EUROPEAN COMMISSION
DIRECTORATE-GENERAL FOR MOBILITY AND TRANSPORT
The Director-General
Ref. Ares(2020)
2375356 - 05/05/2020
Brussels,
MOVE/A4/AMG/ (2020)
Danny Magill
40 Bermondsey Street,
London.
United Kingdom
By registered letter with
acknowledgment of receipt
Advance copy by email : request-
xxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxx.xxx
Subject:
Your application for access to documents – Ref GestDem No 2020/1588
We refer to your demand dated 16/03/2020 in which you make a request for access to
documents, registered on 18/03/2020 under the above mentioned reference number.
In particular, 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:
1. Between European Community Shipowner's Associations(ECSA) and member of
Commissioner Adina-Ioana Vălean's cabinet Roxana Lesovici on 22/01/2020
2. Between Danish Shipping and member of Commissioner Adina-Ioana Vălean's
cabinet Roxana Lesovici on 22/01/2020
3. Between World Shipping Council(WSC) and member of Commissioner Adina-Ioana
Vălean's cabinet Roxana Lesovici on 18/02/2020”.
In our holding reply, dated 07/04/2020, we asked an extension of time to reply to your
request since requested and accordingly defined documents are held by different services of
Commission services, that must be have been consulted.
We have identified one document corresponding to your request enclosed to this letter.
Having examined the document requested under the provisions of Regulation (EC) No
1049/2001 regarding public access to European Parliament, Council and Commission
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documents1 (hereinafter ‘Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001’), we have come to the conclusion
that it may be partially disclosed. Some parts of the document have been blanked out as
their disclosure is prevented by exception to the right of access laid down in Article 4 of this
Regulation.
First, 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 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 data2 (hereinafter
‘Regulation 2018/1725’).
In particular, Article 3(1) of Regulation 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 data.3
In its judgment in Case C-28/08 P (
Bavarian Lager)4, the Court of Justice ruled that when a
request is made for access to documents containing personal data, the Data Protection
Regulation becomes fully applicable5.
Article 9(1)(b) of the Regulation 2018/1725 does not allow the transmission of these
personal data, except if you prove that it is necessary to have the data transmitted to you for
a specific purpose in the public interest and where there is no reason to assume that the
legitimate interests of the data subject might be prejudiced. In your request, you do not
express any particular interest to have access to these personal data nor do you put forward
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.
1 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.
2 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.
3 Judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union of 20 December 2017 in C
ase C-434/16, Peter
Nowak v Data Protection Commissioner, ECLI:EU:C:2017:994, paragraphs 33-35.
4 Judgment of 29 June 2010 in Case C-28/08 P,
European Commission v The Bavarian Lager Co. Ltd,
EU:C:2010:378, paragraph 59.
5 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 2018/1725.
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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
document, 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.
Second, pursuant to Article 4(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 the institutions shall
refuse access to a document where disclosure would undermine the protection of
commercial interest of a natural or legal person, including intellectual property unless there
is an overriding public interest in disclosure.
This is the case of the redacted parts of the enclosed document. The redacted parts of the
document contain commercially sensitive information relating, in particular, to the
business strategies of the undertakings concerned, to their commercial relations and
revealing their expertise.
In particular, the redacted parts of the enclosed document include information as regards
the strategy related to the use certain types of fuels in the future.
The exceptions laid down in Article 4(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 applies unless
there is an overriding public interest in disclosure of the document. We have examined
whether there could be an overriding public interest in disclosure, but we have not been able
to identify such an interest.
In case you would disagree with this position, you are entitled, in accordance with Article
7(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001, 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 to:
xxxxxxxxxx@xx.xxxxxx.xx
Yours sincerely,
Henrik HOLOLEI
Director-General
[
e-signed]
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