Ref. Ares(2018)4143655 - 07/08/2018
EUROPEAN COMMISSION
Directorate-General for Trade
The Director General
Brussels,
trade.dga2.f.1(2018)4341933
By registered letter with acknowledgment of
receipt
Mr Jeremie Charles
23 rue de la science
1040 Bruxelles
Advance copy by email :
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxx.xxx
Subject: Your application for access to documents Ref GestDem 2018/3266
Dear Mr Charles,
I refer to your e-mail dated 14 June 2018 in which you make a request for access to
documents under Regulation (EC) No 1049/20011 ("Regulation 1049/2001"), registered
on 25 June 2018 under the reference number GestDem 2018/3266.
You request access to:
-
Any and all document/information identifying the sanctions/penalties imposed by
Member States in the event of breach of any relevant provision of Council
regulation (EC) No 428/2009 (as provided by Article 24 thereof).
You clarified on 25 July 2018 that your request concerns
(1) the most recent documents that
each Member State sent to the Commission providing the penalties applicable to
infringements of Council Regulation (EC) No 428/2009 in their jurisdiction pursuant to
Article 25 thereof; and (2) any document drawn up by the Commission compiling the
penalties applicable to infringements of Council Regulation (EC) No 428/2009 by Member
State.
I would like to inform you that the Commission does not hold any documents that would
correspond to the description given in your application.
As specified in Article 2(3) of Regulation 1049/2001, the right of access as defined in
that regulation applies only to existing documents in the possession of the institution.
1 Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 May 2001
regarding public access to European Parliament, Council and Commission documents, OJ L 145,
31.5.2001, p. 43.
Commission européenne, B-1049 Bruxelles / Europese Commissie, B-1049 Brussel - Belgium. Telephone: (32-2) 299 11 11.
Regular information exchange with Member States is conducted on national measures, and
the results are published in the Official Journal (See C304/3 of 20 August 2016). However
this exchange concerns measures taken under Articles 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 17 and 22 of Council
Regulation (EC) No 428/2009, but has thus far not been extended to applicable
sanctions/penalties as referred to in Art. 24 of that Regulation.
DG TRADE supports enhanced information exchange and transparency in the area of
export control, in particular with the legislative proposal COM(2016)616 for a
modernisation of EU export controls, that contains specific provisions on transparency. DG
TRADE has thus started, since 2013, the publication of annual reports, which contain
information on the application of export controls under Regulation (EC) 428/2009 (see
http://trade.ec.europa.eu/doclib/docs/2017/november/tradoc_156396.pdf). Recently, DG
TRADE has been promoting the development of information exchange on applied sanctions
and penalties in the context of regular data exchange exercises with Member States.
Given that no document corresponding to the description given in your application is held
by the Commission, the Commission is not in a position to fulfil your request.
In accordance with Article 7(2) of Regulation 1049/2001 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
Secretary-General
Transparency unit SG-B-4
BERL 5/282
BE-1049 Bruxelles
or by email to:
xxxxxxxxxx@xx.xxxxxx.xx
Yours sincerely,
[
e-signed]
Jean-Luc DEMARTY
p.o. Ignacio GARCIA BERCERO
2
Electronically signed on 06/08/2018 11:14 (UTC+02) in accordance with article 4.2 (Validity of electronic documents) of Commission Decision 2004/563