Ref. Ares(2022)2150267 - 24/03/2022
EUROPEAN COMMISSION
DIRECTORATE-GENERAL FOR MOBILITY AND TRANSPORT
Directorate D - Waterborne
D.1 - Maritime Transport & Logistics
Brussels
MOVE.DDG2.D1
Ms. Kalina Dmitriew
1 Long Lane
London SE1 4PG
United Kingdom
sent by e-mail with acknowledgment of receipt: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxx.xxx
Subject:
Your application for access to documents – GESTDEM 2022/1043
Dear Madam,
We refer to your application dated 14 February 2022 in which you make a request for
access to documents, registered on 18 February 2022 under the abovementioned
reference number, as well as to our holding reply of 9 March 2022.
You request access to:
“
All documentation, including but not limited to, attendance lists, agendas,
background papers, minutes/notes and email correspondence about or
summarising the following meetings of the cabinet members of Commissioner
Adina-Ioana Vălean with multiple organisations.
1. Meeting with World Shipping Council on 19/11/2021 to discuss the evolutions
of the maritime sector(…)”.
Please note that due to the wide scope of your request, covering also areas falling under
the responsibility of other units of the Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport
(DG MOVE), parts of your request have been attributed to other units1. This reply relates
only to the documents concerning the meeting listed above. You will receive the replies
from the other respective units of DG MOVE in due course.
Having examined your request, we have identified the following documents as falling
within the scope of your application:
1 In particular, the request registered under the reference number GESTDEM 2022/1044, which concerns
the “
Meeting with Verband der Automobilindustrie (VDA) on 03/02/2022 to discuss the Automotive
Industry”, and the request registered under the reference number GESTDEM 2022/1045, which concerns
the “
Meeting with International Consolidated Airlines Group (IAG) on 31/01/2022 to discuss the Transport
sustainability commitments of IAG in the framework of "Fit for 55 package"” and the “
Meeting with Air
France KLM (AFKL) on 24/11/2021 to discuss the meeting on the aviation sector and Fit for 55”.
Commission européenne/Europese Commissie, 1049 Bruxelles/Brussel, BELGIQUE/BELGIË - Tel. +32 22991111
- Annex A1: email from a representative of World Shipping Council to a member
of the Cabinet of Commissioner Vălean dated 26 October 2021, on ‘FuelEU
Maritime and EU ETS: Sharing World Shipping Council review offering
strengths and improvements for the proposal’, with the two enclosed attachments.
We enclose a copy of the documents requested.
As regards the documents listed above, we have come to the conclusion that they may be
partially disclosed. 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 regarding public access to European
Parliament, Council and Commission documents2 (hereinafter ‘Regulation (EC) No
1049/2001’), because they contain the following personal data:
-
Contact information of Commission staff members;
-
The names and contact details of other natural persons;
-
Other information relating to identified or identifiable natural persons, in particular
references to functions of natural persons, to the extent that these would enable their
identification.
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 European Union legislation regarding
the protection of personal data.
The applicable legislation in this field is 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) No
45/2001 and Decision No 1247/2002/EC3 (hereinafter ‘Regulation (EU) 2018/1725’, or
‘Data Protection Regulation’).
In particular, Article 3(1) of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 provides that personal data
‘means any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person […]’. The
Court of Justice has specified that any information, which by reason of its content,
purpose or effect, is linked to a particular person is to be considered as personal data4.
In its judgment in Case C-28/08 P (Bavarian Lager)5, the Court of Justice ruled that when
a request is made for access to documents containing personal data, the Data Protection
Regulation becomes fully applicable6.
2 Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2001 regarding public
access to European Parliament, Council and Commission documents (OJ L 145, 31.05.2001, p. 43).
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) No 45/2001 and Decision No
1247/2002/EC (OC L 205 of 21.11.2018, p. 39).
4 Judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union of 20 December 2017 in Case C-434/16,
Peter Nowak v Data
Protection Commissioner, ECLI:EU:C:2017:994, paragraphs 33-35.
5 Judgment of 29 June 2010 in Case C-28/08 P,
Commission v Bavarian Lager, ECLI:EU:C:2010:378, paragraph 63.
6 Whereas this judgment specifically related to 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, the principles set out therein are also applicable under the
new data protection regime established by Regulation (EU) 2018/1725.
2
In your application, you indicate that your address is in the United Kingdom. Transfers of
personal data from the Commission to countries that are not members of the European
Economic Area (EEA) are regulated under Chapter V of the Data Protection Regulation.
According to Article 47(1) of this Regulation, a transfer of personal data to a third country
or an international organisation may take place where the Commission has decided that the
third country, a territory or one or more specified sectors within that country, or the
international organisation in question, ensures an adequate level of protection and where the
personal data are transferred solely to allow tasks within the competence of the controller to
be carried out.
Based on the information available, the country of your residence is recognised by the
Commission as ensuring an adequate level of protection. However, we would further like to
inform you that pursuant to Article 9(1)(b) of the Data Protection Regulation, ‘personal
data shall only be transmitted to recipients established in the Union other than Union
institutions and bodies if ‘[t]he recipient establishes that it is necessary to have the data
transmitted for a specific purpose in the public interest and the controller, where there is
any reason to assume that the data subject’s legitimate interests might be prejudiced,
establishes that it is proportionate to transmit the personal data for that specific purpose
after having demonstrably weighed the various competing interests’.
Only if these conditions are fulfilled and the processing constitutes lawful handling, in
accordance with the requirements of Article 5 of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725, can the
transmission of personal data occur.
According to Article 9(1)(b) of the Regulation (EU) 2018/1725, the European
Commission has to examine the further conditions for a lawful processing of personal
data only if the first condition is fulfilled, namely if the recipient has established that it is
necessary to have the data transmitted to you for a specific purpose in the public interest.
It is only in that case the European Commission has to examine whether there is a reason
to assume that the legitimate interests of the data subject might be prejudiced and, in the
affirmative, establish the proportionality of the transmission of the personal data for that
specific purpose after having demonstrably weighed the various competing interests.
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. Therefore, the European
Commission does not have to examine whether there is a reason to assume that the data
subject’s legitimate interests might be prejudiced.
Notwithstanding the above, please note that there are reasons to assume that the legitimate
interests of the data subjects concerned would be prejudiced by disclosure of the personal
data reflected in the documents, as there is a real and non-hypothetical risk that such public
disclosure would harm their privacy and subject them to unsolicited external contacts.
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.
Please note that the emails originating from third parties are disclosed to you based on
Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001. However, this disclosure is without prejudice to the rules
3
on intellectual property, which may limit your right to reproduce or exploit the released
documents without the agreement of the originator, who may hold an intellectual
property right on them. The European Commission does not assume any responsibility
from their reuse.
In accordance with Article 7(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001, you are entitled 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 t
o: xxxxxxxxxx@xx.xxxxxx.xx
The COVID-19 outbreak undoubtedly has an impact on the process of handling access to
documents requests under Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001. Given the large-scale
teleworking of the Commission services, all replies, which should normally be sent via
registered post, currently are sent only by e-mail. In this regard, we kindly ask you to
confirm receipt of this email.
Yours faithfully,
(e-signed)
Annika KROON
Head of Unit
Enclosure:
Annex A1, better described above.
4
Electronically signed on 23/03/2022 17:55 (UTC+01) in accordance with Article 11 of Commission Decision (EU) 2021/2121