‍Updated on Feb 6^th 2024 based on the version endorsed by the Coreper I on Feb 2^nd

For the purposes of this Regulation the notion of publicly accessible space should be understood as referring to any physical place that is accessible to an undetermined number of natural persons, and irrespective of whether the place in question is privately or publicly owned and irrespective of the activity for which the place may be used, such as commerce (for instance, shops, restaurants, cafés), services (for instance, banks, professional activities, hospitality), sport (for instance, swimming pools, gyms, stadiums), transport (for instance, bus, metro and railway stations, airports, means of transport ), entertainment (for instance, cinemas, theatres, museums, concert and conference halls) leisure or otherwise (for instance, public roads and squares, parks, forests, playgrounds). A place should be classified as publicly accessible also if, regardless of potential capacity or security restrictions, access is subject to certain predetermined conditions, which can be fulfilled by an undetermined number of persons, such as purchase of a ticket or title of transport, prior registration or having a certain age. By contrast, a place should not be considered publicly accessible if access is limited to specific and defined natural persons through either Union or national law directly related to public safety or security or through the clear manifestation of will by the person having the relevant authority on the place. The factual possibility of access alone (e.g. an unlocked door, an open gate in a fence) does not imply that the place is publicly accessible in the presence of indications or circumstances suggesting the contrary (e.g. signs prohibiting or restricting access). Company and factory premises as well as offices and workplaces that are intended to be accessed only by relevant employees and service providers are places that are not publicly accessible.

Publicly accessible spaces should not include prisons or border control. Some other areas may be composed of both not publicly accessible and publicly accessible areas, such as the hallway of a private residential building necessary to access a doctor's office or an airport. Online spaces are not covered either, as they are not physical spaces. Whether a given space is accessible to the public should however be determined on a case-by-case basis, having regard to the specificities of the individual situation at hand.

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[Previous version]

Publicly Accessible Space

For the purposes of this Regulation the notion of publicly accessible space should be understood as referring to any physical place that is accessible to an undetermined number of natural persons, and irrespective of whether the place in question is privately or publicly owned. and irrespective of the activity for which the place may be used, such as commerce (for instance, shops, restaurants, cafés), services (for instance, banks, professional activities, hospitality), sport (for instance, swimming pools, gyms, stadiums), transport (for instance, bus, metro and railway stations, airports, means of transport ), entertainment (for instance, cinemas, theatres, museums, concert and conference halls) leisure or otherwise (for instance, public roads and squares, parks, forests, playgrounds). A place should be classified as publicly accessible also if, regardless of potential capacity or security restrictions, access is subject to certain predetermined conditions, which can be fulfilled by an undetermined number of persons, such as purchase of a ticket or title of transport, prior registration or having a certain age. By contrast, a place should not be considered publicly accessible if access is limited to specific and defined natural persons through either Union or national law directly related to public safety or security or through the clear manifestation of will by the person having the relevant authority on the place. The factual possibility of access alone (e.g. an unlocked door, an open gate in a fence) does not imply that the place is publicly accessible in the presence of indications or circumstances suggesting the contrary (e.g. signs prohibiting or restricting access). Company and factory premises as well as offices and workplaces that are intended to be accessed only by relevant employees and service providers are places that are not publicly accessible. Publicly accessible spaces should not include prisons or border control areas. Some other areas may be composed of both not publicly accessible and publicly accessible areas, such as the hallway of a private residential building necessary to access a doctor's office or an airport. Online spaces are not covered either, as they are not physical spaces. Whether a given space is accessible to the public should however be determined on a case-by-case basis, having regard to the specificities of the individual situation at hand.