Selection Eurodrone under EDIDP

Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs has replied saying they have transferred your request to another public body.

Dear Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs,

In the regulation 2018/2092 establishing the European Defence Industrial Development Programme (EDIDP) article 10 gives six award criteria for projects that receive grants.

Under the right of access to documents in the EU treaties, as developed in Regulation 1049/2001, I am requesting documents - including but not limited to emails, presentations, agendas and minutes - which contain the following information:

* All statements concerning how and why the Eurodrone fulfills the six award criteria.

I want to receive all documents related to the Eurodrone and the award criteria, among others documents by the applicants in which they explain why their submission fulfills the six criteria and documents in which the European Commission and possibly also the European Defence Agency give their judgement on the way the Eurodrone fulfills these six criteria.

I trust I will receive a reply within the legal period of fifteen working days.

Yours faithfully,

Tomas Vanheste
Journalist
Werkstraat 11, 9000 Gent
+32-475-821738

Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs

 

Dear Sir,

 

Thank you for your e-mail of 19/10/2020. We hereby acknowledge receipt of
your application for access to documents, which was registered on
19/10/2020 under reference number GESTDEM 2020/6253.

 

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
10/11/2020. 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
[1]Privacy statement – access to documents.

 

Yours faithfully,

 

DEFIS ACCESS TO DOCUMENTS TEAM

 

 

References

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ve_defis.access documents (DEFIS), Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs

Link: [1]File-List
Link: [2]themeData
Link: [3]colorSchemeMapping

[4]Ares(2020)6514164 - the request for access to documents
GESTDEM/2020/6253

Sent by ve_defis.access documents (DEFIS)
<[email address]>. All responses have to be sent to
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Envoyé par ve_defis.access documents (DEFIS)
<[email address]>. Toutes les réponses doivent être
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Dear Mr. Vanheste,

 

We refer to your request for access to documents, registered under
reference GESTDEM/2020/6253.

 

Your request is currently being handled. However, we will not be in a
position to complete its treatment within the time limit of 15 working
days, which expires 10/11/2020.

 

For this reason, we will 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 01/12/2020.

 

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

 

Yours sincerely,

 

DEFIS ACCESS TO DOCUMENTS TEAM

 

 

References

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4. https://webgate.ec.testa.eu/Ares/documen...

ve_defis.access documents(DEFIS), Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs

1 Attachment

Please find attached document Ares(2020)6830972 from PESONEN Timo (DEFIS) dated 17/11/2020.

Veuillez trouver ci-joint le document Ares(2020)6830972 de PESONEN Timo (DEFIS) daté du 17/11/2020.

Dear ve_defis.access documents(DEFIS),

Thanks for your reply to my FOI-request concerning the selection of the Eurodrone under EDIDP.

You write: "As the evaluation of the award criteria has not yet started, we have identified only one document as falling within the scope of your request".

In March 2019 the Commission awarded the Eurodrone project with € 100 million under EDIDP. Regulation 2018/1092 says: "Actions proposed for funding under the Programme shall be evaluated on the basis of each of the following criteria..." I suppose that this means that the Commission must evaluate if the project fulfills these criteria, before granting funding. Can you please let me know if this is a correct supposition?

If so, I don't understand why you write that the evaluation has not started yet. Can you explain this to me?

You write that you will not grant access to the documents I asked for on the ground of Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001.

The European Court of Justice has stated in its judgement in case C 576/12: "if the institution concerned decides to refuse access to a document which it has been asked to disclose, it must, in principle, explain how disclosure of that document could specifically and actually undermine the interest protected by the exception – among those provided for in Article 4 of Regulation No 1049/2001 – upon which it is relying. Moreover, the risk of the interest being undermined must be reasonably foreseeable and not purely hypothetical".

In your reply you do not explain how disclosure of the documents I asked for specifically and actually undermines the interest protected by the exception. In absence of a clear explanation I appeal your decision and reiterate my request.

I don't think that I'm asking for information that is military or commercially sensitive. I simply ask for all the documents concerning the question how the Eurodrone project fulfills the criteria in the EDIDP regulation.

The EDIDP regulation is specifically related to article 173 of the Treaty of the Functioning of the European Union, an article concerning the competitiveness of the union's industry, not to the articles concerning defence. It is therefore not correct that you use the defence exemption in article 4 of Regulation 1049/2001 to deny access to the documents asked for.

It is in the interest of the public to know if public money is used in a way that is in harmony with EU-law, in this case the EDIDP-regulation. That regulation says that the projects proposed for funding must fulfill six award criteria. It is in the interest of the public to be able to know if this is actually the case.

I look forward to your answer, which I expect to receive within the legal term of 15 working days.

Yours sincerely,

Tomas Vanheste

ve_defis.access documents (DEFIS), Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs

Link: [1]File-List
Link: [2]themeData
Link: [3]colorSchemeMapping

[4]Ares(2020)7114324 - RE: Internal review of access to documents request
- Selection Eurodrone under EDIDP

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

Dear Mr Vanheste,

 

Thank you very much for your feedback.

 

The Commission implementing decision on the financing of the European
Defence Industrial Development Programme and the adoption of the work
programme for the years 2019 and 2020 – C (2019) 2205 of the 19 March 2019
(further - Decision C (2019) 2205) details the financing adopted under the
Regulation (EU) 2018/1092 of the European Parliament and of the Council of
18 July 2018 establishing the European Defence Industrial Development
Programme aiming at supporting the competitiveness and innovation capacity
of the Union's defence industry (further – EDIDP Regulation).

Above mentioned documents can be accessed here:

[5]https://ec.europa.eu/docsroom/documents/...

[6]https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/...

 

As you can see from the documents provided above, on the basis of the
EDIDP Regulation ‘Eurodrone’, European MALE RPAS, could be selected for
Direct award procedure. This selection will only materialise in an award
decision after the evaluation of the MALE RPAS proposal against all the
criteria (including the award criteria) established by the EDIDP
regulation.

The Commission sent an invitation to propose to the identified members of
the MALE RPAS consortium and a proposal was submitted to the Commission on
28 September 2020. The evaluation of the selection, eligibility and award
criteria are currently taking place.

We confirm that currently there is only one related document - European
Defence Industrial Development Programme Submission form and annexes
(Final invitation) V4.2  (EDIDP-MALE RPAS-DA).

 

The reasons to not disclose this document were explained in our reply to
the initial request of 17/11/2020.

 

In accordance with Article 7(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001, you are
entitled to make a confirmatory application requesting the Commission to
review this position.

Such a confirmatory application should be addressed within 15 working days
upon receipt of the reply to the initial request to the
Secretariat-General of the Commission at the following address:

European Commission

Secretariat-General

Transparency, Document Management & Access to Documents (SG.C.1) BERL
7/076

B-1049 Bruxelles

or by email to: [email address]

 

 

 

Kind regards,

 

DEFIS ACCESS TO DOCUMENTS TEAM

 

 

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Dear ve_defis.access documents (DEFIS),

Many thanks for your reply. Unfortunately I was not able to respond earlier, but herewith I send you a couple of follow-up questions.

You write that currently there is only one document that fits into my request: the submission form. At the same time you write that the consortium submitted a proposal to the Commission on 28 September 2020.

* It seems to me that this proposal fits into my request. Why is that not the case according to you?

You write: "The evaluation of the selection, eligibility and award criteria are currently taking place."

* When do you expect to conclude the evaluation?
* Will the final decision be made public?
* If the Eurodrone project is awarded, will you then publish a document which explains how the project fulfills the award criteria in regulation 2018/1092?
* If not, are you willing to provide me with an explanation how the project fulfills the six award criteria?

I look forward to your answers.

Yours sincerely,

Tomas Vanheste

DEFIS-ACCESS-DOCUMENTS@ec.europa.eu, Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs

Dear Vanheste,

Thank you for your email of 18/12/2020.

Please be informed that it will be handled by the Unit DEFIS.A3 responsible for this award procedure. The above mentioned unit will reply to your request for access to information in the framework of the Code of good administrative practice.

Kind regards,

DEFIS ACCESS TO DOCUMENTS TEAM

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