Meetings EY digital
Dear Madam, Sir,
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:
All documents - including but not limited to minutes, (hand-written) notes, audio recordings, verbatim reports, operational conclusions, lines to take, briefings, e-mails, letters, and presentations - related to the following meetings:
04-03-2022 Werner Stengg (Cabinet member) Europe Fit for Digital Age Digital Services Act Ernst & Young Core Business Services BV
23-11-2021 Werner Stengg (Cabinet member) Europe Fit for Digital Age AI Act , Digital Services Act, Data Act Ernst & Young Core Business Services BV
01-04-2020 Olivier Guersent (Director-General) Europe Fit for Digital Age Overall Discussion on State Aids Ernst & Young Core Business Services BV
Please note I prefer to receive the documents in digital format, not by physical mail.
Sincerely,
Peter Teffer
Follow the Money
Overtoom 197
1054 HT Amsterdam
The Netherlands
Link: [1]File-List
Link: [2]Edit-Time-Data
Dear Sir,
Thank you for your e-mail of 26/08/2022. We hereby acknowledge receipt of
your application for access to documents, which was registered on
02/09/2022 under reference number GESTDEM 2022/4937.
In accordance with Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 regarding public access to
European Parliament, Council and Commission documents, your application
will be handled within 15 working days. The time limit will expire on
23/09/2022. In case this time limit needs to be extended, you will be
informed in due course.
You have lodged your application via a private third-party website, which
has no link with any institution of the European Union. Therefore, the
European Commission cannot be held accountable for any technical issues or
problems linked to the use of this system.
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Yours faithfully,
Access to Documents Team
[4]cid:image001.png@01D2AE41.EADC5060
Access to Documents team
DG Competition-European Commission
MADOU-12-85 B-1049 Brussels/Belgium
email: [5][email address]
Dear Madam, Sir,
I refer to my application for access to documents, which was registered on 2 September 2022 under reference number GESTDEM 2022/4937.
The time-limit to reply expired on 23 September 2022, which is 31 working days ago. I have not been informed of any need to extend the deadline. This is an unacceptable delay.
Please finalise my request within the next 48 hours. I remind you that 'Failure by the institution to reply within the prescribed time-limit shall entitle the applicant to make a confirmatory application.'
Sincerely
Peter Teffer
Dear Mr Teffer,
We would like to inform you that the above mentioned case 2022/4937 has
been split. DG COMP is responsible for it and SG will handle another part
of your request under case ref. 2022/6504.
Best regards,
SG.C.1 - ATD Team
Dear Mr Teffer,
Please find attached an advance copy of the reply Letter to your request
for access to documents 2022/4937.
Best regards,
COMP A3 Secretariat
European Commission
DG COMPETITION
Unit A3 – State aid case support and policy
Building MADO
B-1049 Brussels/Belgium
Competition websites: [1]http://ec.europa.eu/competition
DISCLAIMER
"The views expressed are purely those of the writer and may not in any
circumstances be regarded as stating an official position of the European
Commission."
Hello,
Please find attached a message concerning your request for access to
Commission documents registered under the above case number 2022/4937.
Kind regards,
Dear Peter
Please find attached a message concerning your request for access to
Commission documents registered under the above case number 2022/6504.
Please acknowledge the receipt of this message by return email.
Kind regards,
EASE Team
Dear Madam, Sir,
I acknowledge receipt of the secretariat-general’s reply to my access to documents request registered under case number 2022/6504.
However, I note with concern and disappointment that the reply arrived 106 working days after my initial request. While even a single extension of the time limit to reply is only allowed under ‘exceptional cases’, like when a request involves a ‘very long document’ or ‘a very large number of documents’, it is a slap in the face that the handling of a mere five documents has taken seven (7!) times the normal time limit to reply. That the reply was void of any acknowledgement of this delay, or even an apology, does not improve the reputation of the European Commission in the eyes of this citizen.
The above notwithstanding, please pass this on to the person who reviews confirmatory applications.
I am filing the following confirmatory application with regards to the information redacted with a reference to Article 4(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001. This article allows the Commission to partially refuse access where disclosure would undermine the protection of the commercial interests of a natural or legal person, unless there is an overriding public interest in disclosure.
I believe there is an overriding public interest in disclosure.
The redacted information concerns the Digital Services Act, which has been adopted as Regulation 2022/2065 on 19 October 2022. The importance of this regulation is stated in its preambles:
‘Responsible and diligent behaviour by providers of intermediary services is essential for a safe, predictable and trustworthy online environment and for allowing Union citizens and other persons to exercise their fundamental rights guaranteed in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (the ‘Charter’), in particular the freedom of expression and of information, the freedom to conduct a business, the right to non-discrimination and the attainment of a high level of consumer protection. [..] Therefore, in order to safeguard and improve the functioning of the internal market, a targeted set of uniform, effective and proportionate mandatory rules should be established at Union level.’
It is in the public interest to know how these rules have been established. This public interest is greater than any commercial interests.
From the disclosed parts of the documents it is clear that EY has lobbied to change the text of the legislation. EY writes:
‘We have had an in-depth look at the proposal and particularly at the role which is being envisaged for auditors. While on the whole we are very supportive, we have spotted a few ‘gremlins’ in the text which may actually run contrary to the long-term aims of the Act. They may also, if not addressed, provide an obstacle to ensuring that very large online platforms can comply with the DSA and that auditors can provide the required assurance. I wonder if it would be possible to have a very short call with you in order to draw your attention to these issues. We realise that this Act is in the very last stages of political agreement. However, we think a little extra focus now could save us from a number of problems in the future.’
According to the documents, this call is granted and EY has the opportunity to discuss the ‘gremlins’ they want fixed.
One of the other documents is notes of that call/meeting of 3 March 2022. One or several sentences have been redacted.
It seems clear that this redacted information is the request EY had for changing the draft legislation. While it is obviously EY’s prerogative to lobby, this does not mean their commercial interests are greater than the public interest to know what this company lobbied for.
This is why I would like to request the Commission to reconsider its position.
I hope the Commission will be able to handle my confirmatory application quicker than it did my initial request.
Sincerely
Peter Teffer
Your message has been received by the Transparency Unit of the
Secretariat-General of the European Commission.
Requests for public access to documents are treated on the basis of
[1]Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 of 30 May 2001 regarding public access to
European Parliament, Council and Commission documents.
The Secretariat-General will reply to your request within 15 working days
upon registration of your request and will duly inform you of the
registration of the request (or of any additional information to be
provided in view of its registration and/or treatment).
L’unité «Transparence» du secrétariat général de la Commission européenne
a bien reçu votre message.
Les demandes d’accès du public aux documents sont traitées sur la base du
[2]règlement (CE) n° 1049/2001 du 30 mai 2001 relatif à l’accès du public
aux documents du Parlement européen, du Conseil et de la Commission.
Le secrétariat général répondra à votre demande dans un délai de 15 jours
ouvrables à compter de la date d’enregistrement de votre demande, et vous
informera de cet enregistrement (ou vous indiquera toute information
supplémentaire à fournir en vue de l'enregistrement et/ou du traitement de
votre demande).
Ihre Nachricht ist beim Referat „Transparenz“ des Generalsekretariats der
Europäischen Kommission eingegangen.
Anträge auf Zugang zu Dokumenten werden auf der Grundlage der
[3]Verordnung (EG) Nr. 1049/2001 vom 30. Mai 2001 über den Zugang der
Öffentlichkeit zu Dokumenten des Europäischen Parlaments, des Rates und
der Kommission behandelt.
Das Generalsekretariat beantwortet Ihre Anfrage innerhalb von
15 Arbeitstagen nach deren Registrierung und wird Sie über die
Registrierung Ihres Antrags (oder die Notwendigkeit weiterer Informationen
im Hinblick auf dessen Registrierung und/oder Bearbeitung) unterrichten.
References
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Dear Sir or Madam,
We hereby acknowledge the receipt of your confirmatory request for case
2022/6504, sent on 25/01/2023 and registered on 26/01/2023.
We will handle your confirmatory request within 15 working days as of the
date of registration. The time-limit expires on 16/02/2023. We will let
you know if we need to extend this time limit for additional 15 working
days.
Yours faithfully,
Secretariat-General - Access to Documents
European Commission
Dear Mr Teffer,
We refer to your email of 26 January 2023, by which you submit a
confirmatory application in accordance with Article 7(2) of Regulation
(EC) No 1049/2001 regarding public access to European Parliament, Council
and Commission documents ("Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001"), registered
under reference number above.
Your confirmatory application is currently being handled. Unfortunately,
we have not yet been able to finalize the internal consultations needed to
carry out a full analysis of your request and to take a final decision.
Therefore, we are not in a position to reply to your confirmatory request
within the prescribed time limit which expires on 16 February 2023.
Consequently, we have to extend this period by another 15 working days in
accordance with Article 8(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001. The new
deadline expires on 9 March 2023.
We regret this additional delay and sincerely apologise for any
inconvenience this may cause. However, we can assure you that we are doing
our utmost to provide you with a final reply as soon as possible.
Yours sincerely,
SG.C1 ACCESS TO DOCUMENTS TEAM
Dear Mr Peter Teffer,
Please find attached the electronic version of Commission Decision C(2023)
1735 as adopted by the European Commission on 9.3.2023.
The formal notification of the decision under Article 297 TFEU is being
made only in electronic form.
Could you please confirm receipt of the attached document by return
e-mail?
Many thanks in advance.
Kind regards,
MARTIN GALAN MARIA SERENA
Secrétariat général de la Commission
SG B2 - Procédures écrites, habilitation, délégation
BERL 5/155
' +32-2-299.59.48
Dear Ms / Dear Mr,
It is very important for us.
Please, could you please acknowledge the receipt of the document enclosed
in the message addressed to you ?
MARTIN GALAN MARIA SERENA
Secrétariat général de la Commission
SG B2 - Procédures écrites, habilitation, délégation
BERL 5/155
' +32-2-299.59.48
From: SG GREFFE CERTIFICATION
Sent: Friday, March 10, 2023 4:48 PM
To: '[FOI #11780 email]'
<[FOI #11780 email]>
Cc: WADHWANIA Nadia (SG) <[email address]>
Subject: C(2023) 1735 addressed to Follow the Money - Peter Teffer
Dear Mr Peter Teffer,
Please find attached the electronic version of Commission Decision C(2023)
1735 as adopted by the European Commission on 9.3.2023.
The formal notification of the decision under Article 297 TFEU is being
made only in electronic form.
Could you please confirm receipt of the attached document by return
e-mail?
Many thanks in advance.
Kind regards,
MARTIN GALAN MARIA SERENA
Secrétariat général de la Commission
SG B2 - Procédures écrites, habilitation, délégation
BERL 5/155
' +32-2-299.59.48