Lessons learned from Romania

The request was successful.

Dear Enlargement (ELARG),

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 documents, mails, minutes related to the meeting held on 16th July 2013 about 'Lessons learned from Romania' aka 'Legacy of the Romanian 'orphans'. Including follow-up actions (from DG ELARG and the ELARG Commissioner/Cabinet).

Yours faithfully,

Arun Dohle

Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations

Dear Sir,

Your request for access to documents has been registered under the above mentioned reference number.

This message is an acknowledgement of receipt.

In accordance with Regulation 1049/2001 regarding public access to European Parliament, Council and Commission documents, you will receive a reply within 15 working days (03/02/2014).

Yours faithfully,

The ELARG-ACCDOC Team

-----Original Message-----
From: Arun Dohle [mailto:[FOI #1125 email]]
Sent: Monday, January 13, 2014 2:22 PM
To: ELARG-ACCDOC
Subject: access to information request - Lessons learned from Romania

Dear Enlargement (ELARG),

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 documents, mails, minutes related to the meeting held on 16th July 2013 about 'Lessons learned from Romania' aka 'Legacy of the Romanian 'orphans'. Including follow-up actions (from DG ELARG and the ELARG Commissioner/Cabinet).

Yours faithfully,

Arun Dohle

-------------------------------------------------------------------

This is a request for access to information under Article 15 of the TFEU and, where applicable, Regulation 1049/2001 which has been sent via the AsktheEU.org website.

Please kindly use this email address for all replies to this request: [FOI #1125 email]

If [DG ELARG request email] is the wrong address for information requests to Enlargement (ELARG), please tell the AsktheEU.org team on email [email address]

This message and all replies from Enlargement (ELARG) will be published on the AsktheEU.org website. For more information see our dedicated page for EU public officials at http://www.asktheeu.org/en/help/officers

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Arun Dohle left an annotation ()

Time limit: 3 February 2014

Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations

Dear Mr. Dohle,

We refer to your mail of 13 January 2014 in which you make a request for access to documents, registered under the above mentioned reference number.

We would like to inform you that your application is currently being handled. However, we will not be in a position to complete the handling of your application within the time limit of 15 working days, which expires today.

We regret to let you know that internal consultations are still ongoing.

Therefore, we have to extend the time limit by 15 working days in accordance with Article 7(3) of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 regarding public access to documents. The new time limit expires on 24 February 2014.

We apologise for this delay and for any inconvenience this may cause.

Yours faithfully,

The ELARG-ACCDOC Team.

-----Original Message-----
From: Arun Dohle [mailto:[FOI #1125 email]]
Sent: Monday, January 13, 2014 2:22 PM
To: ELARG-ACCDOC
Subject: access to information request - Lessons learned from Romania

Dear Enlargement (ELARG),

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 documents, mails, minutes related to the meeting held on 16th July 2013 about 'Lessons learned from Romania' aka 'Legacy of the Romanian 'orphans'. Including follow-up actions (from DG ELARG and the ELARG Commissioner/Cabinet).

Yours faithfully,

Arun Dohle

-------------------------------------------------------------------

This is a request for access to information under Article 15 of the TFEU and, where applicable, Regulation 1049/2001 which has been sent via the AsktheEU.org website.

Please kindly use this email address for all replies to this request: [FOI #1125 email]

If [DG ELARG request email] is the wrong address for information requests to Enlargement (ELARG), please tell the AsktheEU.org team on email [email address]

This message and all replies from Enlargement (ELARG) will be published on the AsktheEU.org website. For more information see our dedicated page for EU public officials at http://www.asktheeu.org/en/help/officers

-------------------------------------------------------------------

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Arun Dohle left an annotation ()

New Time Limit: 24 February 2014

Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations

2 Attachments

Dear Mr Dohle,

We refer to your e-mail dated 13/01/2014 in which you make a request for access to documents, registered on 21/01/2014 under the above mentioned reference number.
We enclose a copy of the documents requested.

Please note that these documents cannot be reproduced or disseminated for commercial purposes without prior consent given by the Commission.

Yours faithfully,

The ELARG-ACCDOC Team

-----Original Message-----
From: Arun Dohle [mailto:[FOI #1125 email]]
Sent: Monday, January 13, 2014 2:22 PM
To: ELARG-ACCDOC
Subject: access to information request - Lessons learned from Romania

Dear Enlargement (ELARG),

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 documents, mails, minutes related to the meeting held on 16th July 2013 about 'Lessons learned from Romania' aka 'Legacy of the Romanian 'orphans'. Including follow-up actions (from DG ELARG and the ELARG Commissioner/Cabinet).

Yours faithfully,

Arun Dohle

-------------------------------------------------------------------

This is a request for access to information under Article 15 of the TFEU and, where applicable, Regulation 1049/2001 which has been sent via the AsktheEU.org website.

Please kindly use this email address for all replies to this request: [FOI #1125 email]

If [DG ELARG request email] is the wrong address for information requests to Enlargement (ELARG), please tell the AsktheEU.org team on email [email address]

This message and all replies from Enlargement (ELARG) will be published on the AsktheEU.org website. For more information see our dedicated page for EU public officials at http://www.asktheeu.org/en/help/officers

-------------------------------------------------------------------

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Dear Enlargement (ELARG),

Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.

I am writing to request an internal review of Enlargement (ELARG)'s handling of my FOI request 'Lessons learned from Romania'.

I am not satisfied with this reply, as the attachments to the 'handover note' are not provided.

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

Yours faithfully,

Arun Dohle

Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations

Dear Mr Dohle,

Thank you for your mail of yesterday which refers to your above-mentioned request and the reply to this request which you received yesterday.

Please note that the hand-over note contains an annex with the title "Children's Rights in Romania in the pre-accession phase" which was also transmitted to you. At the end of this annex, there is a section "References" which enumerates five other documents for further reference. However, these are reference documents only and not annexes. For this reason, these five other documents do not fall within the scope of your above-mentioned request.

Yours faithfully,

The ELARG-ACCDOC Team.

-----Original Message-----
From: Arun Dohle [mailto:[FOI #1125 email]]
Sent: Thursday, February 06, 2014 11:21 AM
To: ELARG-ACCDOC
Subject: Internal review of access to information request - Lessons learned from Romania

Dear Enlargement (ELARG),

Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.

I am writing to request an internal review of Enlargement (ELARG)'s handling of my FOI request 'Lessons learned from Romania'.

I am not satisfied with this reply, as the attachments to the 'handover note' are not provided.

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

Yours faithfully,

Arun Dohle

-------------------------------------------------------------------
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FOI #1125 email]

This message and all replies from Enlargement (ELARG) will be published on the AsktheEU.org website. For more information see our dedicated page for EU public officials at http://www.asktheeu.org/en/help/officers

-------------------------------------------------------------------

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Dear Enlargement (ELARG),

I respectfully disagree.

The handover note is not the Annex but the main note.

The first letter, is the cover letter to the handover note.

I do, however, not wish to have a dispute about semantics.

Therefore I suggest you make the Annexes (titled: references) public without further delay. I assume they must be available in the Commission's electronic register (ARES).

If not, I have to hand in another request to have these documents made public. Which will only mean more delay.

Yours faithfully,

Arun Dohle

Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations

Dear Mr Dohle,

Thank you for your mail of 12 February 2014 which refers to your above-mentioned request and to the reply to this request which you received on 10 February 2014.

We agree with your assessment that the handover note is the main note, and not the annex with the title "Children's Rights in Romania in the pre-accession phase". This is why these two documents were transmitted to you by our above-mentioned mail of 10 February 2014.

We repeat that the five documents enumerated under "References" at the end of the annex with the title "Children's Rights in Romania in the pre-accession phase" were outside the scope of your above-mentioned request.

As you mention, you are entitled to send us a new request for access to these documents. If you decided to follow this course of action, we would be grateful to you if you could specify the documents to which you would request access; in this case we would register this new request and follow up on it under Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001, as appropriate.

Yours faithfully,

The ELARG-ACCDOC Team

-----Original Message-----
From: Arun Dohle [mailto:[FOI #1125 email]]
Sent: Wednesday, February 12, 2014 2:36 PM
To: ELARG-ACCDOC
Subject: RE: Internal review of access to information request - Lessons learned from Romania

Dear Enlargement (ELARG),

I respectfully disagree.

The handover note is not the Annex but the main note.

The first letter, is the cover letter to the handover note.

I do, however, not wish to have a dispute about semantics.

Therefore I suggest you make the Annexes (titled: references) public without further delay. I assume they must be available in the Commission's electronic register (ARES).

If not, I have to hand in another request to have these documents made public. Which will only mean more delay.

Yours faithfully,

Arun Dohle

-----Original Message-----

Dear Mr Dohle,

Thank you for your mail of yesterday which refers to your above-mentioned request and the reply to this request which you received yesterday.

Please note that the hand-over note contains an annex with the title "Children's Rights in Romania in the pre-accession phase" which was also transmitted to you. At the end of this annex, there is a section "References" which enumerates five other documents for further reference. However, these are reference documents only and not annexes. For this reason, these five other documents do not fall within the scope of your above-mentioned request.

Yours faithfully,

The ELARG-ACCDOC Team.

-------------------------------------------------------------------
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FOI #1125 email]

This message and all replies from Enlargement (ELARG) will be published on the AsktheEU.org website. For more information see our dedicated page for EU public officials at http://www.asktheeu.org/en/help/officers

-------------------------------------------------------------------

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Dear Enlargement (ELARG),

Before taking a decision on the next step, I would like to have the following clarified.

Do I understand correctly that the 'References' were not transmitted to DG JUST and were thus not registered in ARES as part of the Handover note?

Yours faithfully,

Arun Dohle

Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations

Dear Mr Dohle,

Thank you for your mail of 21 February 2014 which refers to your above-mentioned request and to the mails from us which you received on 10 February 2014 and 13 February 2014.

The "References" at the end of the annex with the title "Children's Rights in Romania in the pre-accession phase" - which was communicated to you by our e-mail of 6 February 2014 - are the following:

I. Commission’s Strategy Papers on Enlargement and Regular Reports on Candidate countries progress towards accession can be found at http://ec.europa.eu/enlargement/countrie...
II. Impact study on the Children First programme, draft (2006).
III. “Summary of opinion on the matter of adoptions”, Independent Panel of Family Law Experts of EU Member States, May 2004.
IV. “Children’s rights and the Enlargement process”, Contribution of DG Enlargement to Group of Commissioners on Fundamental rights, Anti-discrimination and Equal opportunities, April 2005.
V. Post, Roelie: “Romania For Export Only – The untold story of the Romanian ‘orphans’”, 2007.

All these references have been made available to DG JUST.

Please confirm that you request access to these references. If yes, this would enable us to transmit to you the documents quoted above under III. and IV. without delay. Please note that the documents quoted under I. and V. above already are in the public domain.

As regards the document quoted above under II., this is a third party document originating from a Member State which would have to be consulted in accordance with Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 regarding public access to European Parliament, Council and Commission documents.

Yours faithfully,

The ELARG-ACCDOC Team

-----Original Message-----
From: Arun Dohle [mailto:[FOI #1125 email]]
Sent: Friday, February 21, 2014 12:51 PM
To: ELARG-ACCDOC
Subject: RE: Internal review of access to information request - Lessons learned from Romania

Dear Enlargement (ELARG),

Before taking a decision on the next step, I would like to have the following clarified.

Do I understand correctly that the 'References' were not transmitted to DG JUST and were thus not registered in ARES as part of the Handover note?

Yours faithfully,

Arun Dohle

-----Original Message-----

Dear Mr Dohle,

Thank you for your mail of 12 February 2014 which refers to your above-mentioned request and to the reply to this request which you received on 10 February 2014.

We agree with your assessment that the handover note is the main note, and not the annex with the title "Children's Rights in Romania in the pre-accession phase". This is why these two documents were transmitted to you by our above-mentioned mail of 10 February 2014.

We repeat that the five documents enumerated under "References" at the end of the annex with the title "Children's Rights in Romania in the pre-accession phase" were outside the scope of your above-mentioned request.

As you mention, you are entitled to send us a new request for access to these documents. If you decided to follow this course of action, we would be grateful to you if you could specify the documents to which you would request access; in this case we would register this new request and follow up on it under Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001, as appropriate.

Yours faithfully,

The ELARG-ACCDOC Team

-------------------------------------------------------------------
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FOI #1125 email]

This message and all replies from Enlargement (ELARG) will be published on the AsktheEU.org website. For more information see our dedicated page for EU public officials at http://www.asktheeu.org/en/help/officers

-------------------------------------------------------------------

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Dear Enlargement (ELARG),

I hereby confirm my request for public access to

II. Impact study on the Children First programme, draft (2006).
III. “Summary of opinion on the matter of adoptions”, Independent Panel of Family Law Experts of EU Member States, May 2004.
IV. “Children’s rights and the Enlargement process”, Contribution of DG Enlargement to Group of Commissioners on Fundamental rights, Anti-discrimination and Equal opportunities, April 2005.

Yours faithfully,

Arun Dohle

Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations

Dear Sir,

Thank you for your email dated 05/03/2014.

We hereby acknowledge receipt of your application for access to documents, which was registered on 06/03/2014 under reference number GestDem 2014/1326.

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 27/03/2014. In case this time limit needs to be extended, you will be informed in due course.

Yours faithfully,

Carlos Remis
SG.B.4.
Transparence.
Berl. 05/329.

-----Original Message-----
From: Arun Dohle [mailto:[FOI #1125 email]]
Sent: Wednesday, March 05, 2014 11:35 AM
To: ELARG-ACCDOC
Subject: Re: GestDem 2014-319 Internal review of access to information request - Lessons learned from Romania

Dear Enlargement (ELARG),

I hereby confirm my request for public access to

II. Impact study on the Children First programme, draft (2006).
III. “Summary of opinion on the matter of adoptions”, Independent Panel of Family Law Experts of EU Member States, May 2004.
IV. “Children’s rights and the Enlargement process”, Contribution of DG Enlargement to Group of Commissioners on Fundamental rights, Anti-discrimination and Equal opportunities, April 2005.

Yours faithfully,

Arun Dohle

-----Original Message-----

Dear Mr Dohle,

Thank you for your mail of 21 February 2014 which refers to your above-mentioned request and to the mails from us which you received on 10 February 2014 and 13 February 2014.

The "References" at the end of the annex with the title "Children's Rights in Romania in the pre-accession phase" - which was communicated to you by our e-mail of 6 February 2014 - are the following:

I. Commission’s Strategy Papers on Enlargement and Regular Reports on Candidate countries progress towards accession can be found at http://ec.europa.eu/enlargement/countrie...
II. Impact study on the Children First programme, draft (2006).
III. “Summary of opinion on the matter of adoptions”, Independent Panel of Family Law Experts of EU Member States, May 2004.
IV. “Children’s rights and the Enlargement process”, Contribution of DG Enlargement to Group of Commissioners on Fundamental rights, Anti-discrimination and Equal opportunities, April 2005.
V. Post, Roelie: “Romania For Export Only – The untold story of the Romanian ‘orphans’”, 2007.

All these references have been made available to DG JUST.

Please confirm that you request access to these references. If yes, this would enable us to transmit to you the documents quoted above under III. and IV. without delay. Please note that the documents quoted under I. and V. above already are in the public domain.

As regards the document quoted above under II., this is a third party document originating from a Member State which would have to be consulted in accordance with Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 regarding public access to European Parliament, Council and Commission documents.

Yours faithfully,

The ELARG-ACCDOC Team

-------------------------------------------------------------------
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FOI #1125 email]

This message and all replies from Enlargement (ELARG) will be published on the AsktheEU.org website. For more information see our dedicated page for EU public officials at http://www.asktheeu.org/en/help/officers

-------------------------------------------------------------------

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Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations

2 Attachments

Dear Mr Dohle,

We refer to your mail dated 05/03/2014 in which you made a request for access to documents, registered on 06/03/2014 under the above-mentioned reference number.
We enclose a copy of the following documents requested:

• “Summary of opinion on the matter of adoptions”, Independent Panel of Family Law Experts of EU Member States, May 2004.
• “Children’s rights and the Enlargement process”, Contribution of DG Enlargement to Group of Commissioners on Fundamental rights, Anti-discrimination and Equal opportunities, April 2005.

As regards the document "Impact study on the Children First programme, draft (2006)", this is a third party document originating from a Member State which has been consulted in accordance with Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 regarding public access to European Parliament, Council and Commission documents.

Yours faithfully,

The ELARG-ACCDOC Team

-----Original Message-----
From: Arun Dohle [mailto:[FOI #1125 email]]
Sent: Wednesday, March 05, 2014 11:35 AM
To: ELARG-ACCDOC
Subject: Re: GestDem 2014-319 Internal review of access to information request - Lessons learned from Romania

Dear Enlargement (ELARG),

I hereby confirm my request for public access to

II. Impact study on the Children First programme, draft (2006).
III. “Summary of opinion on the matter of adoptions”, Independent Panel of Family Law Experts of EU Member States, May 2004.
IV. “Children’s rights and the Enlargement process”, Contribution of DG Enlargement to Group of Commissioners on Fundamental rights, Anti-discrimination and Equal opportunities, April 2005.

Yours faithfully,

Arun Dohle

-----Original Message-----

Dear Mr Dohle,

Thank you for your mail of 21 February 2014 which refers to your above-mentioned request and to the mails from us which you received on 10 February 2014 and 13 February 2014.

The "References" at the end of the annex with the title "Children's Rights in Romania in the pre-accession phase" - which was communicated to you by our e-mail of 6 February 2014 - are the following:

I. Commission’s Strategy Papers on Enlargement and Regular Reports on Candidate countries progress towards accession can be found at http://ec.europa.eu/enlargement/countrie...
II. Impact study on the Children First programme, draft (2006).
III. “Summary of opinion on the matter of adoptions”, Independent Panel of Family Law Experts of EU Member States, May 2004.
IV. “Children’s rights and the Enlargement process”, Contribution of DG Enlargement to Group of Commissioners on Fundamental rights, Anti-discrimination and Equal opportunities, April 2005.
V. Post, Roelie: “Romania For Export Only – The untold story of the Romanian ‘orphans’”, 2007.

All these references have been made available to DG JUST.

Please confirm that you request access to these references. If yes, this would enable us to transmit to you the documents quoted above under III. and IV. without delay. Please note that the documents quoted under I. and V. above already are in the public domain.

As regards the document quoted above under II., this is a third party document originating from a Member State which would have to be consulted in accordance with Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 regarding public access to European Parliament, Council and Commission documents.

Yours faithfully,

The ELARG-ACCDOC Team

-------------------------------------------------------------------
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FOI #1125 email]

This message and all replies from Enlargement (ELARG) will be published on the AsktheEU.org website. For more information see our dedicated page for EU public officials at http://www.asktheeu.org/en/help/officers

-------------------------------------------------------------------

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Dear Enlargement (ELARG),

Thank you.

I hereby request clarification.

Do I understand correctly that the Romanian authorities did not agree to provide public access to the Impact study on the Children First Programme?

If so, please provide me with the concrete reason(s)/justification(s) for this blunt refusal. It is hard to believe that such a document would be considered a State Secret, or would qualify for an exception to Regulation 1049:

Exceptions
1. The institutions shall refuse access to a document where disclosure would undermine the protection of:
(a) the public interest as regards:
- public security,
- defence and military matters,
- international relations,
- the financial, monetary or economic policy of the Community or a Member State;
(b) privacy and the integrity of the individual, in particular in accordance with Community legislation regarding the protection of personal data.
2. The institutions shall refuse access to a document where disclosure would undermine the protection of:
- commercial interests of a natural or legal person, including intellectual property,
- court proceedings and legal advice,
- the purpose of inspections, investigations and audits,

Yours faithfully,

Arun Dohle

Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations

Dear Mr Dohle,

In reply to your request for clarification of 11 March 2014, we would like to point out that, as regards the document "Impact study on the Children First programme, draft (2006)" which originated from the Romanian authorities, these authorities have been consulted in order to know whether they oppose disclosure of the concerned documents or parts of it.

This consultation is based on Article 4 (5) of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 regarding public access to European Parliament, Council and Commission documents which provides that a Member State may request the institutions not to disclose a document originating from that Member State without its prior agreement.

A reply by the Romanian authorities to this consultation has not been received until now. At this point in time, it therefore cannot be said that the Romanian authorities did not agree to provide public access to the Impact study on the Children First Programme.

Yours faithfully,

The ELARG-ACCDOC Team

-----Original Message-----
From: Arun Dohle [mailto:[FOI #1125 email]]
Sent: Tuesday, March 11, 2014 6:10 PM
To: ELARG-ACCDOC
Subject: Re: Your application for access to documents – EzCzch}m5

Dear Enlargement (ELARG),

Thank you.

I hereby request clarification.

Do I understand correctly that the Romanian authorities did not agree to provide public access to the Impact study on the Children First Programme?

If so, please provide me with the concrete reason(s)/justification(s) for this blunt refusal. It is hard to believe that such a document would be considered a State Secret, or would qualify for an exception to Regulation 1049:

Exceptions
1. The institutions shall refuse access to a document where disclosure would undermine the protection of:
(a) the public interest as regards:
- public security,
- defence and military matters,
- international relations,
- the financial, monetary or economic policy of the Community or a Member State;
(b) privacy and the integrity of the individual, in particular in accordance with Community legislation regarding the protection of personal data.
2. The institutions shall refuse access to a document where disclosure would undermine the protection of:
- commercial interests of a natural or legal person, including intellectual property,
- court proceedings and legal advice,
- the purpose of inspections, investigations and audits,

Yours faithfully,

Arun Dohle

-----Original Message-----

Dear Mr Dohle,

We refer to your mail dated 05/03/2014 in which you made a request for access to documents, registered on 06/03/2014 under the above-mentioned reference number.
We enclose a copy of the following documents requested:

• “Summary of opinion on the matter of adoptions”, Independent Panel of Family Law Experts of EU Member States, May 2004.
• “Children’s rights and the Enlargement process”, Contribution of DG Enlargement to Group of Commissioners on Fundamental rights, Anti-discrimination and Equal opportunities, April 2005.

As regards the document "Impact study on the Children First programme, draft (2006)", this is a third party document originating from a Member State which has been consulted in accordance with Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 regarding public access to European Parliament, Council and Commission documents.

Yours faithfully,

The ELARG-ACCDOC Team

-------------------------------------------------------------------
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FOI #1125 email]

This message and all replies from Enlargement (ELARG) will be published on the AsktheEU.org website. For more information see our dedicated page for EU public officials at http://www.asktheeu.org/en/help/officers

-------------------------------------------------------------------

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Dear Enlargement (ELARG),

Thank you for this clarification.

Please let me know the time limit that was set for the consultation of the Romanian authorities.

Yours faithfully,

Arun Dohle

Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations

1 Attachment

Dear Mr Dohle,

We refer to your mail dated 05/03/2014 in which you made a request for access to documents, registered on 06/03/2014 under the above-mentioned reference number, as well as to our mail to you of 11/03/2014.

We enclose a copy of the third document "Impact study on the Children First programme, draft (2006)".

Yours faithfully,

The ELARG-ACCDOC Team

-----Original Message-----
From: ELARG-ACCDOC
Sent: Wednesday, March 12, 2014 1:04 PM
To: '[FOI #1125 email]'
Cc: ELARG-ACCDOC
Subject: Your application for access to documents – Ref GestDem No 1326/2014

Dear Mr Dohle,

In reply to your request for clarification of 11 March 2014, we would like to point out that, as regards the document "Impact study on the Children First programme, draft (2006)" which originated from the Romanian authorities, these authorities have been consulted in order to know whether they oppose disclosure of the concerned documents or parts of it.

This consultation is based on Article 4 (5) of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 regarding public access to European Parliament, Council and Commission documents which provides that a Member State may request the institutions not to disclose a document originating from that Member State without its prior agreement.

A reply by the Romanian authorities to this consultation has not been received until now. At this point in time, it therefore cannot be said that the Romanian authorities did not agree to provide public access to the Impact study on the Children First Programme.

Yours faithfully,

The ELARG-ACCDOC Team

-----Original Message-----
From: Arun Dohle [mailto:[FOI #1125 email]]
Sent: Tuesday, March 11, 2014 6:10 PM
To: ELARG-ACCDOC
Subject: Re: Your application for access to documents – EzCzch}m5

Dear Enlargement (ELARG),

Thank you.

I hereby request clarification.

Do I understand correctly that the Romanian authorities did not agree to provide public access to the Impact study on the Children First Programme?

If so, please provide me with the concrete reason(s)/justification(s) for this blunt refusal. It is hard to believe that such a document would be considered a State Secret, or would qualify for an exception to Regulation 1049:

Exceptions
1. The institutions shall refuse access to a document where disclosure would undermine the protection of:
(a) the public interest as regards:
- public security,
- defence and military matters,
- international relations,
- the financial, monetary or economic policy of the Community or a Member State;
(b) privacy and the integrity of the individual, in particular in accordance with Community legislation regarding the protection of personal data.
2. The institutions shall refuse access to a document where disclosure would undermine the protection of:
- commercial interests of a natural or legal person, including intellectual property,
- court proceedings and legal advice,
- the purpose of inspections, investigations and audits,

Yours faithfully,

Arun Dohle

-----Original Message-----

Dear Mr Dohle,

We refer to your mail dated 05/03/2014 in which you made a request for access to documents, registered on 06/03/2014 under the above-mentioned reference number.
We enclose a copy of the following documents requested:

• “Summary of opinion on the matter of adoptions”, Independent Panel of Family Law Experts of EU Member States, May 2004.
• “Children’s rights and the Enlargement process”, Contribution of DG Enlargement to Group of Commissioners on Fundamental rights, Anti-discrimination and Equal opportunities, April 2005.

As regards the document "Impact study on the Children First programme, draft (2006)", this is a third party document originating from a Member State which has been consulted in accordance with Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 regarding public access to European Parliament, Council and Commission documents.

Yours faithfully,

The ELARG-ACCDOC Team

-------------------------------------------------------------------
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FOI #1125 email]

This message and all replies from Enlargement (ELARG) will be published on the AsktheEU.org website. For more information see our dedicated page for EU public officials at http://www.asktheeu.org/en/help/officers

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Dear Enlargement (ELARG),

Thank you.

However, I note that the Impact report is a DRAFT.
I suppose it concerns an error, as clearly a final report must exist.

Could you please clarify?

Yours faithfully,

Arun Dohle

Dear Enlargement (ELARG),

Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.

I am writing to request an internal review of Enlargement (ELARG)'s handling of my FOI request 'Lessons learned from Romania'.

I have not received a reply to my request of 20 March 2014 for the final version of the Impact Report. The draft provided is not a satisfactory reply to my Freedom of Information request.

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

Yours faithfully,

Arun Dohle

Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations

1 Attachment

Dear Sir,

Please find attached the requested document further to your request registered under the above mentioned reference number.

Best regards,

Your ELARG-ACCDOC Team.

-----Original Message-----
From: Arun Dohle [mailto:[FOI #1125 email]]
Sent: Monday, May 26, 2014 5:49 PM
To: ELARG-ACCDOC
Subject: Internal review of access to information request - Lessons learned from Romania

Dear Enlargement (ELARG),

Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.

I am writing to request an internal review of Enlargement (ELARG)'s handling of my FOI request 'Lessons learned from Romania'.

I have not received a reply to my request of 20 March 2014 for the final version of the Impact Report. The draft provided is not a satisfactory reply to my Freedom of Information request.

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

Yours faithfully,

Arun Dohle

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Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FOI #1125 email]

This message and all replies from Enlargement (ELARG) will be published on the AsktheEU.org website. For more information see our dedicated page for EU public officials at http://www.asktheeu.org/en/help/officers

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