Ref. Ares(2020)4055630 - 31/07/2020
EUROPEAN COMMISSION
DIRECTORATE-GENERAL FOR MIGRATION AND HOME AFFAIRS
The Director-General
Brussels
HOME.A.4/
By registered letter with acknowledgment
of receipt
Mathias Schindler
Bundestagsbüro Julia Reda, MdEP
Unter den Linden 50
11011 Berlin
Germany
Advance copy by email:
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxx.xxx
Subject:
Your application for access to documents – ref. GestDem 2020/3507
Dear Mr Schindler,
We refer to your e-mail dated 8 June 2020, in which you make a request for access to
documents, registered on 9 June 2020 under the above-mentioned reference number.
You have requested access to “any information related to Palantir and its products and
services, including:
a) Meeting records (drafts, memos, invitations, appointments, cancellations) involving
Palantir officials and people representing Palantir and their interests
b) Correspondence (including within the [Authority name] and with the European
institutions concerning Palantir technologies and / or its products and services or
the regulatory environment of the EU that affects their products and services. This may
include policy papers, consultation input, memoranda or any other form of information.
c) Invoices, tenders, service agreements, purchases, orders, procurement documents,
offers etc. concerning products and services using Palantir Technologies”.
Since you have sent the same request to multiple Directorates-General, this reply relates
only to the documents held by Directorate-General for Migration and Home Affairs.
I consider your request to cover documents held up from 1 June 2010 (the day on which
DG HOME was set up) to the date of your initial application, i.e. 8 June 2020.
Commission européenne/Europese Commissie, 1049 Bruxelles/Brussel, BELGIQUE/BELGIË - Tel. +32 22991111
Office: LX46 00/014
The following documents fall within the scope of your application:
N°
Title
Registration ref.
1. Mission report from EU CTC visit to Washington D.C. on 21-22.03.2019
Ares(2019)2404952
ACTION PLAN to remedy the deficiencies identified in the 2017
2. evaluation of NORWAY on the application of the Schengen acquis in the Ares(2019)2671331
field of Police cooperation
Proposal for a COUNCIL IMPLEMENTING DECISION setting out
a recommendation on addressing the deficiencies identified in the 2017
3.
Ares(2018)3940472
evaluation of the Kingdom of Norway on the application of the Schengen
acquis in the field of police cooperation
4. Report Europol Management Board - 3 October
Ares(2018)5164050
Application for access to documents – ref. GestDem n°2018/2078 -
5.
Ares(2018)2302568
Initial reply - devoid of purpose
6. Parliamentary question [E-173/20] on the use of Palantir software1
7. Security Scrutiny Results 2019
Ares(2019)7640426
Request for access to documents - 2019/3200 (theCamp) – Initial reply -
8.
Ares(2019)4504757
Programme
Capability Gaps and requirements identified by the International Forum to
9.
Ares(2018)5157617
Advance First Responder Innovation (IFAFRI) – Gap 4 – Appendix B
10. Mission report - Europol Round Table on NCMEC referrals - 5 June 2018
Ares(2018)3407038
11. H2020 - Evaluation Summary Report – Palantir
Ares(2019)7640426
COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING DECISION of 30.4.2020 on the award
of grants under Horizon 2020 - Framework Programme for Research and
12.
C(2020) 2974 final
Innovation (2014-2020) and the Master call H2020-SU-DS-2018-2019-
2020; deadline model H2020-SU-DS-2019
Annex to COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING DECISION of 30.4.2020 on
the award of grants under Horizon 2020 - Framework Programme for C(2020) 2531 final
13. Research and Innovation (2014-2020) and the Master call H2020-SU-DS-
2018-2019-2020; deadline model H2020-SU-DS-2019
14. Reply to PQ [E-2894/18] on Europol's use of facial recognition technology2
Request for access to documents - GESTDEM 2020_2196 - initial reply
15.
Ares(2020)2882627
(redacted)
Letter of 10/6/2020 from MEP in 't Veld regarding cooperation and contact
16.
Ares(2020)3017422
between the Commission, EU agencies and Palantir
ISEC 2013 Call restricted to Framework Partners - Non-award letters -
17.
Ares(2014)940040
HOME/2013/ISEC/FP/C1/4000005020
18. Final payment 2009 NL EBF - closure - revised and signed final report
Ares(2015)5692959
1 Both the written question and the reply are available on European Parliament’s website:
https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/E-9-2020-000173_EN.html
2 Both the written question and the reply are available on European Parliament’s website:
https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/E-8-2018-002894_EN.html
2/4
FULL DISCLOSURE
Having examined the documents requested under the provisions of Regulation (EC)
n°1049/2001 regarding public access to documents, I have come to the conclusion that
documents 3, 5, 6, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14 and 16 may be fully disclosed.
Please find enclosed the link to document n°6 (parliamentary question and answer
E-173/20):
https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/E-9-2020-000173-
ASW_EN.html, and the link to document n°14 (parliamentary question and answer
E-002894-18):
https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/E-8-2018-
002894_EN.html.
Access is also given to documents 1, 2, 4, 10 and 18. Some parts of these documents
have been redacted, as they fall outside the scope of your request and do not concern
Palantir in any way. Please note that all the passages concerning contacts with Palantir,
mentioning the company or the software are fully disclosed.
PROTECTION OF PERSONAL DATA
With regard to documents 1, 4, 7, 10, 15 and 17 listed above, a complete disclosure of
the identified 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)
n°1049/2001, because they contain the following personal data:
The names/initials and contact information of Commission staff members not
pertaining to the senior management,
The names/initials and contact details of other natural persons,
Handwritten signatures/abbreviated signatures of natural persons.
Article 9(1)(b) of the Data Protection Regulation3 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) n°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.
PARTIAL DISCLOSURE
Having examined document n°7, I have come to the conclusion that it may be partially
disclosed. Full disclosure is prevented by exception to the right of access laid down in
Article 4 of this Regulation.
Some parts of document n°7 have been blanked out as their disclosure is prevented by
exception to the right of access laid down in Article 4(3) of the Regulation 1049/2001.
3 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)
n°45/2001 and Decision n°1247/2002/EC.
3/4
The redacted parts of the document contain internal consultation in an ongoing grant award
procedure. In case of ongoing procurement or grant award procedures, access to
the procurement and grant award documents must be refused if their disclosure would
seriously undermine the ongoing decision-making process because of likely undue
external pressure. This will normally be the case for documents reflecting individual
opinions of the evaluation committee, of individual external experts, of external assessors
in case of grants, or of the evaluation committee as such before the contract is signed.
Disclosure of these parts of the document would undermine the protection of
the institution’s decision-making process as the contract has not been signed yet and
there could be a risk of undue pressure from the public. Therefore, the exception laid
down in Article 4(3) of Regulation (EC) n°1049/2001 applies to this document.
The exceptions laid down in 4(3) of Regulation (EC) n°1049/2001 apply unless there is an
overriding public interest in disclosure of the documents. We have examined whether there
could be an overriding public interest in disclosure, but we have not been able to identify
such an interest.
You may reuse public documents, which have been produced by the European Commission
or by public and private entities on its behalf based on the
Commission Decision on
the reuse of Commission documents. You may reuse the documents disclosed free of
charge and for non-commercial and commercial purposes provided that the source
is acknowledged and that you do not distort the original meaning or message of
the documents. Please note that the Commission does not assume liability stemming from
the reuse.
In accordance with Article 7(2) of Regulation (EC) n°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
Secretariat-General
Transparency,
Document
Management
&
Access
to
Documents
(SG.C.1)
BERL 7/076
B-1049 Brussels
or by email to:
xxxxxxxxxx@xx.xxxxxx.xx
Yours faithfully,
Monique PARIAT
[e-signed]
Enclosures:
17
Linked documents:
2
4/4
Electronically signed on 30/07/2020 14:15 (UTC+02) in accordance with article 4.2 (Validity of electronic documents) of Commission Decision 2004/563