EEAS letter to the Office of the South African President on the South African Draft Copyright Bill

Response to this request is long overdue. By law, under all circumstances, Secretariat General of the European Commission should have responded by now (details). You can complain by requesting an internal review.

Dear Secretariat General of the European Commission,

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:

On 20 March 2020, the EU Ambassador to the Republic of South Africa Riina Kionka sent a letter to Dr. Cassius Reginald Lubisi, Director-General in the Office of the South African President, on the subject of South Africa’s copyright regime, available online at: https://eeas.europa.eu/sites/eeas/files/... In the letter, Ambassador Kionka states that she is writing on behalf of the European Commission.

Ambassador Kionka states in the letter in reference to South Africa’s Draft Copyright Bill: “The European Commission has participated continuously throughout the consultation process which began in 2015 and culminated in March 2019 with the final Copyright Bill being sent to the President for assent. In particular, by addressing its contributions on 16 September 2015 to Mr. Lionel October, Director General of the Department of Trade and industry, and on 22 February 2019 to the Hon. E. Makue Chairperson of the Select Committee on Trade and Industry Relations.”

I am explicitly seeking any information the Commission has in connection with the letter of 20 March 2020, as well as any information related to the South African Draft Copyright Bill. I do not want this request to be limited to information that was registered as "not short-lived" or "not unimportant". This request should therefore also contain short-lived information such as drafts, inter-agency communication, e-mails, text messages, memos, and follow-up communication, including responses to the letter of 20 March 2020. I am requesting all information, including internal communication, inter-service consultation, communication with the EEAS, any South African bodies, or with third parties such as external stakeholders regarding or in connection with the letter of 20 March 2020 or the South African Draft Copyright Bill.

Yours faithfully,

Julia Reda

Secretariat General of the European Commission

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/...

Secretariat General of the European Commission

Dear Madam,

Since 1 January 2011, external relations policy, which was previously under the responsibility of DG RELEX, has been transferred to the European External Action Service (EEAS).

Given that the document request that you submitted comes under this policy domain, please send your request directly to the EEAS at: [email address].

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you require further information.

Kind regards,

European Commission
Secretariat-General
Transparency (SG.C.1/rc)

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Dear Secretariat General of the European Commission,

I am aware that the letter of 20 March 2020 has been sent by the European External Action Service. However, as I stated in my initial request, in the letter, ambassador Kionka states that she is writing on behalf of the European Commission. As the EEAS is independent of the European Commission, there must have been communication between the European Commission and the EEAS about the decision to send the letter and its content. The letter refers to statements from stakeholders, which may have been made directly to the ambassador, but could also have been made to the European Commission. It is likely that the European Commission holds information in relation to the letter. I have filed a freedom of information request with the EEAS to receive information in relation to the letter held by EEAS, but I assume that the European Commission also holds information in relation to the letter that the EEAS may not have.

Additionally, in her letter, ambassador Kionka refers to participation in the consultation on the South African Draft Copyright Bill by the European Commission. I therefore believe that the European Commission holds information on aforementioned public consultation. In this regard, the European Commission may also hold information that the EEAS does not have.

For these reasons, I am maintaining my freedom of information request to the European Commission as outlined in my initial message.

Yours faithfully,

Julia Reda

Secretariat General of the European Commission

Dear Madam,

Thank you for your request for access to documents.

Unfortunately, you have not indicated your postal address that is required for registering and handling your request in line with the procedural requirements.

Please send us your full postal address at your earliest convenience.

Pending your reply, we reserve the right to refuse the registration of your request.

You may, of course, use directly the electronic form for entering your request: http://ec.europa.eu/transparency/regdoc/....

You have lodged your application via a private third-party website, which has no link with any institution of the European Union.
Therefore, the European Commission cannot be held accountable for any technical issues or problems linked to the use of this system.

Please note that the private third party running the AsktheEU.org website is responsible and accountable for the processing of your personal data via that website, and not the Commission.
For further information on your rights, please refer to the third party’s privacy policy.

We understand that the third party running the AsktheEU.org website usually publishes the content of applicants’ correspondence with the Commission on that website.
This includes the personal data that you may have communicated to the Commission (e.g. your private postal address).

Similarly, the third party publishes on that website any reply that the Commission will send to the email address of the applicants generated by the AsktheEU.org website.

If you do not wish that your correspondence with the Commission is published on a private third-party website such as AsktheEU.org, you can provide us with an alternative, private e-mail address for further correspondence. In that case, the Commission will send all future electronic correspondence addressed to you only to that private address, and it will use only that private address to reply to your request.

You should still remain responsible to inform the private third-party website about this change of how you wish to communicate with, and receive a reply from, the Commission.

For information on how we process your personal data visit our page Privacy statement – access to documents.

Yours faithfully,
Access to Documents Team (rc)

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Dear Secretariat General of the European Commission,

there is no legal basis for requiring my postal address as a prerequisite for processing my freedom of information request, which is my right under Regulation 1049/2001. I regret that the European Commission appears to make this procedural requirement for the sole purpose of discouraging citizens from using the portal asktheEU, which is making an important contribution to the transparency of the European institutions. Rather than pushing me to choose between publicly disclosing personal information and ensuring the transparency of the freedom of information request, the European Commission should be embracing and actively supporting asktheEU's important work.

But that is a topic for another day.

My postal address is:

Julia Reda
Gesellschaft für Freiheitsrechte e.V.
Hessische Str. 10
10115 Berlin
Germany

Yours faithfully,

Julia Reda

ve_sg.accessdoc (SG), Secretariat General of the European Commission

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[1]Ares(2020)2290087 - RE: access to documents request - EEAS letter to
the Office of the South African President on the South African Draft
Copyright Bill --- Ref. Gestdem 2020/2479

Sent by ve_sg.accessdoc (SG) <[SG request email]>. All responses have
to be sent to this email address.
Envoyé par ve_sg.accessdoc (SG) <[SG request email]>. Toutes les
réponses doivent être effectuées à cette adresse électronique.

Dear Madam,

Thank you for your e-mail of 28/04/2020. We hereby acknowledge receipt of
your application for access to documents, which was registered on
29/04/2020 under reference number GESTDEM 2020/2479.

In accordance with Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 regarding public access to
European Parliament, Council and Commission documents, your application
will be handled within 15 working days.

The time-limit will expire on 25/05/2020. In case this time-limit needs to
be extended, you will be informed in due course.

For information on how we process your personal data visit our page
Privacy statement – access to documents.

Yours faithfully,

Access to documents team (rc)
SG.C.1
Transparency

show quoted sections

Dear Secretariat General of the European Commission,

according to my knowledge of Belgian public holidays, the time-limit of 15 working days will expire on 20/05/2020, not 25/05/2020. Should you come to a different conclusion, please provide me with your calculation. I look forward to your response by 20/05/2020.

Yours sincerely,

Julia Reda

Secretariat General of the European Commission

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/...

Secretariat General of the European Commission

Dear Madam,

 

Please be informed that your initial request for access to documents
registered under reference Gestdem 2020/2479 has been closed in our
database.

 

You will receive a reply to your initial request for access to documents
Gestdem 2020/2472 (same request as Gestdem 2020/2479) on behalf of the
Commission.

 

Yours faithfully,

Access to documents team (rc)
SG.C.1
Transparency

 

From: ve_sg.accessdoc (SG) <[SG request email]>
Sent: Wednesday, April 29, 2020 12:54 PM
To: Julia Reda <[FOI #7917 email]>
Subject: Ares(2020)2290087 - RE: access to documents request - EEAS letter
to the Office of the South African President on the South African Draft
Copyright Bill --- Ref. Gestdem 2020/2479

 

[1]Ares(2020)2290087 - RE: access to documents request - EEAS letter to
the Office of the South African President on the South African Draft
Copyright Bill --- Ref. Gestdem 2020/2479

 

Sent by ve_sg.accessdoc (SG) . All responses have to be sent to this email
address.

Envoyé par ve_sg.accessdoc (SG) . Toutes les réponses doivent être
effectuées à cette adresse électronique.

Dear Madam,

Thank you for your e-mail of 28/04/2020. We hereby acknowledge receipt of
your application for access to documents, which was registered on
29/04/2020 under reference number GESTDEM 2020/2479.

In accordance with Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 regarding public access to
European Parliament, Council and Commission documents, your application
will be handled within 15 working days.

The time-limit will expire on 25/05/2020. In case this time-limit needs to
be extended, you will be informed in due course.

For information on how we process your personal data visit our page
Privacy statement – access to documents.

Yours faithfully,

Access to documents team (rc)
SG.C.1
Transparency

show quoted sections

ve_sg.accessdoc (SG), Secretariat General of the European Commission

1 Attachment

Link: [1]File-List
Link: [2]Edit-Time-Data
Link: [3]themeData
Link: [4]colorSchemeMapping

[5]Ares(2020)3622902 - GESTDEM 2020/2472 - 1st holding reply

Sent by ve_sg.accessdoc (SG) <[SG request email]>. All responses have
to be sent to this email address.
Envoyé par ve_sg.accessdoc (SG) <[SG request email]>. Toutes les
réponses doivent être effectuées à cette adresse électronique.

Subject: Your confirmatory application for access to documents under
Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 – GESTDEM 2020/2472

 

Dear Ms Reda,

 

I refer to your e-mail of 17 June 2020, registered on 18 June 2020, by
which you submit a confirmatory application in accordance with Article
7(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 regarding public access to European
Parliament, Council and Commission documents (hereafter ‘Regulation (EC)
No 1049/2001’).

 

I would like to inform you that your confirmatory application is currently
being handled. Unfortunately, due to ongoing internal consultations, we
are not in a position to reply to your confirmatory request within the
prescribed time limit expiring on 9 July 2020.

 

Consequently, we have to extend this period by another 15 working days in
accordance with Article 8(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001. The new
deadline expires on 31 July 2020.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

María OLIVÁN AVILÉS
Head of Unit

[6]cid:image001.gif@01D13362.41D673C0

European Commission

Secretariat General

Unit C.1 (Transparency, Document Management and Access to Documents)

 

References

Visible links
1. file:///tmp/cid:filelist.xml@01D655DE.36BAA2B0
2. file:///tmp/cid:editdata.mso
3. file:///tmp/~~themedata~~
4. file:///tmp/~~colorschememapping~~
5. https://webgate.ec.testa.eu/Ares/documen...

ve_sg.accessdoc (SG), Secretariat General of the European Commission

1 Attachment

Link: [1]File-List
Link: [2]Edit-Time-Data
Link: [3]themeData
Link: [4]colorSchemeMapping

[5]Ares(2020)4040005 - GESTDEM 2020/2472 - 2nd holding reply

Sent by ve_sg.accessdoc (SG) <[SG request email]>. All responses have
to be sent to this email address.
Envoyé par ve_sg.accessdoc (SG) <[SG request email]>. Toutes les
réponses doivent être effectuées à cette adresse électronique.

Subject: Your confirmatory application for access to documents under
Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 – GESTDEM 2020/2472

 

Dear Ms Reda,

 

I refer to your e-mail of 17 June 2020 registered on 18 June 2020, by
which you submit a confirmatory application in accordance with Article
7(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 regarding public access to European
Parliament, Council and Commission documents (hereafter ‘Regulation (EC)
No 1049/2001’).

 

I also refer to our holding reply of 9 July 2020, by which the time limit
for replying to your confirmatory application was extended by 15 working
days, pursuant to Article 8(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001.

 

I regret to have to inform you that we will not be able to respond within
the extended time limit, which expires on 31 July 2020, as we have not yet
finalised internal consultations.

 

However, I can assure you that we are doing our utmost to conclude these
consultations and provide you with a final reply as soon as possible.

 

I regret this additional delay and sincerely apologise for any
inconvenience this may cause.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

María OLIVÁN AVILÉS
Head of Unit

[6]cid:image001.gif@01D13362.41D673C0

European Commission

Secretariat General

Unit C.1 (Transparency, Document Management and Access to Documents)

 

 

References

Visible links
1. file:///tmp/cid:filelist.xml@01D66719.0320C190
2. file:///tmp/cid:editdata.mso
3. file:///tmp/~~themedata~~
4. file:///tmp/~~colorschememapping~~
5. https://webgate.ec.testa.eu/Ares/documen...