Fundamental Rights Agency contracts with Danish Institute for Human Rights (2001 to present)

Die Antwort auf diese Anfrage ist lange im Rückstand. Nach gesetzlicher Vorschrift sollte Die Agentur der Europäischen Union für Grundrechte Ihnen inzwischen unter allen Umständen geantwortet haben. (Details). Sie können sich beschweren, indem sie Interne Prüfung beantragen .

Dear European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights,

Under the right of access to documents in the EU treaties, as developed in Regulation 1049/2001, I am requesting documents which contain the following information:

List of contracts, purchase orders, grant agreements, etc.
concluded by FRA with Danish Institute for Human Rights starting with 2001 (contractual sums, contractual duration, dates of entering into force and dates of expiry, list of ongoing contracts).

Yours faithfully,

Kurt Weiss

Kurt Weiss hat eine Nachricht hinterlassen ()

Detail-clarification:

I refer to all contracts concluded with DIHR, including Purchasing Orders, Direct contracts with experts, direct payments to experts, etc.
(there are some tender files and contracts concluded with DIHR to which FRA gave "refusal" decision. Those are under appeal and do not make object of this request.)

Dear European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights,

This is just to let you know that an Annotation is available in the website, for your information and clarification.

Yours faithfully,

Kurt Weiss

EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA), Die Agentur der Europäischen Union für Grundrechte

2 Attachments

To the attention of:

Mr Kurt Weiss

www.asktheeu.org

Vienna, 06 September 2013

2013-outgoing-001483

 

Subject:         Your request of access to documents registered under
reference number 2013-incoming-001439

 

Dear Mr Weiss,

 

Thank you for your access to documents request received on 16 August 2013
registered under reference number 2013-incoming-001439, and amended by
your email of 24 August 2013.

 

Having carefully analysed your application, we established that your
request refers to the following document:

 

·         List of contracts concluded between FRA and Danish Institute for
Human Rights.

 

We enclose a copy of the document requested.

 

Please note that pursuant to Article 7(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001,
you may make a confirmatory application asking FRA to reconsider its
position. Such a confirmatory application should be addressed within 15
working days upon receipt of this email to FRA general e-mail:
[1]info@fra.europa.eu  

 

Yours sincerely,

 

European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights
Schwarzenbergplatz 11
1040 Vienna, Austria
Tel: +43 1 58030-0
Email: [email address]

Visit us on: [2]http://fra.europa.eu | [3]Facebook | [4]Twitter |
[5]YouTube | [6]LinkedIn

Helping to make fundamental rights a reality for everyone in the European
Union

FRA online toolkit to help connect public officials at all levels,
[7]available 25 September. 

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. http://www.fra.europa.eu/
3. http://www.facebook.com/fundamentalrights
4. http://twitter.com/#!/EURightsAgency
5. http://youtube.com/user/EUAgencyFRA
6. http://www.linkedin.com/company/eu-funda...
7. http://fra.europa.eu/en/project/2011/joi...

Dear EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA),

Thank you for granting me access to this document
http://www.asktheeu.org/en/request/742/r...

I am writing to obtain further information:
- In my initial application I requested the date of entry in force and date of expiry of the contracts or any other contractual instruments, like purchasing order or similar. This information is not provided. May I kindly ask you to provide it?
- I also requested list of ongoing contracts or other contractual instruments and their due date for expiry. Would be possible to specify which contracts are closed and which are ongoing?.

I see here http://fra.europa.eu/sites/default/files... that FRA awarded to DIHR a contract of 12 000 000 Euro.
See p. V.3 and V. 4 under that link. That contract is not in the list disclosed by FRA. Therefore at this stage I cannot rely on the accuracy of the information FRA provided to me.

I would be grateful if you could grant me access also to this contractual information, as I already requested in my initial application.

I feel necessary to underline that I write second time on my initial request ref. 001439/16 august 2013 because your reply is not complete, is confusing and not in accordance with some information already in public domain like the Award document published in Official Journal OJ/S S215 - 09/11/2011
349912-2011-EN. See the link here http://fra.europa.eu/sites/default/files...

Therefore I respectfully request you to refrain to issue any critical remark like you did here http://www.asktheeu.org/en/request/which...
As you can frame yourself that referral to Ombudsman Code is neither justified nor fair. Coming from FRA, an EU agency in charge with making fundamental rights in the EU a reality for everybody and anybody, it is also a bit questionable, because it appears that FRA became upset quite rapidly and issues critical remarks and referrals to Ombudsman on citizens. Access to documents represent a fundamental right as specified here in this EU Fundamental Rights Charter http://www.europarl.europa.eu/charter/pd...
Many thanks.

Yours sincerely,

Kurt Weiss

EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA), Die Agentur der Europäischen Union für Grundrechte

3 Attachments

To the attention of:

Mr Kurt Weiss

www.asktheeu.org

Vienna, 27 September 2013

2013-outgoing-001600

 

Subject:         Your request of access to documents registered under
reference number 2013-incoming-001439

 

Dear Mr Weiss,

 

We refer to your access to documents request received on 15 August 2013
registered under reference number 2013-incoming-001439, and amended by
your email of 24 August 2013, our reply of 06 September 2013 and your
confirmatory application of 08 September.

 

The outcome of internal review of your request related to access to
documents you may find herewith. Please note that questions that fall
outside the scope of an access to documents request under Regulation (EC)
No 1049/2001will not be answered.

 

Having carefully re-examined your application in the light of newly
provided information, we established that your request refers to the
following documents:

 

1.      List of contracts concluded between FRA and Danish Institute for
Human Rights (provided to you on 08 September);

2.      Framework contract No F/SE/10/03-A Lot 4 corresponding to contract
award notice, published on our website:

[1]http://fra.europa.eu/sites/default/files...

3.      Amendment No 1 to the Framework contract No F/SE/10/03-A Lot 4;

4.      Questions & Answers IV published under following link:

[2]http://fra.europa.eu/sites/default/files...

 

We have decided to grant partial access to these documents, which copies
you may find enclosed, a part of document number 1 and 4 to which you have
been provided with direct web links.  We trust you will find this
information helpful.

 

Following thorough examination of documents number 2 and 4, some parts
needed to be blanked out as their disclosure is prevented by exception to
the right of access laid down in Article 4(1) (b) and Article 4(2) of
Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001.

 

Pursuant to Article 4(1) (b) of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001, access to a
document has to be refused if its disclosure would undermine the
protection of privacy and the integrity of the individual, in particular
in accordance with Community legislation regarding the protection of
personal data. The applicable legislation in this field is Regulation (EC)
No 45/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 December
2000 on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of
personal data by the Community institutions and bodies and on the free
movement of such data.

 

When access is requested to documents containing personal data, Regulation
(EC) No 45/2001 becomes fully applicable. According to Article 8(b) of
this Regulation, personal data shall only be transferred to recipients if
they establish the necessity of having the data transferred to them and if
there is no reason to assume that the legitimate rights of the persons
concerned might be prejudiced.

 

Further, the Article 4(2) first indent of Regulation 1049/2001 provides
that the institutions shall refuse access to a document where disclosure
would undermine the protection of commercial interests of a natural or
legal person, including intellectual property. The expunged parts of the
document contain commercially sensitive information (e.g. bank account
etc.).

 

The exceptions laid down in Article 4(2) of Regulation 1049/2001 apply
unless there is an overriding public interest in disclosure of the
document. For such an overriding public interest to exist, this interest,
firstly has to be public and, secondly, overriding i.e. must supersede the
interests protected by virtue of Article 4(2) of Regulation 1049/2001.
There is no evidence of public interest in disclosure in the sense of
Regulation (EC) 1049/2001that would allow us to waive the exception and
disclose the expunged parts of the document.

 

In addition, following on our communication of 25 September 2013 in regard
to two other requests for access to document, in order to be able to treat
in a good way this and several other requests received from you recently,
Mr Manolopoulos, the Head of Administration at the EU Agency for
Fundamental Rights, would like to contact you by phone.   

 

Could you please provide us with a phone number where Mr Manolopoulos may
contact you and tell us the best moment to reach you?

 

Please send the contact number to the following email address:

[3]info@fra.europa.eu  

 

Thank you in advance for your kind cooperation.

 

We would also like to draw your attention to the means of redress
available. You may either bring procedures before the General Court or
file a complaint with the European Ombudsman under the conditions
specified respectively in Art. 263 and 228 of the Treaty on the
functioning of the European Union, and the Regulation (EC) 1049/2001.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights
Schwarzenbergplatz 11
1040 Vienna, Austria
Tel: +43 1 58030-0
Email: [email address]

Visit us on: [4]http://fra.europa.eu | [5]Facebook | [6]Twitter |
[7]YouTube | [8]LinkedIn

Helping to make fundamental rights a reality for everyone in the European
Union

FRA online toolkit to help connect public officials at all levels,
[9]available 25 September. 

References

Visible links
1. http://fra.europa.eu/sites/default/files...
2. http://fra.europa.eu/sites/default/files...
3. mailto:[email address]
4. http://www.fra.europa.eu/
5. http://www.facebook.com/fundamentalrights
6. http://twitter.com/#!/EURightsAgency
7. http://youtube.com/user/EUAgencyFRA
8. http://www.linkedin.com/company/eu-funda...
9. http://fra.europa.eu/en/project/2011/joi...

David Nicholson hat eine Nachricht hinterlassen ()

New Parliamentary questions http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getD...

inserted below for a facile reading

“Question for written answer E-007475/2013 to the Commission
Rule 117

Ingeborg Gräßle (PPE) and Monica Luisa Macovei (PPE)
Subject: Conflict of interest - Danish Institute of Human Rights
1. The Danish Institute of Human Rights (DIHR) saw its funding cut by the Danish authorities after ‘irregularities’ had been found. The director in charge at the time the irregularities occurred is now working for an EU agency. The Danish authorities cancelled their support to the DIHR; the EU agency is still funding it.
(a) Has the Commission evaluated the financial transactions from this agency to the DIHR?
(b) Have irregularities been found?
(c) What action has been taken?
(d) Have funds been recovered? If so, what amount?
2. Management board members are leading staff of organisations that receive(d) grants or other financial support from the agency in question.
(a) How are these conflicts of interest managed?
(b) Have those members been involved in the process of granting funding to their organisations?
3. In the past there have been European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) cases involving agency staff in response to allegations that documents had been backdated, that staff had been mobbed and that the agency had not complied with existing rules on recruitment procedures.
(a) What was the result of these investigations?
(b) Could the Commission provide Parliament with the recommendations that OLAF issued?
(c) If there were no recommendations, could the Commission provide Parliament with a justification?
(d) What measures have been taken by the agency to prevent harassment, mobbing, etc.?
(e) Has any action been taken in response to incidents of harassment of staff members by other employees?
4. Are there any court cases pending against this agency? How many? What is the substance of these cases?
5. Who is bearing the costs of legal representation for staff of the agency before the courts? In which cases?
6. Could the Commission or the agency give details on the poem competition in 2010? How many people participated? How much money was spent?”

http://www.asktheeu.org/en/request/mep_m...

Dear EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA),

Thank you for granting me access to the FRA contracts concluded with DIHR.
Would it be possible to grant me also access to any Report of any body which performed an audit following Parliamentary question E-007475-13
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getD...

Yours sincerely,

Kurt Weiss