This is an HTML version of an attachment to the Freedom of Information request 'Memos, guidance and guidelines on record creation'.



 
Ref. Ares(2016)5557955 - 26/09/2016
EUROPEAN COMMISSION 
DIRECTORATE-GENERAL FOR RESEARCH & INNOVATION 
 
Directorate J – Common Support Centre 
  J.1 – Common Legal Support Service 
 
Brussels,  
 
By registered letter with acknowledgment 
of receipt to:
 
Mireia CRESPO CASTELLANO 
Access Info Europe 
Cava de San Miguel 8, 4C 
28005 Madrid 
Spain 
 
Advance copy by email: ask+request-3277-
xxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxx.xxx 
 
 
Subject: 
Your application for access to documents – GestDem Ref No 2016/4955 
 
Dear Madam, 
We refer to your email of 2 September 2016 wherein you submit an application for 
public access to documents. It was registered on 5 September 2016 under the above 
mentioned reference number. 
1.  SCOPE OF YOUR APPLICATION 
Your application concerns access to documents which contain the following information: 
1. Memos, guidance, guidelines, or training material (or any other document) for 
DG staff on record creation and/or record keeping, in particular documents that refer to 
the creation/keeping of agendas (diaries of public officials´ engagements), lists of 
meetings, minutes of meetings, lists of participants in meetings, and documents justifying 
decisions. 

2. Memos, guidance, guidelines, or training material (or any other document) for 
DG staff on the processing of access to information requests.
 
First of all, we would like to clarify that access to information requests you mention in 
point 2 of your application are handled under the Code of Good Administrative 
Behaviour
. Please note that DG RTD has no specific documents addressed to its staff 
concerning the processing of access to information requests under this Code
 
Commission européenne/Europese Commissie, 1049 Bruxelles/Brussel, BELGIQUE/BELGIË - Tel. +32 22991111 

 
The  access to documents requests, on the other hand, are handled under 
Regulation 1049/20011. Following the general guidance of Secretariat-General, we 
consider that point 2 of your application refers to the Memos, guidance, guidelines, or 
training material (or any other document) for DG staff on the processing of access to 
documents requests

2.  EXAMINATION UNDER REGULATION 1049/2001 
We have identified 6 documents corresponding to your request. These documents are as 
follows: 
DG RTD specific documents on document management (i.e. record creation and/or 
record keeping
): 
1.  File index 17_Meetings and conferences_not comitology, 
2.  File index 48_Internal Management_meetings, 
3.  File index 49_Internal Management_general, 
4.  ARES information sheet 21_ARES_and_MIPS, 
5.  ARES information sheet 22_Webdor_and_ARES; and 
DG RTD specific document on access to documents
6.  RTD intranet webpage on Public access to documents. 
In respect of trainings in ARES and document management, there are no DG RTD 
specific documents. The content of ARES training materials is provided by DG DIGIT. 
The content of document management training materials is based on the eDomec legal 
documents, the relevant official documents and procedures established by the Secretariat-
General, as well as the corporate training material provided by the Secretariat-General. 
As regards memos, guidance, guidelines or training materials in access to documents
please note that DG RTD adheres to the relevant official documents drawn up and 
procedures established by the Secretariat-General. To DG RTD staff we provide the 
information on DG RTD intranet webpage (document 6). As regards training materials in 
access to documents, we would like to inform you that DG RTD does not organise any 
specific trainings on access to documents for DG RTD staff, hence we do not have any 
such training materials. 
Having examined the documents requested under the provisions of 
Regulation 1049/2001, we are pleased to inform you that we provide full access to 
documents 1-4 and wide partial access to documents 5 and 6. Only a small amount of 
personal data contained in documents 5 and 6 cannot be disclosed in line with 
Article 4(1)(b) of this Regulation
                                                 
1 Regulation (EC) No1049/2001 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, 31.5.2001, p. 43), 
hereinafter ‘Regulation 1049/2001’. 


 
2.1 Protection of privacy and integrity of the individual 
Pursuant to the Article 4(1)(b) of Regulation 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 the [EU] legislation regarding the 
protection of personal data"
. The applicable legislation in this field is 
Regulation 45/20012. 
When access is requested to documents containing personal data, Regulation 45/2001 
becomes fully applicable3. 
2 of the requested documents (documents 5 and 6) contain the names and phone numbers 
of the Commission non-senior staff. This information is not in the public domain and 
undoubtedly constitutes personal data in the meaning of Article 2(a) of 
Regulation 45/2001. The EU Court of Justice case-law4 confirms that "there is no reason 
of principle to justify excluding activities of a professional [...] nature from the notion of 
'private life'"

Public disclosure of the above-mentioned personal data would constitute processing 
(transfer) of personal data within the meaning of Article 8(b) of Regulation 45/2001
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 if there is no 
reason to assume that the legitimate rights of the data subjects concerned might be 
prejudiced. 
We consider that, with the information available, the necessity of disclosing the personal 
data of non-senior Commission staff has not been established and that it cannot be 
assumed that such disclosure would not prejudice their legitimate rights. For this 
purpose, we redacted the personal data of non-senior Commission staff in the requested 
documents, as described above. 
2.2 Non-existence of an overriding public interest 
I would like to draw your attention to the fact that the invoked exception laid down in 
Article 4(1)(b) of Regulation 1049/2001 is an absolute exception that does not have to be 
balanced against the public interest in disclosure. 
2.3 Legal notice 
You may reuse the disclosed content of the requested Commission documents provided that 
the source is acknowledged and that you do not distort the original meaning or message of 
the documents. Please note that the Commission does not assume liability stemming from 
the reuse of the disclosed content. 
                                                 
2 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 (OJ L 8 of 12.1.2001, p. 1). 
3 Judgment of the Court of Justice of the EU of 29 June 2010 in case 28/08 P, Commission v. The Bavarian 
Lager Co. Ltd
, ECR 2010 I-06055. 
4 Judgment of the Court of 20 May 2003 in joined cases C-465/00, C-138/01 and C-139/01, preliminary 
rulings in proceedings between Rechnungshof and Österreichischer Rundfunk, paragraph 73. 



 
3.  MEANS OF REDRESS 
In case you would disagree with the assessment that the redacted 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: 
European Commission 
Secretary-General 
Transparency unit SG-B-4 
BERL 5/282 
B-1049 Bruxelles 

or by email to: xxxxxxxxxx@xx.xxxxxx.xx. 
 
Yours faithfully, 
 
 
 
Liliane DE WOLF 
Head of Unit 

Electronically signed on 26/09/2016 13:37 (UTC+02) in accordance with article 4.2 (Validity of electronic documents) of Commission Decision 2004/563