Ref. Ares(2023)800788 - 03/02/2023
EUROPEAN COMMISSION
NEIGHBOURHOOD AND ENLARGEMENT NEGOTIATIONS
R - Resources
R.2 – Legal Issues
Brussels
Subject:
Your application for access to documents
Ref.:
EASE 2022/6665
Dear Ms Pacciardi,
I refer to your application for access to documents1 registered under the above-mentioned
reference number and our subsequent correspondence2.
Your initial request read:
“Under the right of access to documents in the EU treaties, as developed in
Regulation 1049/2001, in relation to the implementation of the project
“Recovery, Stability and socio-economic development in Libya- Phase 2 (T05-
EUTF-NOA-LY-13).
I am requesting documents produced since July 2020 which contain the following
information which:
-
In-depth Guidelines/minutes of meetings on how to carry out the activities
generically indicated in the Action Documents of projects
-
Any agreement signed between the EU (or AICS) and third parties
-
Documents with information concerning detailed activities that have been
implemented by the Italian Cooperation (AICS) and the local partners
1 Refs. Ares(2022)7961091 and Ares(2022)8020201.
2 Refs. Ares(2022)8461061, Ares(2023)67962 and Ares(2023)796044.
Ms Agnese Pacciardi
Hässleholmsgatan 8B
214 43 Malmö
Sweden
By email only to:
ask+request‐12178‐xxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxx.xxx
Commission européenne/Europese Commissie, 1049 Bruxelles/Brussel, BELGIQUE/BELGIË – Tel. +32 22991111
-
Monitoring reports on performed activities
-
Minutes of the meetings of the Operational Committee, as the body
responsible for reviewing and approving the actions financed by the
EUTF, and evaluating reports of the impact of this project on migrants
and refugees
-
Financial reports detailing the expenditure items of the €25,000,000
budget invested in the project, in particular the €16,000,000, received by
the Italian Cooperation (AICS)”
We asked for clarifications, and you responded3:
Our 1st question: “
In-depth Guidelines/minutes of meetings on how to carry out
the activities generically indicated in the Action Documents of projects”. This
question is extremely vague; could you please specify of which body you are
precisely ask “Guidelines/minutes of meetings?”
Your response: “
In relation to the first point of you clarification request, please
note that I am referring to minutes of the meetings of the Project Steering
Committee (as well as other documents related to the meetings of such
Committee), as well as any other existing minutes of meetings in relation to the
project T05-EUTF-NOA-LY-13.”
Our 2nd question: “
In addition, could you please explain in more detail what
“how to carry out the activities generically indicated in the Action Documents of
projects” exactly mean? Are you referring to contractual procedures, regulating
the contracts between the EU and the Implementing Partners?”
Your response: “
In addition, and concerning the second part of the question you
ask to clarify, I request access to the following documents:
-
Contractual procedures between the EU and the Implementing
Partners
-
Documents related to any workshop/meeting on the state of play of the
project implementation and future developments
-
Any existing narrative report on the project (e.g. quarterly narrative
information notes, interim narrative information notes, notes on the
project etc.)
-
Any existing report related to the negotiation, procurement and direct
award grants (and annexes)
-
Any existing letters (or other written exchange) between DG NEAR
and the Italian counterpart of the project (MAECI, AICS).”
3
Ref. Ares(2022)8507232
2
Our 3rd question: “
Any agreement signed between the EU (or AICS) and third
parties”. Does this question refer to AICS component of the programme T05-
EUTF-NOA-LY-13 only, or also to those implemented by UNICEF and UNDP?”
Our 4th question: “
Monitoring reports on performed activities” Does this question
refer specifically to AICS component of the programme T05-EUTF-NOALY-13,
or also to those implemented by UNICEF and UNDP?”
Our 5th question: “
Financial reports detailing the expenditure items of the
€25,000,000 budget invested in the project, in particular the €16,000,000,
received by the Italia Cooperation (AICS).” Could you please clarify if you are
interested in financial reports relating to UNDP and UNICEF components of the
programme as well?”
Your response to our 3rd, 4th and 5th questions: “
As for the other three
clarification requests, I hereby clarify that I am interested only in the AICS
component of the programme T05-EUTF-NOA-LY-13, and not in UNICEF and
UNDP.”
I also refer to our correspondence, in which we agreed to narrow down the scope of your
application4.
Your application concerns 27 documents, which you can find listed in Annex I to this
letter.
Having examined the documents under the provisions of Regulation (EC) No
1049/20015, I have decided that:
- Full access can be granted to documents 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 13, 16, 18, 20, 22, 23, 24
and 26.
- Partial access can be granted to documents 2, 8, 14, 15, 17, 19, 21, 25 and 27 as
full disclosure is prevented by the exception to the right of access laid down in
Article 4(1)(b) (protection of the privacy and integrity of the individual) of
Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001.
Documents 2, 3, 7, 8, 14, 18, 19, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26 and 27 contain phrases, which are
out of scope of this request and as therefore been redacted.
Note that documents 9, 10, 11 and 12 are the same as documents 2, 3, 4 and 7
respectively.
The justification regarding the exception laid down in Article 4(1)(b) of Regulation (EC)
No 1049/2001 is as follows:
Documents 2, 8, 14, 15, 17, 19, 21, 25 and 27 contain the following personal data:
- biometric data such as handwritten signatures;
4
Refs. Ares(2023)45968 Ares(2023)129373 and Ares(2023)136351.
5 Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2001
regarding public access to European Parliament, Council and Commission documents, Official Journal
L 145 of 31 May 2001, p. 43.
3
- the names/initials of Commission staff members not pertaining to the senior
management;
- the names/initials and contact details of other natural persons;
- other information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person
(functions).
Article 9(1)(b) of the Data Protection Regulation6 does not allow the transmission of
these personal data, except if you prove that it is necessary to have the data transmitted to
you for a specific purpose in the public interest and where there is no reason to assume
that the legitimate interests of the data subject might be prejudiced. In your application,
you do not express any particular interest to have access to these personal data, nor do
you put forward any arguments to establish the necessity to have the data transmitted for
a specific purpose in the public interest.
I conclude that, pursuant to Article 4(1)(b) of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001, access
cannot be granted to the personal data contained in the requested documents, as the need
to obtain access thereto for a purpose in the public interest has not been substantiated and
there is no reason to think that the legitimate interests of the individuals concerned would
not be prejudiced by disclosure of the personal data concerned.
I would also like to underline that Article 4(1)(b) of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 has
an absolute character and does not envisage the possibility to demonstrate the existence
of an overriding public interest.
Means of Redress
For the sake of good order, I further refer to Article 7(2) of Regulation (EC) No
1049/2001. Pursuant to this Article, you are entitled to make a confirmatory application
requesting the Commission to review this position.
Such a confirmatory application should be addressed within 15 working days upon
receipt of this letter to the Secretary-General of the Commission at the following address:
European Commission
Secretariat-General
Transparency, Document Management & Access to Documents (SG.C.1)
BERL 7/076
B-1049 Bruxelles
or by email t
o: xxxxxxxxxx@xx.xxxxxx.xx
Yours sincerely,
(e-signed)
Christos KOMNINOS
6 Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2018 on the
protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data by the Union institutions,
bodies, offices and agencies and on the free movement of such data and repealing Regulation (EC) No
45/2001 and Decision No 1247/2002/EC, OJ L 295 of 21 November 2018, p. 39.
4
Head of Unit
Encl./
Annex I – List of documents
Documents 1-8, 13-27.
5
Electronically signed on 03/02/2023 10:58 (UTC+01) in accordance with Article 11 of Commission Decision (EU) 2021/2121