Evaluation of border control drone operations

Migration and Home Affairs did not have the information requested.

Dear Directorate General of Migration and Home Affairs,

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

A copy of all reports held by the Directorate General Migration and Home Affairs (DG HOME) on the evaluation of operations conducted by DG HOME using drones for border control / monitoring of illegal immigration.

I should be grateful if you would reply to me via the 'Ask The EU' web platform and provide copies of documents in pdf format.

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you require any further information or clarification.

Thank you for your assistance and I look forward to hearing from you in due course.

Yours faithfully,

Peter Burt

ve_home.access.to.documents (HOME), Migration and Home Affairs

[1]Ares(2020)4215426 - RE: access to documents request - Evaluation of
border control drone operations

Sent by ve_home.access.to.documents (HOME)
<[email address]>. All responses have to be sent to
this email address.
Envoyé par ve_home.access.to.documents (HOME)
<[email address]>. Toutes les réponses doivent être
effectuées à cette adresse électronique.

Dear Sir,

Thank you for your request for access to documents.
Unfortunately, you have not indicated your postal address. This is
necessary  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.
Alternatively, you may use directly the electronic form available on the
Europa website:
[2]http://ec.europa.eu/transparency/regdoc/....

Best regards,

HOME Access to Documents Team

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Dear ve_home.access.to.documents (HOME),

Thank you for your message and for acknowledging receipt of my request for information.

Can you advise me why you need my postal address, please, as my preferred means of receiving the requested information is electronically via the Ask The EU web platform.

I understand that there is no legal requirement under regulation 1049/2001 for me to provide a postal address when requesting information, and it is poor data practice for an institution to request and retain personal information which is not required for dealing with an inquiry.

I am aware that other Directorates and European agencies have been able to provide information using the Ask The EU web platform without requesting a postal address.

Yours sincerely,

Peter Burt

ve_home.access.to.documents (HOME), Migration and Home Affairs

[1]Ares(2020)4231026 - access to documents request - Evaluation of border
control drone operations

Sent by ve_home.access.to.documents (HOME)
<[email address]>. All responses have to be sent to
this email address.
Envoyé par ve_home.access.to.documents (HOME)
<[email address]>. Toutes les réponses doivent être
effectuées à cette adresse électronique.

Dear Sir,

We requested you to provide a postal address and you replied with the
e-mail below.

Since 1 April 2014, the submission of a postal address became a mandatory
feature for the purpose of making an application for access to documents.
We would like to explain why we need your postal address in order to
register and handle your application for access to documents:

•       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 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 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  ,
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.

We therefore kindly reiterate our request to you to provide a full valid
postal address, so we can duly register and handle your request. Please
note that, once we receive your postal address, we will register your
request for access as an initial application for access to documents in
the meaning of Article 6(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001. The deadline
for handling your initial request shall run as from the moment of
registration of your application following the submission of your postal
address.

Thank you in advance,

HOME Access to documents team

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Dear DG HOME Access to documents team,

Thank you for this explanation. The postal address is 19 Paradise Street, Oxford, OX1 1LD, United Kingdom.

Please note that my preferred medium for receiving the requested information is in pdf format via the Ask the EU web platform.

Thank you for your assistance and I will look forward to hearing from you in due course.

Yours sincerely,

Peter Burt

ve_home.access.to.documents (HOME), Migration and Home Affairs

[1]Ares(2020)4246039 - your application for access to documents, reference
number GESTDEM 2020/4816.

Sent by ve_home.access.to.documents (HOME)
<[email address]>. All responses have to be sent to
this email address.
Envoyé par ve_home.access.to.documents (HOME)
<[email address]>. Toutes les réponses doivent être
effectuées à cette adresse électronique.

Dear Sir,

Thank you for your e-mail of 11/08/2020. We hereby acknowledge receipt of
your application for access to documents, which was registered under
reference number GESTDEM 2020/4816.

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
03/09/2020. In case this time limit needs to be extended, you will be
informed in due course.

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

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ve_home.b.1 (HOME), Migration and Home Affairs

2 Attachments

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

[5]Ares(2020)4505438 - Your application for access to documents – GESTDEM
2020/4816

Sent by ve_home.b.1 (HOME) <[email address]>. All
responses have to be sent to this email address.
Envoyé par ve_home.b.1 (HOME) <[email address]>. Toutes
les réponses doivent être effectuées à cette adresse électronique.

Dear Sir,

 

On behalf of Ms Corinna Ullrich, Head of unit in DG HOME.B.1, please find
attach the letter for your attention.

 

With best regards,

 

European Commission

DG HOME Migration and Home Affairs

HOME.B1  "Borders and Schengen"

[6]cid:image001.png@01D19A6F.E5198F80

LX46, Rue du Luxembourg 46

B-1049 Brussels/Belgium

 

References

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1. file:///tmp/cid:filelist.xml@01D67F9A.658A9380
2. file:///tmp/cid:editdata.mso
3. file:///tmp/~~themedata~~
4. file:///tmp/~~colorschememapping~~
5. https://webgate.ec.testa.eu/Ares/documen...

Dear Ms Ullrich,

Thank you for providing this update and I will look forward to hearing from you again in due course.

Yours sincerely,

Peter Burt

ve_home.b.1(HOME), Migration and Home Affairs

1 Attachment

Dear applicant,

Please find attached the reply to your request for access to documents, registered under reference GestDem 2020/4816.

According to standard operational procedure, the reply is usually also sent to you by registered post. Please note, however, that due to the extraordinary health and security measures currently in force during to the COVID-19 epidemic, which include the requirement for all Commission non-critical staff to telework, we are unfortunately not in a position to follow this procedure until further notice.

We would therefore appreciate if you could confirm receipt of the present e-mail by replying to [email address].

With best regards,

European Commission
DG HOME Migration and Home Affairs
HOME.B1 "Borders and Schengen"
LX46, Rue du Luxembourg 46
B-1049 Brussels/Belgium