II. CLASSIFICATION MANAGEMENT

Information shall be classified where it requires protection with regard to its confidentiality. The originator of EUCI shall be responsible for determining the security classification level, in accordance with the relevant classification guidelines, and for the initial dissemination of the information. The classification level of EUCI shall be determined in accordance with Article 2(2) and by reference to the security policy to be approved in accordance with Article 3(3). The security classification shall be clearly and correctly indicated, regardless of whether the EUCI is on paper, oral, electronic or in any other form. Individual parts of a given document (i.e. pages, paragraphs, sections, annexes, appendices, attachments and enclosures) may require different classifications and shall be marked accordingly, including when stored in electronic form. The overall classification level of a document or file shall be at least as high as that of its most highly classified component. When information from various sources is collated, the final product shall be reviewed to determine its overall security classification level, since it may warrant a higher classification than its component parts. To the extent possible, documents containing parts with different classification levels shall be structured so that parts with a different classification level may be easily identified and detached if necessary. The classification of a letter or note covering enclosures shall be as high as the highest classification of its enclosures. The originator shall indicate clearly at which level it is classified when detached from its enclosures by means of an appropriate marking, e.g.: CONFIDENTIEL UE/EU CONFIDENTIAL Without attachment(s) RESTREINT UE/EU RESTRICTED In addition to one of the security classification markings set out in Article 2(2), EUCI may bear additional markings, such as: an identifier to designate the originator; any caveats, code-words or acronyms specifying the field of activity to which the document relates, a particular distribution on a need-to-know basis or restrictions on use; releasability markings; or where applicable, the date or specific event after which it may be downgraded or declassified. Standardised abbreviated classification markings may be used to indicate the classification level of individual paragraphs of a text. Abbreviations shall not replace the full classification markings. The following standard abbreviations may be used within EU classified documents to indicate the classification level of sections or blocks of text of less than a single page: TRÈS SECRET UE/EU TOP SECRET TS-UE/EU-TS SECRET UE/EU SECRET S-UE/EU-S CONFIDENTIEL UE/EU CONFIDENTIAL C-UE/EU-C RESTREINT UE/EU RESTRICTED R-UE/EU-R When creating an EU classified document: each page shall be marked clearly with the classification level; each page shall be numbered; the document shall bear a reference number and a subject, which is not itself classified information, unless it is marked as such; the document shall be dated; and documents classified SECRET UE/EU SECRET or above shall bear a copy number on every page, if they are to be distributed in several copies. Where it is not possible to apply paragraph 13 to EUCI, other appropriate measures shall be taken in accordance with security guidelines to be established pursuant to Article 6(2). At the time of its creation, the originator shall indicate, where possible, and in particular for information classified RESTREINT UE/EU RESTRICTED, whether EUCI can be downgraded or declassified on a given date or following a specific event. The GSC shall regularly review EUCI held by it to ascertain whether the classification level still applies. The GSC shall establish a system to review the classification level of EUCI which it has originated no less frequently than every five years. Such a review shall not be necessary where the originator has indicated from the outset that the information will automatically be downgraded or declassified and the information has been marked accordingly.

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Source: EUR-Lex (Cellar) · retrieved 2026-11-01 · Text as adopted (Official Journal); later amendments are not incorporated in this text.