This is an HTML version of an attachment to the Freedom of Information request 'EU-Japan Business Round Table'.



 
Ref. Ares(2018)1270939 - 07/03/2018
EUROPEAN COMMISSION 
Directorate-General for Trade 
 
Directorate C -  Asia and Latin America 
  Far East 
The Head of Unit 
Brussels,  
DG TRADE C.1/ (2017) 5988096 
By registered letter with acknowledgment of 
receipt 
 
Ms Lora Verheecke 
Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO) 
26, rue d'Edimbourg 
1050 Bruxelles 
 
Advance copy by e-mail: 
 
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxx.xxx 
 
 
Subject: Your application for access to documents – ref: GestDem 2017/4216 
Dear Ms Verheecke, 
We  refer  to  your  e-mail  dated  17/07/2017  in  which  you  make  a  request  for  access  to 
documents under Regulation (EC) No 1049/20011 ("Regulation 1049/2001"), which was 
registered on 18/07/2017 under the above-mentioned reference number. 
Please accept our apologies for the delay in answering to your request, which is mainly 
due to a high number of access to documents being processed at the same time by DG 
TRADE, as well to some resource constraints. It was also necessary to consult a number 
of other Commission services about specific documents related to your request. 
1.  SCOPE OF YOUR REQUEST 
You requested access to: 
"1. Any documents since 1st January 2010, including briefings, reports, correspondence 
(email or other), where the EU-Japan Business Round Table is concerned or mentioned. 

2. A list of meetings, as well as agendas and minutes any other reports of such meetings, 
since 1st January 2010, between officials/representatives/experts of DG Trade and 
officials/representatives of the EU-Japan Business Round Table."
 
                                                 
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 européenne/Europese Commissie, 1049 Bruxelles/Brussel, BELGIQUE/BELGIË - Tel. +32 22991111 
Tel. direct line +32 2 2992155 – Office: CHAR 08/55 - xxxxxxxx.xxxxxxxxx@xx.xxxxxx.xx. 

 
You agreed, on 7 August 2017, to reduce the scope of your request by eliminating the 
initially identified documents prior to 2014. The scope of your request concerns therefore 
documents from 2014 to 2017. 
We provide in Annex 1 a revised list of documents which fall under the scope of your 
request. For each of them the list contains a description, and indicates whether parts are 
withheld and if so under which ground pursuant to Regulation 1049/2001. 
As indicated in Annex 1, and after a close examination, we have come to the conclusion 
that four documents of the initial list sent to you are out of the scope of your request, as 
they  concern  topics  other  that  your  request.  In  addition,  two  documents  concern  the 
replies to previous access to documents requests filed by you. Therefore these documents 
are not part of the assessment contained in this letter. 
Please note that documents 7, 10 and 13 are publicly available online, as well as some of 
the attachments to documents 1, 3, 4, 8 and 11. You can find in Annex 1 a link to the 
website of publication. 
I  am  glad  to  inform  you  that  access  can  be  granted  to  the  content  of  the  remaining 
identified  documents.  While  document  17  is  fully  disclosed,  some  personal  data  have 
been  withheld  in  the  remaining  documents  in  accordance  with  Article  4(1)(b)  of 
Regulation  1049/2001.  The  legal  reasoning  underlying  the  protection  of  these  personal 
data is provided below.  
In  line  with  the  Commission's  commitment  to  ensure  transparency  and  accountability2, 
the names of the Members of Cabinets and of the Directors-General are disclosed. For 
private bodies and companies, the names of their main representatives are also disclosed.. 
Copies of the accessible documents are enclosed. 
*** 
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  applicable  legislation  in  this  field  is  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 data3.  
                                                 
2   See Commission decisions C(2014) 9051 and C(2014) 9048 of 25 November 2014.  
3   OJ L 8, 12.1.2001, p. 1. 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"
  (see  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). 



 
Article  2(a)  of  Regulation  45/2001  provides  that  "'personal data' shall mean any 
information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person […]"
. In this respect, the 
jurisprudence of the EU Courts has clarified that activities of a professional nature may fall 
within 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 institutions6. 
In accordance with Article 8(b) of Regulation 45/2001 personal data may 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"
7I consider on the basis of your application, that these conditions have not 
been met. Therefore, in order to ensure the protection of the privacy and integrity of the 
individuals concerned, the personal data in question cannot be transferred. 
*** 
In  case  you  would  disagree  with  the  assessment  provided  above,  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 sincerely, 
 
Philippe DUPONTEIL 
 
 
Encl:   - List of documents (annex 1) 
 
- Disclosed documents 
                                                 
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   The Court of Justice has clarified that "it is for the person applying for access to establish the necessity of 
transferring that data" (C-127/13  P,  paragraph  107;  see  also  judgment  in  C-28/08  P  Commission v 
Bavarian Lager, EU:C:2010:378, paragraph 77). 

Electronically signed on 07/03/2018 15:43 (UTC+01) in accordance with article 4.2 (Validity of electronic documents) of Commission Decision 2004/563