Ref. Ares(2020)2566059 - 15/05/2020
EUROPEAN COMMISSION
DIRECTORATE-GENERAL
CLIMATE ACTION
The Director-General
Brussels
CLIMA.DG01
By registered letter with acknowledgment
of receipt
Belen Balanya,
Corporate Europe Observatory
Rue d’Edimbourg 26,
1050 Brussels
Belgium
Advance copy by email: ask+request-
xxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxx.xxx
Dear Ms Balanya,
We refer to your e-mail dated 28 February 2020 in which you make a request for access
to documents, registered on the 2 March 2020 under the above-mentioned reference
number.
You request access to:
i)
“All correspondence (including email) between 29 June 2019 and 27
February 2020 between former/current Commissioners and/or his/her cabinet
and/or officials and representatives of DG CLIMA on one hand and
representatives from Eurogas, GasNaturally, the International Association of
Oil & Gas Producers (IOGP), Gas Infrastructure Europe (GIE), Marcogaz,
IFIEC Europe, ENTSOG, ENTSOE, Eurelectric, Business Europe, CEFIC,
Hydrogen Europe, Gas for Climate, Bioenergy Europe, European Biogas
Association, National Grid, Open Grid Europe, Enagas, Gasunie,
GRTgaz/GRDF/Engie, Terega, Statoil/Equinor, ExxonMobil, Shell, BP,
Enagas, Snam, Fluxys, Gazprom, Weber Shandwick, Gplus, Fleishman-
Hillard and/or FTI Consulting on the other, in which the gas market reform
or the TEN-E regulation was addressed.
ii)
List of meetings between between 29 June 2019 and 27 February 2020
between officials and representatives of DG CLIMA on one hand and
representatives from Eurogas, GasNaturally, the International Association of
Commission européenne/Europese Commissie, 1049 Bruxelles/Brussel, BELGIQUE/BELGIË - Tel. +32 22991111
Office: BU-24 3/087 - Tel. direct line +32 229-61666
xxxxx.xxxxxxxxxxx@xx.xxxxxx.xx
Oil & Gas Producers (IOGP), Gas Infrastructure Europe (GIE), Marcogaz,
IFIEC Europe, ENTSOG, ENTSOE, Eurelectric, Business Europe, CEFIC,
Hydrogen Europe, Gas for Climate, Bioenergy Europe, European Biogas
Association, National Grid, Open Grid Europe, Enagas, Gasunie,
GRTgaz/GRDF/Engie, Terega, Statoil/Equinor, ExxonMobil, Shell, BP,
Enagas, Snam, Fluxys, Gazprom, Weber Shandwick, Gplus, Fleishman-
Hillard and/or FTI Consulting on the other, in which the gas market reform
or the TEN-E regulation was addressed.
iii)
Minutes of the meetings mentioned above”
Your application concerns the following documents:
Author
Date
Reference
1
WindEurope
26 February 2020
Ares(2020)1208467
2
WindEurope
26 February 2020
Ares(2020)1208467
3
Eurogas
13 December 2019
Ares(2019)7680671
4
Eurogas
13 December 2019
Ares(2019)7680671
5
Eurogas
11 February 2020
Ares(2020)889498
6
Eurogas
11 February 2020
Ares(2020)889498
7
Gas Infrastructure Europe
7 February 2020
Ares(2020)807174
8
IOGP
10 March 2020
Ares(2020)1472166
9
IOGP
10 March 2020
Ares(2020)1472166
10 Hydrogen Europe
26 February 2020
Ares(2020)1201547
11 Hydrogen Europe
26 February 2020
Ares(2020)1201547
12 European
5 March 2020
Ares(2020)1382261
Commission/Equinor/NHO
13 Equinor/NHO
29 January 2020
Ares(2020)557814
14 European
2 December 2019
Ares(2020)1596539
Commission/IOGP
15 European
16 March 2020
Ares(2020)1596482
Commission/GD4S
16 GRDF
16 March 2020
Ares(2020)1596482
17 GRTgaz
4 October 2019
Ares(2020)1596592
2
18 European Commission
24 July 2019
Ares(2019)4822204
19 Eurogas
22 July 2019
Ares(2019)4743081
20 European Commission
3 February 2020
Ares(2020)652654
21 GRDF
16 March 2020
Ares(2020)1596482
22 Eurogas
6 February 2020
Ares(2020)2272137
Please note that the Commission has received some of the identified documents from
third parties. In accordance with Article 4(4) of Regulation (EC) 1049/2001, DG CLIMA
has consulted those third parties concerning the disclosure of the requested documents
emanating from them.
Please find the identified documents enclosed with this letter. However, I regret to inform
you that I cannot give you access to document 14 and some parts of the documents 1, 3-8,
10-13 and 15-22.
A complete disclosure of the above-mentioned documents is prevented by the exception
concerning the protection of privacy and the integrity of the individual outlined in Article
4(1)(b) of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001, because they contain: names and contact
information of Commission staff members not pertaining to the senior management; names
and contact details of other natural persons and other information relating to an identified or
identifiable natural person.
Article 9(1)(b) of the Data Protection Regulation 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 request, 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.
Consequently, 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.
As regards document 14, in the course of the third party consultation, the third party
opposed to the disclosure of document 14 based on Article 4, paragraphs 1 (b) of
Regulation 1049/2001, namely the privacy and the integrity of the individual, in
particular in accordance with Community legislation regarding the protection of personal
data. The third party argues that the document does not include any substantial policy
document but some “personal” exchanges of emails. Therefore, pursuant to Article
4(1)(b) of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001, access cannot be granted to this document.
3
In case you would disagree with this position, you are entitled, in accordance with Article
7(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001, to submit 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 Secretariat-General of the Commission at the following address:
European Commission
Secretariat-General
Unit C.1. ‘Transparency, Document Management and Access to Documents’
BERL 7/076
B-1049 Brussels, or by email to:
xxxxxxxxxx@xx.xxxxxx.xx
Yours sincerely,
(e-signed)
Mauro PETRICCIONE
4
Electronically signed on 12/05/2020 13:51 (UTC+02) in accordance with article 4.2 (Validity of electronic documents) of Commission Decision 2004/563
