Ref. Ares(2020)5556052 - 15/10/2020
EUROPEAN COMMISSION
DIRECTORATE-GENERAL
ENVIRONMENT
Directorate B - Circular Economy & Green Growth
ENV.B.2 - Sustainable Chemicals
Brussels,
ENV.B.2
Vicky Cann
CEO
Rue d’Edimbourg 26
Bruxelles 1050
Sent by email to:
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxx.xxx
Dear Ms Cann,
Subject: Your application for access to documents: Ref GestDem No 2020/4211
We refer to your e-mail dated 09/07/2020, in which you make a request for access to
documents registered under the above-mentioned reference number, and to our holding
reply Ref. Ares(2020)4080887 - 03/08/2020.
You requested access to
“…
a list of all lobby meetings (including face to face, phone
calls, conference calls etc) held since 1 January 2019 with any of the following:
1. Precheza
2. DEZA
3. Association of Chemical Industry of the Czech Republic (SCHP ČR)
4. Association of Paint Manufacturers of the Czech Republic (AVNH)
5. Czech Plastic Cluster
The list should include the names of the individuals participating; the date; the agenda;
and any minutes / notes produced. I would additionally like to receive any emails or
other correspondence sent to or received from any of the above organisations since 1
January 2019.”
In your request you ask for a “list of all lobby meetings (...)”. You also ask for specific
data that “the list should include”. I note that in your request you refer to Regulation
1049/2001 regarding public access to European Parliament, Council and Commission
documents. We inform you that the Commission does not compose such lists on a given
file or policy issue and, therefore, does not hold any documents that would correspond to
the description given in the request. The right of access to documents applies only to
existing documents in the possession of the institution, in line with Article 10(3) of
Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001, and, in accordance with the case law of the EU Courts,
the Commission is under no obligation to create a new document, even if that document
were based on information already appearing in existing documents held by it.
With regard to your request for “any emails or other correspondence sent to or received
from any of the above organisations since 1 January 2019”, please see in the Annex to
Commission européenne/Europese Commissie, 1049 Bruxelles/Brussel, BELGIQUE/BELGIË - Tel. +32 22991111
this letter a list of the documents that are in the scope of your request. Having examined
these documents under the provisions of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 regarding public
access to European Parliament, Council and Commission documents, we have come to
the following conclusions:
You have submitted a similar access to documents request to DG GROW with Gestdem
No 2020/4184. Some of the documents identified by us have also been identified by DG
GROW and they have already provided a reply on them, therefore we refer to that reply.
This concerns documents referred to under numbers 1, 2, and 3 in the attached Annex.
The document referred to under number 4 in the attached Annex contains personal data,
which have been redacted. 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 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 (‘Regulation 2018/1725’).
Indeed, 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 data1.
Please also note in this respect that the names, signatures, functions, telephone numbers
and/or initials pertaining to staff members of an institution are to be considered personal
data2.
In its judgment in Case C-28/08 P (Bavarian Lager)3, the Court of Justice ruled that when
a request is made for access to documents containing personal data, the Data Protection
Regulation becomes fully applicable4.
Pursuant to Article 9(1)(b) of Regulation 2018/1725, ‘personal data shall only be
transmitted to recipients established in the Union other than Union institutions and bodies
if ‘[t]he recipient establishes that it is necessary to have the data transmitted for a specific
purpose in the public interest and the controller, where there is any reason to assume that
the data subject’s legitimate interests might be prejudiced, establishes that it is
proportionate to transmit the personal data for that specific purpose after having
demonstrably weighed the various competing interests’.
1 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, request for a preliminary ruling, paragraphs 33-35,
ECLI:EU:C:2017:994.
2 Judgment of the General Court of 19 September 2018 in cas
e T-39/17, Port de Brest v Commission,
paragraphs 43-44,
ECLI:EU:T:2018:560.
3 Judgment of 29 June 2010 in Case C-28/08 P,
European Commission v The Bavarian Lager Co. Ltd,
ECLI:EU:C:2010:378, paragraph 59.
4 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.
2
Only if these conditions are fulfilled and the processing constitutes lawful processing in
accordance with the requirements of Article 5 of Regulation 2018/1725, can the
transmission of personal data occur.
According to Article 9(1)(b) of Regulation 2018/1725, the European Commission has to
examine the further conditions for a lawful processing of personal data only if the first
condition is fulfilled, namely if the recipient has established that it is necessary to have
the data transmitted for a specific purpose in the public interest. It is only in this case that
the European Commission has to examine whether there is a reason to assume that the
data subject’s legitimate interests might be prejudiced and, in the affirmative, establish
the proportionality of the transmission of the personal data for that specific purpose after
having demonstrably weighed the various competing interests.
In your request, you do not put forward any 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.
Consequently, I conclude that, pursuant to Article 4(1)(b) of Regulation (EC) No
1049/2001, access cannot be granted to the personal data, 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.
Please also note that those documents included in the attached Annex which originate
from third parties are disclosed for information only and cannot be re-used without the
agreement of the originators, who hold a copyright on them. They do not reflect the
position of the Commission and cannot be quoted as such.
In accordance with Article 7(2) of Regulation 1049/2001, you are entitled to make a
confirmatory application requesting the Commission to review its position on the matters
already mentioned. 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, Document Management & Access to Documents (SG.C.1)
BERL 7/076
B-1049 Bruxelles
or by email to:
xxxxxxxxxx@xx.xxxxxx.xx
Yours faithfully,
ENV B02 ARES
(xxxxxxxxxxxx@xx.xxxxxx.xx) On behalf of the Head of Unit
Electronically signed on 15/10/2020 14:05 (UTC+02) in accordance with article 11 of Commission Decision C(2020) 4482
3