Ref. Ares(2020)6824509 - 17/11/2020
EUROPEAN COMMISSION
Service for Foreign Policy Instruments
Director – Head of Service
Brussels,
ARES(2020)
By registered letter with acknowledgment of receipt
Hengeveld Maria
King's College
University of Cambridge
King's Parade Cambridge
United Kingdom
Advance copy by email:
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxx.xxx
Dear Ms Hengeveld,
Subject:
Your application for access to documents – GESTDEM 2020/5287
We refer to your e-mail dated 6 October 2020 in which you make a request for access to documents,
registered on 7 October 2020 under the above-mentioned reference number.
You request access to documents related to 'WeEmpower Asia' programme.
Specifically, you request documents that contain information “
about the multinational corporations
involved in this project; the commitments they have made; which concrete outcomes are pursued;
how their progress is measured and what kind of support these companies receive from the EU or
UN partners in this project. Documents thus include terms of reference; lists of private sector
partners involved, communication with private sector partners; minutes and presentations; and
progress overview reports submitted by private sector partners. The timeline is from 2017 until
now.”
The following documents fall within the scope of your application:
Three relevant annexes to the bilateral contract between UN Women and the
European Commission signed on 06 March 2019, reference Ares(2019)1504853,
namely:
“Annex I – Description of the Action”, produced by UN Women, reference
Ares(2019)1504853 (hereafter ‘document 1);
“Communications and Visibility Plan”, produced by UN Women, reference
Ares(2019)1504853 (hereafter ‘document 1.1);
“Results
Matrix”,
produced
by
UN
Women,
reference
Ares(2019)1504853 (hereafter ‘document 1.2);
E-mail communication “Notification of Budget Re-allocation”, written by UN
Women and addressed to the programme manager of the Service for Foreign Policy
Instruments (FPI) on 7 August 2019, reference Ares(2019)5302816 (hereafter
‘document 2);
“Launching Ceremony Invitations”, which consists of an email exchange between
UN Women, EC and EEAS staff, and invitations to speakers created on 29 October
2019, Ares reference del-china.006.95(2019)7463531 (hereafter ‘document 3’);
“WeEmpowerAsia - Inception Report”, produced by UN Women, addressed to the
FPI
Regional
Team
Asia/Pacific
on
24
December
2019,
reference
Ares(2020)5478127 (hereafter ‘document 4’), including the following annex:
“Minutes - First Steering Committee Meeting, WeEmpowerAsia
Programme”, of 21 November 2019, produced by UN Women, reference
Ares(2020)5663806 (hereafter ‘document 4.1);
“Communications and Events Plan 2020”, produced by UN Women on 23 January
2020, reference Ares(2020)5478269 (hereafter ‘document 5’);
“COVID-19 Contingency Plan for WeEmpowerAsia”, produced by UN Women and
approved by FPI on 26 Mars 2020, reference Ares(2020)1776243 (hereafter
‘document 6’);
“WeEmpower Asia - First annual report to the European Union”, produced by UN
Women, addressed to the FPI Regional Team Asia/Pacific and approved on 17
August 2020, reference Ares(2020)2763326, including the accompanying cover
letter (hereafter ‘document 7’) and email exchange (hereafter ‘document 7.1’),
limited to the first interim narrative report (hereafter ‘document 7.2’) and the
following annexes:
“Result
Framework”,
produced
by
UN
Women,
reference
Ares(2020)2763326 (hereafter ‘document 7.3’);
“Results Scorecard”, produced by UN Women, reference Ares(2020)2763326
(hereafter ‘document 7.4’);
“WEA Communication and Visibility Report”, produced by UN Women,
reference Ares(2020)2763326 (hereafter ‘document 7.5’);
“COVID-19 Mitigation Report”, produced by UN Women, reference
Ares(2020)2763326 (hereafter ‘document 7.6’);
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“COVID-19 Mitigation Work Plan by country”, produced by UN Women,
reference Ares(2020)2763326 (hereafter ‘document 7.7’);
“Compilation of ToRs related to different processes of WEA”, produced by
UN Women, reference Ares(2020)2763326 (hereafter ‘document 7.8’).
Having examined the documents requested under the provisions of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001
regarding public access to documents, I have come to the conclusion that that:
-
Documents 7.3 and 7.4 may be fully disclosed
-
Documents 4, 4.1, 7, 7.1, 7.2 and 7.5 may be partially disclosed
-
Documents 1, 1.1, 1.2, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7.6, 7.7, 7.8 may not be disclosed.
Regarding the documents that may be partially disclosed (namely, documents 4, 4.1, 7, 7.1, 7.2 and
7.5), I would like to point out that some parts of the aforementioned documents have been blanked out
as their disclosure is prevented by exceptions to the right of access laid down in Article 4(1)(b) and
first indent of Article 4(2) of this Regulation. Some of the redacted parts of the documents contain
commercially sensitive business information concerning the implementing partner and, hence, article
4(2) of the Regulation is applicable. Additionally, a complete disclosure of the identified documents is
prevented by the exception concerning the protection of privacy and the integrity of the individual
outlined in Article 4(1)(b) of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001, because they contain the following
personal data:
-
the names/initials and contact information of Commission staff members not pertaining to the
senior management;
-
the names/initials and contact details of other natural persons;
-
pictures of natural persons;
-
other information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person.
Regarding documents 1, 1.1, 1.2, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7.6, 7.7, 7.8, I regret to inform you that your application
cannot be granted, as disclosure is prevented by exceptions to the right of access laid down in Article
4(2) first indent of this Regulation.
The annexes to the bilateral contribution agreement falling within the scope of the application, namely
document 1 “Annex I – Description of the Action”, document 1.1 “Communication and Visibility
Plan” and document 1.2 “Results Matrix”, are part of the bilateral contract between UN Women and
the European Commission and therefore, their disclosure would undermine the commercial interests of
the implementing partner. Likewise, documents 2, 3, 5, 6 and 7.6, 7.7, and 7.8 cannot be disclosed as
they contain sensitive business information and their disclosure would also undermine the protection of
the commercial interests of UN Women. For these reasons, the exception laid down in Article 4(2) first
indent of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 applies to these documents.
Additionally, parts of the documents to be disclosed contain personal data that cannot be disclosed as
the privacy and integrity of individuals would be prejudiced. Therefore, disclosure is prevented by
exceptions to the right, outlined in Article 4(1)(b).
3
Article 9(1)(b) of the Data Protection Regulation1 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 any arguments to establish the necessity to have the data
transmitted for a specific purpose in the public interest.
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 documents, 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.
I have considered whether partial access could be granted to documents 1, 1.1, 1.2, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7.6, 7.7,
7.8. I concluded that it is not possible to grant partial access because the documents are covered
entirely by the exceptions mentioned above.
Concerning the parts of the documents falling under the exception of art. 4(2) first indent, I would like
to point out that the exceptions laid down in Article 4(2) and 4(3) of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001
apply unless there is an overriding public interest in disclosure of the documents. It was examined
whether there could be an overriding public interest in disclosure, but such an interest could not be
identified.
Concerning document 4.1 which consist of minutes of a meeting with external parties, please note that
this document was drawn up for internal use under the responsibility of the relevant officials of the
Service for Foreign Policy Instruments (FPI). It solely reflects the services’ interpretation of the
interventions made and does not set out any official position of the third parties to which the document
refers. It does not reflect the position of the Commission and cannot be quoted as such.
Please note that the documents 4, 4.1, 7, 7.1, 7.2, 7.3, 7.4, and 7.5 originating from third parties are
disclosed to you based on Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001. However, this disclosure is without
prejudice to the rules on intellectual property, which may limit your right to reproduce or exploit the
released documents without the agreement of the originator, who may hold an intellectual property
right on them. The European Commission does not assume any responsibility from their reuse.
I would like to take the opportunity to share with you the location of other documents, which are
already publicly available on the project website and may be relevant to your application:
-
“Guidance Note for Action: Women as a Force for Accelerated and Inclusive Economic
Recovery
Post-COVID-19
in
Asia-Pacific”,
which can be downloaded from
https://asiapacific.unwomen.org/en/digital-library/publications/2020/03/wea-post-covid-19-in-
asia-pacific
-
“Guidance Note for Action: Gender-Sensitive Private Sector Response to COVID-19 for
Accelerated and Inclusive Economic Recovery”, which can be downloaded from
1 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, OJ L
295, 21.11.2018, p. 39.
4
https://asiapacific.unwomen.org/en/digital-library/publications/2020/04/guidance-for-action-
gender-sensitive-private-sector-response-to-covid-19
-
Guidance Note for Action: Addressing the Emerging Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic on
Migrant Women in Asia and the Pacific for a Gender-Responsive Recovery, which can be
downloaded from
https://asiapacific.unwomen.org/en/digital-
library/publications/2020/04/guidance-for-action-addressing-the-emerging-impacts-of-the-
covid-19-pandemicnder-responsive-recovery
-
“Guidance Note for Action: Supporting SMEs to Ensure the Economic COVID-19 Recovery is
Gender-Responsive and Inclusive “, which can be downloaded from
https://asiapacific.unwomen.org/en/digital-library/publications/2020/04/guidance-note-for-
action-supporting-smes-to-ensure-the-economic-covid-19-recovery
-
“Private Sector Pulse Check – The Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Women and
Businesses: A Survey of 65 CEOs and Business Leaders in Asia and Europe”, which can be
downloaded from
https://asiapacific.unwomen.org/en/digital-
library/publications/2020/07/private-sector-pulse-check---the-effects-of-the-covid-19-
pandemic-on-women-and-businesses.
You can also find the contact information of the UN Women project team of the ‘WeEmpowerAsia’
project
on
the
dedicated
website
under
the
following
address:
https://asiapacific.unwomen.org/en/focus-areas/women-poverty-economics/weempowerasia.
In accordance with Article 7(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001, you are entitled 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
Secretariat-General
Transparency, Document Management & Access to Documents (SG.C.1)
BERL 7/076
B-1049 Brussels
or by email to:
xxxxxxxxxx@xx.xxxxxx.xx
Yours faithfully,
Hilde HARDEMAN
Annexes:
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Document 4: “WeEmpowerAsia - Inception Report”, reference Ares(2020)5478127;
Document 4.1: “Minutes - First Steering Committee Meeting, WeEmpowerAsia
Programme”, reference Ares(2020)5663806;
Document 7: “WeEmpower Asia - First annual report to the European Union – Cover
Letter”, reference Ares(2020)2763326;
Document 7.1: Email exchange accompanying the first interim report, reference
Ares(2020)2763326;
Document 7.2: the first interim narrative report, reference Ares(2020)2763326;
Document 7.3 “Result Framework”, produced by UN Women, reference
Ares(2020)2763326;
Document 7.4: “Results Scorecard”, produced by UN Women, reference
Ares(2020)2763326;
Document 7.5: “WEA Communication and Visibility Report”, produced by UN
Women, reference Ares(2020)2763326.
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Electronically signed on 16/11/2020 19:22 (UTC+01) in accordance with article 11 of Commission Decision C(2020) 4482