EUROPEAN COMMISSION
DIRECTORATE-GENERAL
REGIONAL AND URBAN POLICY
The Director-General
Brussels, 20 October 2020
regio.a.2(2020)6459791
Subject:
Your application for access to documents – GESTDEM 2020/5323
Dear Sir
We refer to your e-mail of 7 September 2020 in which you make a request for access to
documents, registered on 9 September 2020 under the above-mentioned reference
number, followed up by email exchanges of 18 September and 21 September 2020.
In your initial request for access to documents, you request access to:
All submitted entries for the 2017, 2018 and 2019 edition of the Youth4Regions
programme for aspiring journalists;
The 2017, 2018 and 2019 jury assessments of the applications for the
Youth4Regions programme for aspiring journalists;
Documents about the budget, criteria and goals of the Youth4Regions programme
for aspiring journalists ;
Commission e-mail exchanges with the (mentor) journalists involved in the
Youth4Regions programme for aspiring journalists ;
Evaluations of the 2017, 2018 and/or 2019 edition of the Youth4Regions
programme for aspiring journalists.
The following documents related to the criteria, goals and design of the Youth4Regions
programme for aspiring journalists fall within the scope of your application:
2017 Financing Decision on Technical Assistance, Annex I, Working document
(Nr action 70);
2018 Financing Decision on Technical Assistance, Annex I, Working document
(Nr 15/16);
2019 Financing Decision on Technical Assistance, Annex I, Working document
(Nr 2019-014).
Peter Teffer
Ekko Voorkamer
Bemuurde Weerd WZ 3
3513 BH Utrecht
The Netherlands
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxx.xxx Commission européenne/Europese Commissie, 1049 Bruxelles/Brussel, BELGIQUE/BELGIË - Tel. +32 22991111
We regret to inform you that the Commission does not hold any other documents that
would correspond to the description given in your application than the documents
referred to and provided above.
In addition, please find attached the evaluation of the 2017, 2018 and 2019 edition of the
Youth4Regions programme for aspiring journalists, which we have already provided by
email of 18 September 2020.
As specified in Article 2(3) of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001, the right of access as
defined in that regulation applies only to existing documents in the possession of the
institution.
Given that for part of your request no such document corresponding to the description
given in your application are held by the Commission, the Commission is only partially
in a position to fulfil your request.
In accordance with Article 7(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001, you are entitled 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 t
o: xxxxxxxxxx@xx.xxxxxx.xx
In any case, I would like to strongly reaffirm the European Commission’s unwavering
attachment to editorial independence and more generally to press freedom, which are key
pillars of the rule of law that is at the heart of the European project. These principles
were recently recalled by European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen at her
State of the Union speech of last 16 September 2020.
These principles obviously apply to selection of applicants in the framework of the
various Commission’s information programmes. Therefore, participants to the
Youth4Regions programme for aspiring journalists are selected strictly in accordance
with the publicly-available criteria of the competition. And like for in any other
Commission activities, such as the
call for proposals regarding EU support for
information measures relating to EU cohesion policy, the organisers of Youth4Regions
guarantee full editorial independence and do not interfere at any point with the work of
the participants or with that of the editors.
Yours faithfully,
Marc Lemaître
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