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The Google data centre was first announced in 2016 (Photo: Shutterstock) 

The Commission on Access to Documents--a transparency body within the government--in May had said the MoU on building a data centre in Bissen should be released. But prime minister Xavier Bettel decided not to follow the recommendation.

The Mouvement Ecologique--which had made the initial request with the commission--decided to challenge Bettel’s decision in court.

But the tribunal in its 32-page verdict sided with the defendant. The agreement in question does not constitute an administrative document as defined by a 2018 law, it said. The law had constituted the Commission on Access to Documents and opened up freedom of information requests on a selection of documents.

In addition, the MoU contains commercial and confidential information that Google has a right not to want to reveal, the tribunal said. This includes water needed by the data centre for cooling but also the identities of the landowners who sold the Bissen plot to Google.

The Mouvement Ecologique has 40 days to appeal the decision.

The Google data centre was first announced by former economy minister Etienne Schneider in 2016 and has since cleared important administrative hurdles. In June 2019, the Bissen municipal council voted to reclassify the land for construction. On 22 October it also voted through the special development plan (Plan d’aménagement particulier - PAP) that details the height of buildings and other technical aspects.

Results of an environmental impact study remain outstanding and the company has yet to obtain operating permits as part of so-called commodo/incommodo procedures.