Surveys on data sharing and database directive
Dear DG Connect,
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:
- the survey carried out to write the "Study on data sharing between companies in Europe";
- the survey carried out to write the "Study in support of the evaluation of Directive 96/9/EC on the legal protection of databases";
- the survey carried out to write the "Study to support an impact assessment for the review of the Database Directive".
Thank you so much.
Yours faithfully,
Matteo Nebbiai
Dear Sir or Madam,
We are writing to you concerning your request for access to documents sent
on 02/11/2023 and registered on 08/11/2023 under case number 2023/6653.
Since you have not indicated your postal address, we are not able to start
handling your request. The 15 working days to reply to your request will
start running only when you send us your postal address.
You can send your postal address by replying to this e-mail. If we do not
receive your reply we may close this case.
Please note that you can submit a request for access to Commission
documents via the portal [1]'Request a Commission document', which does
not require you to indicate your postal address.
Why do we need your personal postal address?
Since 1 April 2014, the submission of a postal address became a mandatory
feature when submitting an application for access to Commission documents
via an e-mail. We would like to explain why we need your postal address in
order to register and handle your application for access to documents when
submitted via e-mail:
• Firstly, to obtain legal certainty as regards the date you received
the European Commission reply to your application for public access to
documents. Article 297 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the
European Union (TFEU) states that 'decisions which specify to whom
they are addressed, shall be notified to those to whom they are
addressed and shall take effect upon such notification.' In line with
this provision, if the Commission does not grant full access to the
requested documents, it notifies the reply to the applicant via
registered mail with acknowledgement of receipt or via delivery
service. This requires an indication of a valid postal address by the
applicant;
• Secondly, to apply correctly the [2]Data Protection Regulation (EU)
2018/1725. Knowing whether the applicant is an EU resident (or not) is
necessary for deciding which conditions shall apply for the
transmissions of personal data to applicants for access to documents.
These conditions are not the same for recipients established in the
Union and for recipients in third countries. As the vast majority of
the documents requested contain personal data, the Commission cannot
ensure the correct application of the data protection rules in the
absence of a postal address;
• Thirdly, to apply correctly [3]Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001. Article
4(1)(b) of that Regulation refers to the protection of the privacy and
integrity of the individual and has to be applied in line with the
Data Protection Regulation;
• Fourthly, to protect the interest of other citizens and safeguard the
principle of good administration. The Commission has to treat all
citizens equally by ensuring that the legal framework for public
access to documents is respected. For example, it has to verify
whether Article 6(3) of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 is being evaded
by introducing several requests under different identities. Indeed, in
its Ryanair judgment ([4]EU:T:2010:511), the General Court confirmed
that Article 6(3) of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 cannot be evaded by
splitting an application into several, seemingly separate, parts. In
addition, the Commission has to make sure that the legal framework is
respected and the right of access to documents is not abused by making
requests under an invented identity.
The considerations above show that the request for and the consequent
processing of the applicant's postal address is not only appropriate, but
also strictly necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the
public interest within the meaning of Article 5(1)(a) of Data Protection
Regulation, namely providing a smooth and effective access to documents.
Yours faithfully,
Secretariat-General - Access to Documents
European Commission
References
Visible links
1. https://www.ec.europa.eu/transparency/do...
2. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/...
3. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/...
4. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/...
Dear All,
thank you for your answer.
My postal address is:
108 Tiber Gardens, London N1 0XE.
Please let me know if you need any additional information.
Yours faithfully,
Matteo Nebbiai
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
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Ihre Nachricht ist beim Referat „Transparenz“ des Generalsekretariats der
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Anträge auf Zugang zu Dokumenten werden auf der Grundlage der
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References
Visible links
1. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/...
2. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/...
3. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/...
Dear Sir or Madam,
We hereby acknowledge the receipt of your request for access to documents
sent on 02/11/2023 and registered on 08/11/2023 under the case number
2023/6653.
We will handle your request within 15 working days as of the date of
registration. The time-limit expires on 29/11/2023. We will let you know
if we need to extend this time limit for additional 15 working days.
To find more information on how we process your personal data, please see
[1]the privacy statement.
Yours faithfully,
Secretariat-General - Access to Documents
European Commission
References
Visible links
1. https://ec.europa.eu/info/principles-and...
Hello,
Please find attached a message concerning your request for access to
Commission documents registered under the above case number 2023/6653.
Please acknowledge the receipt of this message by return email.
Kind regards,
European Commission
DG CONNECT — ACCESS TO DOCUMENTS
Rue de la Loi, 51
B-1049 Brussels/Belgium
Hello,
Please find attached a message concerning your request for access to
Commission documents registered under the above case number 2023/6653.
Please acknowledge the receipt of this message by return email.
Kind regards,
European Commission
DG CONNECT — ACCESS TO DOCUMENTS
Rue de la Loi, 51
B-1049 Brussels/Belgium
Dear DG CONNECT,
thank you for your prompt response.
However, my initial inquiry pertained to obtaining access to the surveys utilized to create the publicly available reports. Specifically:
- the "Study on data sharing between companies in Europe" is based on an online survey that gathered 129 responses from companies within the EEA (pg. 32).
- the "Study in support of the evaluation of Directive 96/9/EC on the legal protection of databases" is based on an online survey consisting "of two questionnaires launched in October 2017 targeting database users, makers and user-makers, and experts" and that collected answers from 145 database users, makers and user-makers and 92 experts (pg. 2).
- the "Study to support an impact assessment for the review of the Database Directive" is based on a survey on "specific countries and to specific professionals" that collected 114 responses (pg. 184).
Would it be possible to access, eventually in pseudonymized form, the data collected in the context of these surveys?
Thank you very much for your attention.
Yours faithfully,
Matteo Nebbiai