FP6 & FP7 finanical audits, sample time-sheets & |Annex II final audit reports

Mr. Sifis RAPTIS

Dear Communications Networks, Content and Technology (CNECT),

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. AUDITS ANNOUNCED IN APRIL 2009 TO FP6 CONTRACTORS IN GREECE AND CONDUCTED BY EXTERNAL CONTRACTORS/AUDITORS

The requested documents concern external financial audits, for which the following two conditions simultaneously hold:

1. DG INFSO announced to the FP6 contractors-auditees the audit by a letter dated in the period 1/1/2009 to 30/4/2009

2. They were conduced in Greece by a member of the Polaris Group of Auditors, presumably as subcontractors of Bloemer Accountants and Reviseurs that had signed a framework contract with DG RTD.

Copies of the following documents are kindly requested:

#1. Every single time-sheet in the possession of DG INFSO

#2. Annex II of every single final audit report.

II. AUDITS ANNOUNCED IN FEBRUARY 2011 TO FP7 BENEFICIARIES AND CONDUCTED BY EXTERNAL CONTRACTORS/AUDITORS

The requested documents concern external financial audits, for which the following two conditions simultaneously hold:

1. DG INFSO announced to the FP7 beneficiaries-auditees the audit by a letter dated in the period 1/2/2011 to 28/2/2011

2. They field audit took place in Germany, Austria or Poland by one of the main signatories of the DG RTD framework contracts, or their local subsidiaries.

Copies of the following documents are kindly requested:

#3. Every single time-sheet in the possession of DG INFSO for the persons whose surname starts with one of the following five Latin characters: A, C, G, M, and P.

#4. Annex II of every single final audit report.

III. AUDITS ANNOUNCED IN MARCH 2011 TO FP6 CONTRACTORS AND FP7 BENEFICIARIES AND CONDUCTED BY DG INFSO STAFF ONLY

The requested documents concern external financial audits, conducted by DG INFSO staff only, which DG INFSO announced to the FP6 Contractor - FP7 beneficiary and auditee the audit by a letter dated in the period 1/3/2011 to 31/3/2011.

#5. Every single time-sheet in the possession of DG INFSO for the persons whose surname starts with one of the following five Latin characters: A, C, G, M, and P.

#6. Annex II of every single final audit report.

IV. PARTIAL RELEASE OF DOCUMENTS

In my view, DG INFSO is to partially release the requested documents. More specifically, DG INFSO is to expunge from the documents the parts protected by article 4(1)(b)and article 4(2) first indent of Regulation No 45/2001 expunged (personal data, the identity of the auditee and FP6/FP7 projects).

It is expected that the vast majority of the time-sheets would have followed the FP6 and FP7 Guidelines about the particular form and structure of the time-sheets.

For instance, the Guide to Financial Issues relating to FP7 Indirect Actions, version 18/03/2013, located in ftp://ftp.cordis.europa.eu/pub/fp7/docs/financialguide_en.pdf, has in page 57 an “Example of a time-sheet template which may be of use”.

Assuming that the requested time-sheets have a similar structure and form, DG INFSO will comply with Union law by expunging from the time-sheets:

1. Researcher and supervisor name and title
2. Handwritten signatures, if any
3. Contractor/Beneficiary
4. Project and activity names

All other entries in the time-sheets are not to be expunged.

Yours faithfully,

Mr. Sifis RAPTIS

Communications Networks, Content and Technology

1 Attachment

Dear Mr. Raptis ,

 

Thank you for your e-mail dated 28/06/2013 registered on 03/07/2013. I
hereby acknowledge receipt of your request for access to documents (ref.:
gestdem 2013-3521).

 

In accordance with Regulation 1049/2001 regarding public access to
European Parliament, Council and Commission documents, you will receive a
response to your request within 15 working days (24/07/2013).

 

Yours sincerely,

 

Paul SIMON
European Commission - Secretariat General
Unit SG.B.5, Transparency

 

show quoted sections

EC ARES NOREPLY, Communications Networks, Content and Technology

1 Attachment

Dear Sir,

Please find attached document Ares(2013)2713555 concerning "Your application for access to documents – Ref GestDem No 3521/2013 Your application for access to documents – Ref GestDem No 3521/2013. Fair solution to address your application (Article 6 of Regulation 1049/2001)" sent by Ms ENGELBOSCH Katleen on 22/07/2013.

Kind regards.

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Note: This e-mail was automatically generated by the European Commission's central mail registration system.
Replies by e-mail must be addressed to the original sender ENGELBOSCH Katleen (mailto:[email address]).
Remarque : Cet e-mail a été généré automatiquement par le système d'enregistrement central du courrier de la Commission européenne.
Toute réponse éventuelle par e-mail doit être adressée à l'expéditeur en personne, à savoir ENGELBOSCH Katleen (mailto:[email address]).

Mr. Sifis RAPTIS

Dear Communications Networks, Content and Technology (CNECT),

Thank your letter Ares(2013)2713555 dated 22/7/2013.

Since DG CNET has already identified a large number of documents falling under GestDem 3521/2013, it is obvious that DG CNET undertook a search and found several documents that need be examined to ensure that no exception of article 4 of Regulation No 1049/2011 is applicable.

To significantly lessen the administrative burden of DG CNET, the application is hereby restricted in several respects as set out below.

First, regarding requests #1 and #2 the audits concern those of the initial application with the additional condition that audit itself was confined to FP6 projects of the Unit ICT for Health. External financial audits of projects of other former DG INFSO Units are now outside the scope of the application.

Second, regarding requests #3 and #4 the audits concern those of the initial application with the additional condition that audit itself was confined to FP7 projects of the former DG INFSO Unit ICT for Health. External financial audits of projects of other former DG INFSO Units are now outside the scope of the application.

Third, regarding requests #5 and #6 the audits concern those of the initial application with the additional condition that audit itself was confined to FP6 and FP7 projects of the Units ICT for Health and ICT for Transport. External financial audits of projects of other former DG INFSO Units, other than these two, are now outside the scope of the application.

With these restriction, the total number of audits is likely to be between 3 and 6.

Time sheets are to be released in a form where all personal information will be redacted, and as indicated in the initial application.

The priority of releasing documents is (high-priority first):

i. Request no 6
ii. Request no 2
iii. Request no 5
iv. Request no 1
v. Request no 4
vi. Request no 3

Yours faithfully,

Mr. Sifis RAPTIS

Dear Communications Networks, Content and Technology (CNECT),

Referring to the application GESTDEM 2013/3521 and the DG CNECT letter Ares(2013)2713555 of 22/7/2013, this is to make eqnuiries about the status of the DG CNECT initial reply.

On 22/7/2013, pursuant to article 6(3) of Regulation No 1049/2001 DG CENCT advised the applicant that the application concerns a large number of documents and it was not possible to handle it within the prescribed time-limits. DG CNECT invited the applicant to indicate a priority according to which DG CNECT will examine and release the documents. On the same day the applicant replied to DG CNECT, restricting the application to documents concerneing external financial audits of just two Units of the former DG INFSO and indicating the priority of examining and releasing the requested documents.

Nearly two months later DG CNECT has not informed the applicant about the status of the iniital reply.

I would therefore be obliged if DG CNECT would provide me with the initial reply without unnecessary delays.

Yours faithfully,

Mr. Sifis RAPTIS

Dear Communications Networks, Content and Technology (CNECT),

This is to make enquiries about the status of the DG CONNECT initial reply, and also register my protest for the DG CONNECT's apparent disregard of my email of 19/9/2013.

In the context of GestDem 2013/3956 - in full public view at http://www.asktheeu.org/en/request/fp6_f...
- DG CONNECT released the letters D(2011) 118637 of 29/4/2009, and Ares(2011) 258273 - 9/3/2011, both of which announce the conduct of a DG INFSO external financial audits.

The audits in question have identification reference numbers 09-BA74-027 and 11-INFS-022/023 respectively. It is evident that the audit 09-BA74-027 falls within the scope of requests #1 and #2 and audit 11-INFS-022/023 falls within the scope of requests #5 and #6.

There is now documentary evidence in public view that there are indeed documents that DG CONNECT is obliged to consider for release under requests #1, #2, #5 and #6.

Admittedly, as regards the time-sheets DG CONNECT may have found necessary to contact the third-party authors, who presumably are the researchers who drew up and signed the time-sheets and not the FP6 contractors and FP7 beneficiaries. It is reasonable to expect that some (if not the majority) of the time-sheets were drawn up in accordance with the 'suggestions' about time-sheets of the FP7 Guides to Financial Issues. While contacting the time-sheet authors-signatories make prolong the DG CONNECT process of assessing the release of the requested time-sheets, nevertheless this part of the process (which is doubtful that DG CONNECT indeed undertook) may not result in failing to release (even partially) a single document nearly 60 days after the registration of the application.

In view of the above, I would therefore be obliged if DG CONNECT would inform me about the status of the initial reply.

Yours faithfully,

Mr. Sifis RAPTIS

Dear Communications Networks, Content and Technology (CNECT),

Referring to application GESTDEM 2013-3521 registered on 2/7/2013, the applicant objects to the handling of the initial application by DG CNECT and kindly requests that DG CNECT inform him about the status of the long overdue initial reply.

More specifically, DG CNECT has neither released any document nor has replied to the applicant to his enquiries of 19 September and 2 October about the status of the initial reply. Nearly four months after the registration of the application, DG CNECT has left the applicant in the dark. This is a serious infringement by DG CNECT of Regulation No 1049/2001 and the principle of sound administration.

It is kindly requested that DG CNECT comply with its legal obligations and promptly inform the applicant about the status of providing an initial reply.

Yours faithfully,

Mr. Sifis RAPTIS

Dear Communications Networks, Content and Technology (CNECT),

This is the fourth reminder to DG CNECT about GestDem 3521-2012, which was registered on 3 July 2013. Five months on and after three reminders (19 September, 5 October, 25 October) DG CNECT has failed to inform the applicant what is the status of the initial reply.

I am facing what it appears to be an unprecedented case for applications pursuant to Regulation 45/2001 is concerned, in so far this can be inferred from the records of the Secretariat-General that were released in GestDem 2013/3752, http://www.asktheeu.org/en/request/641/r....

In view of the disregard of DG CNECT of its obligations under the administrative procedure of Regulation 45/2001, unless DG CNECT would inform me about is intentions in the next few days I will:

1. Write to the Commissioner, the Secretary-General, a few Members of the European Parliament, and Data Protection Authorities.

2. Carry out Internet searches to identify specific individuals whose time-sheets DG CNECT might hold, and subsequently contact them making enquiries about their time-sheets being in the possession of DG CNECT. There is enough information in the public domain to identify more than 30 researches whose time-sheets DG CNECT might hold. This will probably result in identifying concrete individuals whose time-sheets DG CNECT likely holds.

No matter how DG CNECT might want to avoid its obligations under Regulation 1049/2001 to prevent further disclosures of its grave infringements of Regulation 45/2001, Regulation 1049/2001 imposes obligations that DG CNECT cannot set aside.

DG INFSO ought to have foresee the ramifications of its policy of massively infringing Regulation 45/2001 in its risk-based audits at the time, first, of DG INFSO was proudly referring to them in its Annual Activity Reports, and second, when DG INFSO was approving publications by its officials about their pioneering methods for risk-based audits.

Yours faithfully,

Mr. Sifis RAPTIS

EC ARES NOREPLY, Communications Networks, Content and Technology

1 Attachment

Dear Sir,

Please find attached document Ares(2013)3654422 regarding "Your application for access to documents – Ref GestDem No 2013/ 3521under Regulation 1049/2011 regarding public access to European Parliament, Council and Commission documents" sent by Mr Madelin Robert on 06/12/2013.

Kind regards.

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Note: This e-mail was automatically generated by the European Commission's central mail registration system.
Replies by e-mail must be addressed to the original sender Madelin Robert (mailto:[email address]).
Remarque : Cet e-mail a été généré automatiquement par le système d'enregistrement central du courrier de la Commission européenne.
Toute réponse éventuelle par e-mail doit être adressée à l'expéditeur en personne, à savoir Madelin Robert (mailto:[email address]).