relevant security standards and guidelines for protecting CONFIDENTIEL UE/EU CONFIDENTIAL and SECRET UE/EU SECRET information;
(c)The individual has acknowledged their responsibilities for protecting the information concerned; and
(d)The individual has been authorised by the Commission security authority to access EUCI up to the relevant level and until a specified date in accordance with Article 10(1)3 of Decision (EU, Euratom) 2015/444.
2.Commission trainees shall not be given duties that require them to have access to CONFIDENTIEL UE/EU CONFIDENTIAL or SECRET UE/EU SECRET information.
3.Access shall be withheld or permitted for other categories of staff in accordance with the table set out in the Annex.
Pursuant to Article 3 of Decision (EU, Euratom) 2015/444, CONFIDENTIEL UE/EU CONFIDENTIAL information shall mean ‘information and material the unauthorised disclosure of which could harm the essential interests of the European Union or of one or more of the Member States’.
Pursuant to Article 3 of Decision (EU, Euratom) 2015/444, SECRET UE/EU SECRET information shall mean ‘information and material the unauthorised disclosure of which could seriously harm the essential interests of the European Union or of one or more of the Member States’.