EMFF EMFAF audit reports

Peter made this access to documents request to Maritime Affairs and Fisheries

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The request was successful.

Dear Madam, Sir,

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:

- All communication between the European Commission and the Netherlands regarding audits of EMFF and/or EMFAF since 2021

- Any internal Commission communications on, and/or assessment of, the follow-up actions taken by the Netherlands in response to audit reports, since 2021

Please send me an acknowledgement of receipt for this request, as foreseen by Article 7 (1) of Regulation 1049/2001.

Peter Teffer

MARE-ACCES-DOCUMENTS@ec.europa.eu,

Dear Sir or Madam,

We are writing to you concerning your request for access to documents sent
on 15/02/2023 and registered on 15/02/2023 under case number 2023/1062.

Since you have not indicated your postal address, we are not able to start
handling your request. The 15 working days to reply to your request will
start running only when you send us your postal address.

You can send your postal address by replying to this e-mail. If we do not
receive your reply we may close this case.

Please note that you can submit a request for access to Commission
documents via the portal [1]'Request a Commission document', which does
not require you to indicate your postal address.

Why do we need your personal postal address?

Since 1 April 2014, the submission of a postal address became a mandatory
feature when submitting an application for access to Commission documents
via an e-mail. We would like to explain why we need your postal address in
order to register and handle your application for access to documents when
submitted via e-mail:

• Firstly, to obtain legal certainty as regards the date you received
the European Commission reply to your application for public access to
documents. Article 297 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the
European Union (TFEU) states that 'decisions which specify to whom
they are addressed, shall be notified to those to whom they are
addressed and shall take effect upon such notification.' In line with
this provision, if the Commission does not grant full access to the
requested documents, it notifies the reply to the applicant via
registered mail with acknowledgement of receipt or via delivery
service. This requires an indication of a valid postal address by the
applicant;
• Secondly, to apply correctly the [2]Data Protection Regulation (EU)
2018/1725. Knowing whether the applicant is an EU resident (or not) is
necessary for deciding which conditions shall apply for the
transmissions of personal data to applicants for access to documents.
These conditions are not the same for recipients established in the
Union and for recipients in third countries. As the vast majority of
the documents requested contain personal data, the Commission cannot
ensure the correct application of the data protection rules in the
absence of a postal address;
• Thirdly, to apply correctly [3]Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001. Article
4(1)(b) of that Regulation refers to the protection of the privacy and
integrity of the individual and has to be applied in line with the
Data Protection Regulation;
• Fourthly, to protect the interest of other citizens and safeguard the
principle of good administration. The Commission has to treat all
citizens equally by ensuring that the legal framework for public
access to documents is respected. For example, it has to verify
whether Article 6(3) of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 is being evaded
by introducing several requests under different identities. Indeed, in
its Ryanair judgment ([4]EU:T:2010:511), the General Court confirmed
that Article 6(3) of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 cannot be evaded by
splitting an application into several, seemingly separate, parts. In
addition, the Commission has to make sure that the legal framework is
respected and the right of access to documents is not abused by making
requests under an invented identity.

The considerations above show that the request for and the consequent
processing of the applicant's postal address is not only appropriate, but
also strictly necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the
public interest within the meaning of Article 5(1)(a) of Data Protection
Regulation, namely providing a smooth and effective access to documents.

Yours faithfully,

Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries - Access to
Documents
European Commission

References

Visible links
1. https://www.ec.europa.eu/transparency/do...
2. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/...
3. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/...
4. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/...

Dear Madam, Sir,

The European Ombudsman has already in 2017 pointed out "that the Commission’s practice is archaic for the 21st century" and that requesting a postal address was "disproportionate". Moreover, I do not want a paper copy or paper letters, because this is only increasing waste when there is a perfect alternative: e-mail.

Nevertheless, I will jump through your hoop and provide you with a postal address - with the caveat that I do not want a paper copy of what you will be sending via e-mail. You can send your superfluous and environment damaging letter to:

Overtoom 197
1054 HT Amsterdam
The Netherlands

MARE-ACCES-DOCUMENTS@ec.europa.eu,

Dear Sir or Madam,

We hereby acknowledge the receipt of your request for access to documents
sent on 15/02/2023 and registered on 17/02/2023 under the case number
2023/1062.

We will handle your request within 15 working days as of the date of
registration. The time-limit expires on 10/03/2023. 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,

Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries - Access to
Documents
European Commission

References

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

MARE-ACCES-DOCUMENTS@ec.europa.eu,

9 Attachments

  • Attachment

    Reply letter EASE 2023 1062.pdf

    271K Download View as HTML

  • Attachment

    List of identified documents and type of disclosure.pdf

    397K Download View as HTML

  • Attachment

    Document 1 Notification letter NL Audit Mission No.2021 NL datacollectie MARE E1.pdf

    1.0M Download View as HTML

  • Attachment

    Document 2 Postponement letter NL Audit Mission No.2021 NL datacollectie MARE E1.pdf

    289K Download View as HTML

  • Attachment

    Document 3.1 Annex Draft Audit Report NL Audit Mission No.2021 NL datacollectie MARE E1.pdf

    928K Download View as HTML

  • Attachment

    Document 3 Cover letter Draft Audit Report NL Audit Mission No.2021 NL datacollectie MARE E1.pdf

    305K Download View as HTML

  • Attachment

    Document 4 NL Reply to Draft Audit Report Audit Mission No.2021 NL datacollectie MARE E1.pdf

    92K Download View as HTML

  • Attachment

    Document 5.1 Annex Final Audit Report NL Audit Mission No.2021 NL datacollectie MARE E1.pdf

    912K Download View as HTML

  • Attachment

    Document 5 Cover letter Final Audit Report NL Audit Mission No.2021 NL datacollectie MARE E1.pdf

    444K Download View as HTML

Please find attached a message concerning your request for access to
Commission documents registered under the above case number 2023/1062.

Please acknowledge the receipt of this message by return email.

Kind regards,

MARE ACCESS TEAM