Ref. Ares(2016)2279447 - 17/05/2016
EUROPEAN COMMISSION
Directorate-General for Trade
Directorate A - Resources, Information and Policy Coordination
Information, Communication and Civil Society
Brussels,
trade.a.3.dir(2016)1139596
By registered letter with
acknowledgment of receipt
Natacha Cingotti
Friends of the Earth Europe
Mundo B
Rue d'Edimbourg 26
B-1050 Brussels
Belgium
Advance copy by email:
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxx.xxx
Subject:
Your application for access to documents – Ref GestDem 2015/4320
Dear Ms Cingotti,
We refer to your e-mail of 31 July 2015 in which you make a request for access to
documents under Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 ("Regulation 1049/2001"),1 registered
on 10 August 2015 under the above mentioned reference number.
Please accept our apologies for the delay in replying to your request, which is mainly due
to the simultaneous processing of a large number of requests for access to documents.
1.
SCOPE OF YOUR REQUEST
You request access to the following documents:
1) "a list of meetings with public relations and public affairs consultancies,
communications and/or media organisations, in relation to the European
1 Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 May 2001
regarding public access to European Parliament, Council and Commission documents, OJ L 145,
31.5.2001, p. 43.
Commission's communications strategy on the EU-US trade negotiations (since 1
January 2015);
2) minutes and other reports of these meetings;
3) any contracts between the European Commission and the organisations mentioned
in 1) about the provision of services in relation to the proposed EU-US trade deal
TTIP (since 1 January 2015)."
We have considered as the relevant timeframe for the requested documents the period
from 1st January 2015 to 31st July 2015 (date of your application).
The Commission, and in particular DG Trade, carries out a number of communication
and transparency activities with the aim of contributing to a more factual debate on the
TTIP negotiations, and trade policy more generally, and promote greater transparency,
such as follows:2
The Commission has regular exchanges with journalists in relation to questions
they raise on the ongoing TTIP negotiations. The correspondence with journalists
is handled by the European Commission's Spokesperson Service.
Accredited journalists have the possibility to meet with the chief negotiator before
and after each TTIP negotiation round. Furthermore, in line with our transparency
initiative, the stakeholder's consultations which take place during each negotiating
round are open to the press. Generally, invitations to attend these events are sent
by the Spokesperson Service via a newsletter called "Rapid". In this respect, you
may want to visit the European Commission Press Release page at the following
li
nk: http://europa.eu/rapid/. We also announce these events on the DG TRADE
website and via our Twitter accounts @EU_Trade and @EU_TTIP_Team.
DG Trade organised seminars for journalists with the support of the European
Journalism Centre (EJC) in Maastricht. These events are designed to give media
professionals background information to better understand the EU decision-
making process and its political orientation. The role of EJC is to define the
criteria for participation of the journalists, prepare the programme and invite the
speakers. The EJC is also in charge of the logistical organisation of the events,
e.g. booking of conference facilities, organisation of travel and accommodation
for the participants. During the relevant period of your request, the Commission
organised one seminar for journalists, on 3-4 March 2015 entitled "EU-US Trade
Agreement Negotiations / Background briefing for journalists".
In 2014 and 2015, DG Trade made several publications to inform the public about
the content and context of the TTIP negotiations, such as on
"The top 10 myths
about TTIP - separating facts from fiction", "Inside TTIP - an overview and
2 This information is provided under the Code of Good Administrative Behaviour (OJ L 267,
20.10.2000, p. 63).
2
chapter-by-chapter guide in plain English", "TTIP - the opportunities for small
and medium-sized enterprises", "Small and medium sized enterprises and the
Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership", "Transatlantic Trade and
Investment Partnership - the economic analysis explained." These publications
are available on the dedicated TTIP webpage of DG Trade at
http://ec.europa.eu/trade/policy/in-focus/ttip/documents-and-
events/index_en.htm#_documents
In 2014, DG Trade produced videos to inform the public on specific aspects of
the TTIP negotiations, such as on the
"Benefits of TTIP",
"Transparency in TTIP" and
"Upholding standards in TTIP". These videos are available at
http://ec.europa.eu/trade/policy/in-focus/ttip/documents-and-
events/index_en.htm#_videos. In December 2015, DG Trade published a video
prepared by ESN on
"How the EU negotiates trade deals" (available at
http://ec.europa.eu/trade/policy/policy-making/) to describe how we generally
conduct trade negotiations.
As regards your request for access to documents, we have identified the following
documents that falling within its scope:
the programme of the journalists seminar organized with the support of the EJC
on 3-4 March 2015, entitled "EU-US Trade Agreement Negotiations /
Background briefing for journalists" (Ares (2016)1708350) ("
document 1"); and,
the final report of the journalists seminar of 3-4 March 2015 (Ares
(2016)1708299) ("
document 2").
Having examined these documents in light of the applicable legal framework,
we are
pleased to release them. Copies are enclosed in Annex 1. The only information removed
in these documents concern personal data, such as names and job titles of Commission staff
and of third parties, covered by the exception of Article 4.1(b) of Regulation 1049/2001.
The names of the Commissioner and of MEPs are disclosed.
Article 4.1 (b) of Regulation 1049/2001 provides that
“[t]he institutions shall refuse
access to a document where 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 Court of Justice has ruled that
"where an application based on Regulation 1049/2001
seeks to obtain access to documents containing personal data" "the provisions of
Regulation 45/2001, of which Articles 8(b) and 18 constitute essential provisions, become
applicable in their entirety".3
Article 2(a) of Regulation 45/2001 provides that
"'personal data' shall mean any
information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person […]". The Court of
3 Judgment in
Guido Strack v Commission, C-127/13 P,
EU:C:2014:2250, paragraph 101; see also
judgment in
Commission v Bavarian Lager, C-28/08 P, EU:C:2010:378, paragraphs 63 and 64.
3
Justice has confirmed that
"there is no reason of principle to justify excluding activities of a
professional […] nature from the notion of 'private life'"4 and that
"surnames and
forenames may be regarded as personal data",5 including names of the staff of the
institutions.6
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" and additionally
"if there is no reason to assume that the legitimate interests of the data subjects might be
prejudiced". The Court of Justice has clarified that
"it is for the person applying for access
to establish the necessity of transferring that data".7
I note that that you have not established the necessity of having these personal data
transferred to you. Moreover, it cannot be assumed, on the basis of the information
available, that disclosure of such personal data would not prejudice the legitimate
interests of the persons concerned. Therefore, these personal data shall remain
undisclosed in order to ensure the protection of the privacy and integrity of the
individuals concerned.
If you wish to receive these personal data, we invite you to provide us with arguments
showing the need for having these data transferred to you and the absence of adverse
effects to the legitimate rights of the persons whose personal data should be disclosed.
***
Please note that you may reuse the documents disclosed free of charge for non-
commercial and commercial purposes provided that the source is acknowledged and that
you do not distort the original meaning or message. The Commission does not assume
liability stemming from the reuse.
***
In case you would disagree with the assessment that the removed data are personal data
which can only be disclosed if such disclosure is legitimate under the rules of personal data
protection, you are entitled, in accordance with Article 7(2) of Regulation 1049/2001, to
make 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 Secretary-General of the Commission at the following address:
4 Judgment in
Rechnungshof v Rundfunk and Others, Joined cases C-465/00, C-138/01 and C-139/01,
EU:C:2003:294, paragraph 73.
5 Judgment in
Commission v Bavarian Lager, C-28/08 P, EU:C:2010:378, paragraph 68.
6 Judgment in
Guido Strack v Commission, C-127/13 P,
EU:C:2014:2250, paragraph 111.
7
Id., paragraph 107; see also judgment in C-28/08 P
Commission v Bavarian Lager, EU:C:2010:378,
paragraph 77.
4
European Commission
Secretary-General
Transparency unit SG-B-4
BERL 5/327
B-1049 Bruxelles
or by emai
l to: xxxxxxxxxx@xx.xxxxxx.xx
Yours sincerely,
Lutz GUELLNER
Head of Unit
Encl.: Annex 1 (2 released documents)
5
Electronically signed on 04/05/2016 18:23 (UTC+02) in accordance with article 4.2 (Validity of electronic documents) of Commission Decision 2004/563
Document Outline