Ref. Ares(2018)1707659 - 28/03/2018
From: HOME ACCESS DOCUMENTS
To: Luisa
Izuzquiza
Cc: HOME ACCESS DOCUMENTS
Subject:
your access to documents request - ref gestdem 2018/1826
Dear Sir / Madam,
Thank you for your e-mail dated 20/03/2018. We hereby acknowledge
receipt of your application for
access to documents, which was registered under reference number GestDem
2018/1826.
In accordance with Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 regarding public access
to European Parliament,
Council and Commission documents, your application will be handled within
15 working days. The time
limit will expire on 23/04/2018. In case this time limit needs to be
extended, you will be informed in due
course.
You have lodged your application via the AsktheEU.org website. Please
note that this is a private website
which has no link with any institution of the European Union. Therefore
the European Commission
cannot be held accountable for any technical issues or problems linked to
the use of this system.
In your e-mail of 27/03/2018 you have mentioned: "I'd also like to recall
that there are no valid
procedural requirements that allow an institution to refuse registration
of an access to documents
request pending the provision of a postal address."
With respect to your concerns regarding the provision of a postal address
(copied above), please find
our explanations below.
On 1 April 2014, the postal address became a mandatory feature for the
purpose of introducing a
request for access to documents.
The decision to ask for a postal address from applicants for access to
documents was triggered by the
following considerations:
•
The need to obtain legal certainty as regards the date of receipt
of the reply by the applicant
under Regulation 1049/2001. Indeed, as foreseen by Article 297 of the
Treaty on the Functioning of the
European Union (TFEU), […] decisions which specify to whom they are
addressed, shall be notified to
those to whom they are addressed and shall take effect upon such
notification. Replies triggering the
possibility for administrative or judicial redress are therefore
transmitted via registered mail with
acknowledgement of receipt. This requires an indication of a valid postal
address by the applicant;
•
The need to direct the Commission's scarce resources first of all
to those requests which have
been filed by "real" applicants. With only a compulsory indication of an
e-mail address, applicants can
easily introduce requests under an invented identity or under the
identity of a third person. Asking for a
postal address helps the Commission to protect the administration, as
well as other citizens and legal
persons, from abuse;
•
For similar reasons, asking for a compulsory indication of a postal
address enables the
Commission services to verify whether Article 6(3) of the Regulation, on
voluminous requests, is being
evaded by introducing several requests under different identities.
Indeed, in its Ryanair judgment, the
General Court confirmed that Article 6(3) cannot be evaded by splitting
the application into a number of
applications. The Commission would like to point out that, in 2012/2013,
it received some 57
confirmatory requests from what it suspects to be one single applicant
operating under 13 different
identities;
All of these considerations show that the request for and the consequent
processing of a postal address
is not only appropriate but also strictly necessary for the performance
of a task carried out in the public
interest within the meaning of Article 5 (a) of Data Protection
Regulation 45/2001, namely providing a
smooth and effective access to documents.
Yours faithfully,
European Commission
DG Migration and Home Affairs
Access to Documents Team
-----Original Message-----
From: Luisa Izuzquiza [mailto:xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxx.xxx]
Sent: Tuesday, March 20, 2018 7:26 PM
To: HOME ACCESS DOCUMENTS
Subject: access to documents request - Correspondence regarding Proactiva
Open Arms
Dear Migration and Home Affairs,
Under the right of access to documents in the EU treaties, as developed
in Regulation 1049/2001, I am
requesting:
For the period from Wednesday 14 March 2018 to date:
All correspondence – including, but not limited to, letters, e-mails, and
any attachments – in regards,
related to, or mentioning
- NGO Proactiva Open Arms;
- the seizure of the vessel "Open Arms"; and/or
- the criminal investigation opened by the Catania Public Prosecutor’s
Office
exchanged between DG HOME and representatives of any of the following
authorities:
- the Catania Public Prosecutor’s Office;
- the Italian Ministry of Interior;
- the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs;
- the Barcelona City Hall;
- the European External Action Service;
- the European Border and Coast Guard Agency.
I would also like to request a phone log of all telephone conversations
between DG HOME and
representatives of any of the above-mentioned authorities to discuss any
of the three above-mentioned
issues.
Finally, I would like to request all internal correspondence (i.e.:
between DG HOME representatives)
regarding, related to, or mentioning any of the three above-mentioned
issues.
Please do not hesitate to contact me if you need any clarification in
regards to any aspect of my request.
Thank you in advance.
Yours faithfully,
Luisa Izuzquiza
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