All replies to the public consultation on network fee/fair share

Thomas Lohninger made this access to documents request to Communications Networks, Content and Technology

Automatic anti-spam measures are in place for this older request. Please let us know if a further response is expected or if you are having trouble responding.

The request was successful.

Thomas Lohninger

Dear Communications Networks, Content and Technology,

Under the right of access to documents in the EU treaties, as developed in Regulation 1049/2001, I am requesting documents which contain the following information:

I hereby request all responses to the exploratory consultation "The future of the electronic communications sector and its infrastructure"(https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en...) that the Commission recieved. Answers to questions marked as confidential by the submitter can be excluded from this request.

This request is in line with common practice as the Commission usually releases all responses recieved.

Yours faithfully,

Thomas Lohninger
Executive Director of Epicenter.works for digital rights
Linke Wienzeile 12/19, 1060 Vienna, Austria

Sg-Acc-Doc@ec.europa.eu, Communications Networks, Content and Technology

Your message has been received by the Transparency Unit of the
Secretariat-General of the European Commission.
Requests for public access to documents are treated on the basis of
[1]Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 of 30 May 2001 regarding public access to
European Parliament, Council and Commission documents.
The Secretariat-General will reply to your request within 15 working days
upon registration of your request and will duly inform you of the
registration of the request (or of any additional information to be
provided in view of its registration and/or treatment).
 
 
L’unité «Transparence» du secrétariat général de la Commission européenne
a bien reçu votre message.
Les demandes d’accès du public aux documents sont traitées sur la base du
[2]règlement (CE) n° 1049/2001 du 30 mai 2001 relatif à l’accès du public
aux documents du Parlement européen, du Conseil et de la Commission.
Le secrétariat général répondra à votre demande dans un délai de 15 jours
ouvrables à compter de la date d’enregistrement de votre demande, et vous
informera de cet enregistrement (ou vous indiquera toute information
supplémentaire à fournir en vue de l'enregistrement et/ou du traitement de
votre demande).
 
 
Ihre Nachricht ist beim Referat „Transparenz“ des Generalsekretariats der
Europäischen Kommission eingegangen.
Anträge auf Zugang zu Dokumenten werden auf der Grundlage der
[3]Verordnung (EG) Nr. 1049/2001 vom 30. Mai 2001 über den Zugang der
Öffentlichkeit zu Dokumenten des Europäischen Parlaments, des Rates und
der Kommission behandelt.
Das Generalsekretariat beantwortet Ihre Anfrage innerhalb von
15 Arbeitstagen nach deren Registrierung und wird Sie über die
Registrierung Ihres Antrags (oder die Notwendigkeit weiterer Informationen
im Hinblick auf dessen Registrierung und/oder Bearbeitung) unterrichten.
 
 

References

Visible links
1. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/...
2. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/...
3. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/...

sg-acc-doc@ec.europa.eu,

Dear Sir or Madam,

We hereby acknowledge the receipt of your request for access to documents
sent on 10/07/2023 and registered on 10/07/2023 under the case number
2023/4000.

We will handle your request within 15 working days as of the date of
registration. The time-limit expires on 31/07/2023. We will let you know
if we need to extend this time limit for additional 15 working days.

To find more information on how we process your personal data, please see
[1]the privacy statement.

Yours faithfully,

Secretariat-General - Access to Documents
European Commission

References

Visible links
1. https://ec.europa.eu/info/principles-and...

CNECT-CAD@ec.europa.eu,

Dear Mr Lohninger,

We refer to your request for access to documents of 10/7/2023, registered
on the same day under the above mentioned reference number.

Please note that the Commission is at the moment in the process of
preparing the publication of the non-confidential version of the responses
on its website, with a view to publish the results of the consultation.

Given that this process is still ongoing, it is unlikely that we are at
this stage in a position to provide you with the requested documents.

In this regard, we would like to point out that you are invited to check
the present section of DG CONNECT’s website regularly in order to remain
aware of any further developments. The Commission will make
non-confidential responses to the consultation available on its website at
the following address in the near future:

https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en...  

In light of the foregoing, could you please inform whether you would like
to pursue your request at this point in time. In case you would like to
maintain your request, please let us know by 27 July 2023.  

Please send your reply to the following e-mail address:
[email address]

Thank you in advance for your understanding. 

Yours faithfully, 

DG CONNECT Access to Documents Team

European Commission

Rue de la Loi, 51

B-1049 Brussels/Belgium

Thomas Lohninger

Dear Communications Networks, Content and Technology,

Thank you for informing me about the intention of the Commission to publish the consultation responses. Given the fact that the consultation ended already over two months ago, I will keep my FOIA request open until the full set of non-confidential responses has been published. This includes potentially exercising my right for information with the responsible EU bodies.

Yours faithfully,

Thomas Lohninger

Sg-Acc-Doc@ec.europa.eu, Communications Networks, Content and Technology

Your message has been received by the Transparency Unit of the
Secretariat-General of the European Commission.
Requests for public access to documents are treated on the basis of
[1]Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 of 30 May 2001 regarding public access to
European Parliament, Council and Commission documents.
The Secretariat-General will reply to your request within 15 working days
upon registration of your request and will duly inform you of the
registration of the request (or of any additional information to be
provided in view of its registration and/or treatment).
 
 
L’unité «Transparence» du secrétariat général de la Commission européenne
a bien reçu votre message.
Les demandes d’accès du public aux documents sont traitées sur la base du
[2]règlement (CE) n° 1049/2001 du 30 mai 2001 relatif à l’accès du public
aux documents du Parlement européen, du Conseil et de la Commission.
Le secrétariat général répondra à votre demande dans un délai de 15 jours
ouvrables à compter de la date d’enregistrement de votre demande, et vous
informera de cet enregistrement (ou vous indiquera toute information
supplémentaire à fournir en vue de l'enregistrement et/ou du traitement de
votre demande).
 
 
Ihre Nachricht ist beim Referat „Transparenz“ des Generalsekretariats der
Europäischen Kommission eingegangen.
Anträge auf Zugang zu Dokumenten werden auf der Grundlage der
[3]Verordnung (EG) Nr. 1049/2001 vom 30. Mai 2001 über den Zugang der
Öffentlichkeit zu Dokumenten des Europäischen Parlaments, des Rates und
der Kommission behandelt.
Das Generalsekretariat beantwortet Ihre Anfrage innerhalb von
15 Arbeitstagen nach deren Registrierung und wird Sie über die
Registrierung Ihres Antrags (oder die Notwendigkeit weiterer Informationen
im Hinblick auf dessen Registrierung und/oder Bearbeitung) unterrichten.
 
 

References

Visible links
1. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/...
2. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/...
3. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/...

CNECT-CAD@ec.europa.eu,

1 Attachment

Hello,

Please find attached a message concerning your request for access to
Commission documents registered under the above case number 2023/4000.

Kind regards,

Thomas Lohninger

Dear Communications Networks, Content and Technology,

Thank you for your communication from 28 July 2023. I want to inform you that my information request remains open and valid.

The task of protecting confidential responses in a structured survey is no justification for a delay of over two months. Not giving access to consultation responses after such a long period is highly irregular, as is evident by the availability of responses in the link you just sent me to all other consultations on the digital strategy. As you are well aware, this is a politically sensitive matter[1] in which the Commission is already in breach of its own due diligence standards[2].

The right to access to information cannot be deferred indefinitely and the Commission is wrongfully prolongating to provide access to the consultation responses received. Please provide me with requested information within no later than three working days.

Yours faithfully,
Thomas Lohninger

[1] https://www.reuters.com/business/media-t...
[2] https://www.permanentrepresentations.nl/... and https://en.epicenter.works/document/4660

Sg-Acc-Doc@ec.europa.eu, Communications Networks, Content and Technology

Your message has been received by the Transparency Unit of the
Secretariat-General of the European Commission.
Requests for public access to documents are treated on the basis of
[1]Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 of 30 May 2001 regarding public access to
European Parliament, Council and Commission documents.
The Secretariat-General will reply to your request within 15 working days
upon registration of your request and will duly inform you of the
registration of the request (or of any additional information to be
provided in view of its registration and/or treatment).
 
 
L’unité «Transparence» du secrétariat général de la Commission européenne
a bien reçu votre message.
Les demandes d’accès du public aux documents sont traitées sur la base du
[2]règlement (CE) n° 1049/2001 du 30 mai 2001 relatif à l’accès du public
aux documents du Parlement européen, du Conseil et de la Commission.
Le secrétariat général répondra à votre demande dans un délai de 15 jours
ouvrables à compter de la date d’enregistrement de votre demande, et vous
informera de cet enregistrement (ou vous indiquera toute information
supplémentaire à fournir en vue de l'enregistrement et/ou du traitement de
votre demande).
 
 
Ihre Nachricht ist beim Referat „Transparenz“ des Generalsekretariats der
Europäischen Kommission eingegangen.
Anträge auf Zugang zu Dokumenten werden auf der Grundlage der
[3]Verordnung (EG) Nr. 1049/2001 vom 30. Mai 2001 über den Zugang der
Öffentlichkeit zu Dokumenten des Europäischen Parlaments, des Rates und
der Kommission behandelt.
Das Generalsekretariat beantwortet Ihre Anfrage innerhalb von
15 Arbeitstagen nach deren Registrierung und wird Sie über die
Registrierung Ihres Antrags (oder die Notwendigkeit weiterer Informationen
im Hinblick auf dessen Registrierung und/oder Bearbeitung) unterrichten.
 
 

References

Visible links
1. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/...
2. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/...
3. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/...

Dear Communications Networks, Content and Technology,

My freedom of information request still hasn't been dealt with, while the Commission acknowledges that the information I'm seeking exists and is meant to be public. Hence, I'm hereby filling a confirmatory application.

Yours faithfully,

Thomas Lohninger

Sg-Acc-Doc@ec.europa.eu, Communications Networks, Content and Technology

Your message has been received by the Transparency Unit of the
Secretariat-General of the European Commission.
Requests for public access to documents are treated on the basis of
[1]Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 of 30 May 2001 regarding public access to
European Parliament, Council and Commission documents.
The Secretariat-General will reply to your request within 15 working days
upon registration of your request and will duly inform you of the
registration of the request (or of any additional information to be
provided in view of its registration and/or treatment).
 
 
L’unité «Transparence» du secrétariat général de la Commission européenne
a bien reçu votre message.
Les demandes d’accès du public aux documents sont traitées sur la base du
[2]règlement (CE) n° 1049/2001 du 30 mai 2001 relatif à l’accès du public
aux documents du Parlement européen, du Conseil et de la Commission.
Le secrétariat général répondra à votre demande dans un délai de 15 jours
ouvrables à compter de la date d’enregistrement de votre demande, et vous
informera de cet enregistrement (ou vous indiquera toute information
supplémentaire à fournir en vue de l'enregistrement et/ou du traitement de
votre demande).
 
 
Ihre Nachricht ist beim Referat „Transparenz“ des Generalsekretariats der
Europäischen Kommission eingegangen.
Anträge auf Zugang zu Dokumenten werden auf der Grundlage der
[3]Verordnung (EG) Nr. 1049/2001 vom 30. Mai 2001 über den Zugang der
Öffentlichkeit zu Dokumenten des Europäischen Parlaments, des Rates und
der Kommission behandelt.
Das Generalsekretariat beantwortet Ihre Anfrage innerhalb von
15 Arbeitstagen nach deren Registrierung und wird Sie über die
Registrierung Ihres Antrags (oder die Notwendigkeit weiterer Informationen
im Hinblick auf dessen Registrierung und/oder Bearbeitung) unterrichten.
 
 

References

Visible links
1. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/...
2. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/...
3. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/...

sg-acc-doc@ec.europa.eu,

Dear Sir or Madam,

We hereby acknowledge the receipt of your confirmatory request for case
2023/4000, sent on 03/08/2023 and registered on 03/08/2023.

We will handle your confirmatory request within 15 working days as of the
date of registration. The time-limit expires on 25/08/2023. We will let
you know if we need to extend this time limit for additional 15 working
days.

Yours faithfully,

Secretariat-General - Access to Documents
European Commission

sg-acc-doc@ec.europa.eu,

Dear applicant,

We are writing concerning your confirmatory request for access to
Commission documents for case 2023/4000 registered on 03/08/2023.

We are currently working on your confirmatory request. However, we have
not yet been able to gather all the elements necessary to carry out a full
analysis of your request. We will not be able to send you the reply within
the prescribed time limit expiring on 25/08/2023, since more work and
consultations need to be performed.

Therefore, in line with Article 8(2) of [1]Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 we
need to extend this time limit by 15 additional working days. The new time
limit expires on 15/09/2023.

We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

Kind regards,

References

Visible links
1. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/...

CNECT-PUBLIC-ACCESS-TO-DOCUMENTS@ec.europa.eu, Communications Networks, Content and Technology

1 Attachment

Dear Mr Lohninger,

 

Please find attached reply of 08/09/2023 to your application for access do
documents EASE 2023/4000.

 

Kind regards,

 

Best regards,     European Commission

DG CONNECT — ACCESS TO DOCUMENTS

Rue de la Loi, 51

B-1049 Brussels/Belgium

 

 

Dear Communications Networks, Content and Technology,

Please pass this on to the person who reviews confirmatory applications.

I am filing the following confirmatory application with regards to my access to documents request 'All replies to the public consultation on network fee/fair share'. To repeat, I would like to request a confirmatory application requesting the Commission to review a decision (an internal review) in accordance with Article 7(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001. My previous attempt to do so has been ignored.

As regards the refusal to release documents under Article 4(2), you fail to list specific documents and give a reasoned refusal. However, according to case law the General Court requires that the institution undergoes an individual, specific examination to provide a judgment on a case-by-case basis. On the substance of the refusal, the European Ombudsman has repeatedly pointed out that not all information about a company is commercially sensitive, so a test should be performed each time to conclude whether the exception applies (European Ombudsman Case: 1701/2011/ANA 24 June 2013; Case: 676/2008/RT 07 July 2010). Disclosure must be granted if it does not undermine the commercial interest of the company, and refusal must be reasoned substantially and sufficiently. The institution is not bound by opposition to disclosure by the economic operator. In this light, I would like to ask the Council to re-evaluate my request and grant widest possible disclosure.

Furthermore, I would like to point out that the survey tool used for the exploratory Consultation contained a multiple choice question about any responses that the respondent wants to mark as confidential. My freedom of information request is only for the questions not marked as confidential. Removing those responses in the survey tool could be done in minutes and the public has now waited more than two months!

As regards your refusal under Article 4(3), first subparagraph, I content that you have not sufficiently demonstrated that disclosure of the document would "seriously undermine" the institution's decision-making process, as is required under this exception. In this context, I would like to remind the Commission of the findings of the court in the De Capitani ruling (T-540/15). The Court pointed out that “it is precisely openness in the legislative process that contributes to conferring greater legitimacy on the institutions in the eyes of EU citizens and increasing their confidence in them by allowing divergences between various points of view to be openly debated. It is in fact rather a lack of information and debate which is capable of giving rise to doubts in the minds of citizens, not only as regards the lawfulness of an isolated act, but also as regards the legitimacy of the decision-making process as a whole.” [para. 78] The Court drew a link between openness and the strengthening of democracy and noted that the possibility for citizens to find out the considerations underpinning legislative action was a precondition for the effective exercise of democratic rights. It further noted that the Court had never before recognized a presumption of non-disclosure in respect of documents that formed part of the legislative process. It observed that “the effectiveness and integrity of the legislative process cannot undermine the principles of publicity and transparency which underlie that process.” [para. 83] The Court accepted that a risk of external pressure could constitute a legitimate ground for restricting access to documents related to the decision-making process, but “the reality of such external pressure must […] be established with certainty, and evidence must be adduced to show that there is a reasonably foreseeable risk that the decision to be taken would be substantially affected owing to that external pressure”. [para. 99]

I would like to argue that non-disclosure would obstruct any attempt to gain a full picture of this matter, therefore constituting a clear harm to public interest. In this regard, I would like to point out the Pari Pharma case (T-235/15), where the court found that specific, „succinct“ circumstances may merit disclosure. I argue that this threshold is met in this case.

The disclosure of the documents in question specifically must be seen as “pressing concern” as outlined in the ClientEarth case of the European Court of Justice (T‑245/11).

This is exaggerated by Commissioner Breton announcing legislation in this field in the form of the "Telecoms Act": https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/strategic...

A full history of my request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: http://www.asktheeu.org/en/request/all_r...

Yours faithfully,

Thomas Lohninger

Sg-Acc-Doc@ec.europa.eu, Communications Networks, Content and Technology

Your message has been received by the Transparency Unit of the
Secretariat-General of the European Commission.
Requests for public access to documents are treated on the basis of
[1]Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 of 30 May 2001 regarding public access to
European Parliament, Council and Commission documents.
The Secretariat-General will reply to your request within 15 working days
upon registration of your request and will duly inform you of the
registration of the request (or of any additional information to be
provided in view of its registration and/or treatment).
 
 
L’unité «Transparence» du secrétariat général de la Commission européenne
a bien reçu votre message.
Les demandes d’accès du public aux documents sont traitées sur la base du
[2]règlement (CE) n° 1049/2001 du 30 mai 2001 relatif à l’accès du public
aux documents du Parlement européen, du Conseil et de la Commission.
Le secrétariat général répondra à votre demande dans un délai de 15 jours
ouvrables à compter de la date d’enregistrement de votre demande, et vous
informera de cet enregistrement (ou vous indiquera toute information
supplémentaire à fournir en vue de l'enregistrement et/ou du traitement de
votre demande).
 
 
Ihre Nachricht ist beim Referat „Transparenz“ des Generalsekretariats der
Europäischen Kommission eingegangen.
Anträge auf Zugang zu Dokumenten werden auf der Grundlage der
[3]Verordnung (EG) Nr. 1049/2001 vom 30. Mai 2001 über den Zugang der
Öffentlichkeit zu Dokumenten des Europäischen Parlaments, des Rates und
der Kommission behandelt.
Das Generalsekretariat beantwortet Ihre Anfrage innerhalb von
15 Arbeitstagen nach deren Registrierung und wird Sie über die
Registrierung Ihres Antrags (oder die Notwendigkeit weiterer Informationen
im Hinblick auf dessen Registrierung und/oder Bearbeitung) unterrichten.
 
 

References

Visible links
1. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/...
2. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/...
3. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/...

sg-acc-doc@ec.europa.eu,

1 Attachment

Dear applicant,

You can kindly find attached the closing letter regarding your application
for access to Commission documents for case 2023/4000.

Kind regards,

sg-acc-doc@ec.europa.eu,

Dear Sir or Madam,

We hereby acknowledge the receipt of your confirmatory request for case
2023/4000, sent on 11/09/2023 and registered on 12/09/2023.

We will handle your confirmatory request within 15 working days as of the
date of registration. The time-limit expires on 03/10/2023. We will let
you know if we need to extend this time limit for additional 15 working
days.

Yours faithfully,

Secretariat-General - Access to Documents
European Commission

sg-acc-doc@ec.europa.eu,

Dear Sir or Madam,

We hereby acknowledge the receipt of your confirmatory request for case
2023/4000, sent on 11/09/2023 and registered on 12/09/2023.

We will handle your confirmatory request within 15 working days as of the
date of registration. The time-limit expires on 03/10/2023. We will let
you know if we need to extend this time limit for additional 15 working
days.

Yours faithfully,

Secretariat-General - Access to Documents
European Commission

sg-acc-doc@ec.europa.eu,

Dear applicant,

We are writing concerning your confirmatory request for access to
Commission documents for case 2023/4000 registered on 12/09/2023.

We are currently working on your confirmatory request. However, we have
not yet been able to gather all the elements necessary to carry out a full
analysis of your request. Due to the need to conduct internal
consultations we will not be able to send you the reply within the
prescribed time limit expiring on 03/10/2023.

Therefore, in line with Article 8(2) of [1]Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 we
need to extend this time limit by 15 additional working days. The new time
limit expires on 24/10/2023.

We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

Kind regards,

SG.C1 - Transparency, Document Management and Access to Documents

References

Visible links
1. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/...

sg-acc-doc@ec.europa.eu,

Dear applicant,

We are writing to you concerning your confirmatory request for access to
Commission documents for case 2023/4000, registered on 12/09/2023.

On 26/09/2023, we extended the time-limit for replying to your
confirmatory request to 24/10/2023.

Unfortunately, due to the need to conduct internal consultations we will
not be able to send you the reply within this extended time limit.

However, we assure you that we are doing our best to send a reply to your
confirmatory request as soon as possible.

We regret this additional delay and sincerely apologize for any
inconvenience this may cause.

Kind regards,

SG.C1 - Transparency, Document Management and Access to Documents

Sg-Acc-Doc@ec.europa.eu, Communications Networks, Content and Technology

2 Attachments

Dear Sir,

 

Please find attached the electronic version of Commission Decision
C(2024)2774 as adopted by the European Commission on 21.04.2024.

 

The formal notification of the decision under Article 297 TFEU is being
made only in electronic form.

 

Could you please confirm receipt of the attached document by return
e-mail?

 

Many thanks in advance.

 

Kind regards,

 

Access to documents team - cr
SG.C.1
Transparency