Date: Fri, 05 Oct 2018 16:38:15 +0100 Subject: Re: Ares(2018)5101267 - Your application for access to documents - Ref.GestDem No 2018/4823 -Extension of the deadline and proposal for a fair solution From: Marlene Straub <[FOI #5920 email]> To: EC ARES NOREPLY <[Emailadresse]> Dear Access to Documents Team, thank you for your timely response. I'm happy to help you help me. The specified objective of my request is to receive information on third party meetings of some of the highest-ranking officials of the EU and their staff. My interest in the requested information is curiosity, and my right to access it as an EU citizen. It is difficult for me to narrow down the scope of my request - although I would be happy to - as I have no more information than I had 15 working days ago. You have provided me with a list of meetings, which I had already found online via the links in my request dated 13 September. You are asking me for a fair solution, without offering me any information to do so in return. This seems objectively unfair. You have also provided me with an estimate of only 10 meetings I can receive information on - what calculations do you base this on, why 10? To me this number appears arbitrary and I would like an explanation, especially as I was given the same number for a similar request containing approximately 40 meetings less. I would furthermore like an overview of what you have done for 15 working days, especially as you are requesting another 15. You will understand that the way you are handling my request on transparency is intransparent. Based on this FOI request (https://www.asktheeu.org/en/request/temp... I have the template response you send out if you are seeking fair solutions. Within this template I see several points of information which are missing in your response, but would help me narrow down the scope considerably. - It says to "Please provide the applicant with a list of documents or, if that is not possible, categories of documents, as well as an estimation of their total number and if possible the total of number of pages covered." - The template also gives an estimate of how many working days the request would take to handle, broken down into different tasks, such as the "identification of the documents falling under your request" and the "retrieval and establishment of a complete list of the documents identified". These are the first and second tasks on the list. In light of the fact of the aforementioned two template points missing from your response to my request, yet seemingly being some of the first tasks to be completed upon receipt, I would like to demand them retrospectively. For me to compromise, please provide me with a comprehensive list of documents (as defined by me) you have found associated with the 196 meetings. I'm sure that I could limit myself to a small number of meetings, or even individual pieces of information, with such a list. I reject your proposal to limit my request to the ten most recent meetings between Commissioner Gabriel and her cambinet members' with third parties. Please don't misunderstand me - I am open to compromise and am happy to narrow down the scope of of my request. However, I require the appropriate information to do so fairly. Your template seems to agree with me. Thank you very much for your efforts so far. Yours sincerely, Marlene Straub -----Original Message----- Link: [1]File-List Link: [2]Edit-Time-Data Link: [3]themeData Link: [4]colorSchemeMapping [5]Ares(2018)5101267 - Your application for access to documents - Ref.GestDem No 2018/4823 -Extension of the deadline and proposal for a fair solution Sent by ve_cnect.public_access_to_documents (CNECT) <[email address]>. All responses have to be sent to this email address. Envoyé par ve_cnect.public_access_to_documents (CNECT) <[email address]>. Toutes les réponses doivent être effectuées à cette adresse électronique. Dear Ms Straub,   We refer to your e-mail, dated 13/9/2018 in which you make a request for access to documents pursuant to 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 (‘Regulation 1049/2001’), registered on the same date under the above-mentioned reference number.   By your application you requested ‘’documents which contain the following information: - Briefing documents for Commissioner Gabriel's meetings with third parties, minutes, memos protocols or any form of documentation from such meetings, including audiovisual presentations and any material Commissioner Gabriel was given throughout, as well as any subsequent internal communication on       the meetings. This definition is to be understood broadly, as covering any documentation of information. - Briefing documents for Commissioner Gabriel's cabinet members' meetings with third parties, minutes, memos, protocols or any form of documentation from such meetings, including audiovisual presentations and any material Commissioner Gabriel's cabinet member was given throughout, as well as any subsequent internal communication on the meetings. This definition is to be understood broadly, as covering any documentation of information. To allow for a prompt, efficient response, I would like to limit the temporal scope of this request to meetings dated between 1 January 2018 and 13 September 2018. For the sake of clarity, I am referring to meetings listed at but not limited to http://ec.europa.eu/transparencyinitiative/meetings/meeting.do?host=29935dac-3440-471f-b08e-c8fedd813724&d-6679426-p=1 (titled "Meetings of  Commissioner Mariya Gabriel with organisations and self-employed individuals") and http://ec.europa.eu/transparencyinitiative/meetings/meeting.do?host=9cf470f6-b423-4424-954b-839539dbf681&d-6679426-p=1 (titled "Meetings of Cabinet members of  Commissioner Mariya Gabriel with organisations and self-employed individuals"). If meetings were held between Commissioner Gabriel/Commissioner Gabriel's cabinet and third parties within my given timeframe, which are not listed publicly for any reason, I would like to request that documentation (as defined above) be provided of these too. In particular, I am interested in meetings covering the following subjects: Platforms/Online Platforms/Relations with Platforms, Startups, Evolution of the Public Sector Information directive, Illegal Content/Tackling Illegal Content Online, Disinformation/Disinformation Online, Safer Internet, Terrorist Content Online, Copyright/Copyright Enforcement/Copyright Proposals/Copyright Reform, TDM Directive, Communication Artificial Intelligence/Artificial Intelligence/AI, Hate speech, Data/Data and the impact of the e-privacy proposal on the news publishing industry/Open access to data and Code/Coding. If meetings have taken place, which touch upon these subjects but do not mention them in their description of subject, I would like to request documentation for those meetings too. Furthermore, I would like to request all described documentation, not limited to the subjects above, from Commissioner Gabriel's cabinet member Manuel Mateo-Goyet's third party meetings.’’   Your application concerns a very large number of documents. At this stage we have identified approximately 196 meetings related to your request. Therefore, we will not be in a position to complete the handling of your application within the time limit of 15 working days expiring on 4/10/2018 and we have to extend the time limit by another 15 working days in accordance with Article 7(3) of Regulation 1049/2001. The new time limit expires on 25/10/2018.   The documents relating to these meetings need to be assessed individually, according to Regulation 1049/2001 and the analysis of these documents, together with the need to consult the concerned third parties in accordance with Article 4(4) of Regulation 1049/2001, cannot be expected to be completed within the normal time limits set out in Article 7 of Regulation 1049/2001.   It is also to be noted, that, in parallel, we are dealing with the other access to documents request you submitted on the same date (GestDem 2018/4822), which also concerns a very large number of documents.    Article 6(3) of the Regulation 1049/2001 provides that, in the event of an application relating to very large number of documents, the institution concerned may confer with the applicant informally with a view to finding a fair solution.   In accordance with the case law of the Union Courts, the proposal for a fair solution aims to balance the interest of the applicant against the workload resulting from the processing of the application in order to safeguard the interests of good administration (Judgments of 6 December 2001, Council v Hautala, Case C 353/99 P, EU:C:2001: 661, para. 30, and of 2 October 2014, Strack v Commission, Case C 127/13 P, EU:C:2014:2250, para.27). Such solution can only concern the content or the number of documents applied for, not the deadline for replying (Judgment of the Court of Justice of 2 October 2014 in case C-127/13, Guido Strack v Commission, paragraphs 26-28). This means that the scope of the request must be reduced in a way that would enable its treatment within the extended deadline of 15 + 15 working days.   Based on the above-mentioned provision, we would kindly ask you to specify the objective of your request, your specific interest in the requested documents (Judgment of the Court of Justice of 2 October 2014 in case C-127/13, Guido Strack v Commission, paragraph 28; Judgment of the General Court (then 'Court of First Instance') of 22 May 2012 in case T-344/08, EnBW Energie Baden-Württemberg v Commission, paragraph 105 ) and whether you could narrow down the scope of your request (the subject matters,  the participants, and/or timeframe covered), so as to reduce it to a more manageable amount of documents.   In order to help you narrow down your request, we hereby enclose the lists of the relevant meetings that were held between Commissioner Gabriel and her cabinet’s members with third parties, within the abovementioned timeframe (01.01.2018-13.09.2018).   According to our first estimates and taking into account the access to documents request GestDem 2018/4822 and the other tasks that the concerned staff has to deal with during the same period as well as the human resources available, we estimate that only documents related to a maximum of 10 meetings could possibly be dealt with within the remaining days from the extended deadline of 30 working days counting from the date of registration of you application (13/9/2018).   We therefore kindly ask you to specify the 10 meetings you are interested in (subject, participants, timeframe).   In case you are not able to specify the meetings, we propose as a fair solution limiting your request to the documents on the 10 most recent meetings between Commissioner Gabriel and her cabinet’s members with third parties.   In order to enable us to respect the time-limits of Regulation 1049/2001, we would ask you for a swift reply to our invitation proposing you a fair solution, and within two working days at the latest.   Please send your response by email to the following address: [6][email address]   In the absence of a reply within two working days, we will unilaterally restrict the scope of your application to those parts that can be dealt with within the extended deadline of 30 working days counting from the date of registration of your application (13/09/2018).   Thank you in advance for your understanding.   Yours sincerely,     Access to Documents Team   [7]cid:image001.png@01D3AF19.959C0670 European Commission DG Connect – ACCESS TO DOCUMENTS BU25 – Avenue de Beaulieu 25 B-1160 Brussels/Belgium     References Visible links 1. file:///tmp/cid:filelist.xml@01D45BED.E5CE5B30 2. file:///tmp/cid:editdata.mso 3. file:///tmp/~~themedata~~ 4. file:///tmp/~~colorschememapping~~ 5. https://webgate.ec.testa.eu/Ares/ext/documentInfoDetails.do?documentId=080166e5be276a8b 6. mailto:[email address] ------------------------------------------------------------------- Please use this email address for all replies to this request: [FOI #5920 email] This message and all replies from Secretariat General of the European Commission will be published on the AsktheEU.org website. 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