Ref. Ares(2022)2004385 - 18/03/2022
EUROPEAN COMMISSION
DIRECTORATE-GENERAL JUSTICE AND CONSUMERS
The Director-General
Brussels
JUST.DDG.E.4/PC
Subject:
Your application for access to documents – Ref GESTDEM 2022/0581
Dear Ms. Hirst,
We refer to your e-mail in which you make a request for access to documents concerning
a meeting between Commissioner Didier Reynders and Amazon Europe Core SARL on
25 November 2021, registered under the above mentioned reference number.
After an inventory, the following relevant documents were identified for your request:
Briefing for the meeting of Commissioner Reynders with the signatories of the
Product Safety Pledge (including Amazon);
Flash report of this meeting.
With regard to the above documents, 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) No 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;
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
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.
Ms Naomi Hirst
Global Witness
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxx.xxx
Commission européenne/Europese Commissie, 1049 Bruxelles/Brussel, BELGIQUE/BELGIË - Tel. +32 22991111
Office: LX40 05/037 - Tel. direct line +32 229-65230
xxxxxxxx.xxxxxxx@xx.xxxxxx.xx
Secondly, parts of the above-mentioned briefing have been redacted as their disclosure is
prevented by exception to the right of access laid down in Article 4(3) of this Regulation,
given that it relates to an ongoing policy discussion. These parts outline preparatory
documents linked to the process of discussing the future of the Pledge and signatories
and stakeholders confidential positions on these. Disclosure of these parts would seriously
undermine the institution's decision-making process linked to the Product Safety Pledge.
We have examined whether there could be an overriding public interest in their disclosure,
but such an interest has not been identified.
Finally, given the scope of your request, information contained in the documents that
concern other companies was also redacted.
These documents were drawn up for internal use under the responsibility of the relevant
service of the Directorate-General for Justice and Consumers. They solely reflect the
service’s interpretation of the interventions made and do not set out any official position of
the third parties to which the document refers, which was not consulted on its content. They
do not reflect the position of the Commission and cannot be quoted as such.
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
According to standard operational procedure, the reply to a request for access to documents
is usually sent by registered post. Please note, however, that due to the extraordinary health
and security measures currently in force during the COVID-19 pandemic, which include the
requirement for all Commission non-critical staff to telework, we are unfortunately not in a
position to follow this procedure until further notice.
We would therefore appreciate if you could confirm receipt of the present e-mail by
replying to the following email address:
xxxxxxx@xx.xxxxxx.xx
Yours faithfully,
Ana GALLEGO
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Contact:
xxxxxxxxxx@xx.xxxxxx.xx
xxxxxxx@xx.xxxxxx.xx
Enclosure:
Annex 1 Flash report
Annex 2 High-level roundtable on product safety_UPDATED briefing
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Electronically signed on 17/03/2022 19:02 (UTC+01) in accordance with Article 11 of Commission Decision (EU) 2021/2121