Von der Leyen videoconference meetings

The request was partially 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 documents - including but not limited to minutes, (hand-written) notes, audio recordings, verbatim reports, operational conclusions, lines to take, briefings, e-mails, and presentations - related to the following video conference meetings President Von der Leyen has held with organisations and self-employed individuals.

This includes the 16 March 2020 videoconference with CureVac representatives and the 25 March 2020 with CEOs, but also any other videoconferences with companies that have not been made public yet.

I prefer to receive these documents digitally, so please consider the environment by not sending me postal mail.

Sincerely,
Peter Teffer

postal address:
Peter Teffer
Ekko Voorkamer
Bemuurde Weerd WZ 3
3513 BH Utrecht
The Netherlands

Secretariat General of the European Commission

Your message has been received by the Transparency Unit of the
Secretariat-General of the European Commission.
Requests for public access to documents are treated on the basis of
[1]Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 of 30 May 2001 regarding public access to
European Parliament, Council and Commission documents.
The Secretariat-General will reply to your request within 15 working days
upon registration of your request and will duly inform you of the
registration of the request (or of any additional information to be
provided in view of its registration and/or treatment).
 
 
L’unité «Transparence» du secrétariat général de la Commission européenne
a bien reçu votre message.
Les demandes d’accès du public aux documents sont traitées sur la base du
[2]règlement (CE) n° 1049/2001 du 30 mai 2001 relatif à l’accès du public
aux documents du Parlement européen, du Conseil et de la Commission.
Le secrétariat général répondra à votre demande dans un délai de 15 jours
ouvrables à compter de la date d’enregistrement de votre demande, et vous
informera de cet enregistrement (ou vous indiquera toute information
supplémentaire à fournir en vue de l'enregistrement et/ou du traitement de
votre demande).
 
 
Ihre Nachricht ist beim Referat „Transparenz“ des Generalsekretariats der
Europäischen Kommission eingegangen.
Anträge auf Zugang zu Dokumenten werden auf der Grundlage der
[3]Verordnung (EG) Nr. 1049/2001 vom 30. Mai 2001 über den Zugang der
Öffentlichkeit zu Dokumenten des Europäischen Parlaments, des Rates und
der Kommission behandelt.
Das Generalsekretariat beantwortet Ihre Anfrage innerhalb von
15 Arbeitstagen nach deren Registrierung und wird Sie über die
Registrierung Ihres Antrags (oder die Notwendigkeit weiterer Informationen
im Hinblick auf dessen Registrierung und/oder Bearbeitung) unterrichten.
 
 

References

Visible links
1. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/...
2. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/...
3. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/...

ve_sg.accessdoc (SG), Secretariat General of the European Commission

[1]Ares(2020)2395991 - RE: access to documents request - Von der Leyen
videoconference meetings --- Ref. GESTDEM 2020/2570

Sent by ve_sg.accessdoc (SG) <[SG request email]>. All responses have
to be sent to this email address.
Envoyé par ve_sg.accessdoc (SG) <[SG request email]>. Toutes les
réponses doivent être effectuées à cette adresse électronique.

Dear Sir,

Thank you for your e-mail of 05/05/2020. We hereby acknowledge receipt of
your application for access to documents, which was registered on
06/05/2020 under reference number GESTDEM 2020/2570.

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 29/05/2020. 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 (rc)

-----Original Message-----
From: Peter <[FOI #7933 email]>
Sent: Tuesday, May 5, 2020 5:49 PM
To: SG ACCES DOCUMENTS <[email address]>
Subject: access to documents request - Von der Leyen videoconference
meetings

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 documents - including but not limited to minutes, (hand-written)
notes, audio recordings, verbatim reports, operational conclusions, lines
to take, briefings, e-mails, and presentations - related to the following
video conference meetings President Von der Leyen has held with
organisations and self-employed individuals.

This includes the 16 March 2020 videoconference with CureVac
representatives and the 25 March 2020 with CEOs, but also any other
videoconferences with companies that have not been made public yet.

I prefer to receive these documents digitally, so please consider the
environment by not sending me postal mail.

Sincerely,
Peter Teffer

postal address:
Peter Teffer
Ekko Voorkamer
Bemuurde Weerd WZ 3
3513 BH Utrecht
The Netherlands

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

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 #7933 email]

If [SG request email] is the wrong address for information requests
to Secretariat General of the European Commission, please tell the
AsktheEU.org team on email [email address]

This message and all replies from Secretariat General of the European
Commission will be published on the AsktheEU.org website. For more
information see our dedicated page for EU public officials at
[2]https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www....

Please note that in some cases publication of requests and responses will
be delayed.

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

References

Visible links
1. https://webgate.ec.testa.eu/Ares/documen...
2. https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www....

hide quoted sections

Secretariat General of the European Commission

Dear Sir,

We refer to your request for access to documents dated 05/05/2020, registered on 06/05/2020 under reference Gestdem 2020/2570.

The description given in your application does not enable us to identify concrete documents which would correspond to your request and more particularly the part of your request related to:
” … but also any other videoconferences with companies that have not been made public yet”.

We therefore invite you, pursuant to Article 6(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 regarding public access to documents, to provide us with more detailed information on the documents which you seek to obtain, more particularly the topic(s) of the requested documents, etc…

If you need assistance in clarifying or specifying your application, you can contact us by email to: [email address]

In accordance with Article 2, third paragraph of the Implementing Rules to Regulation 1049/2001, the 15 working days time limit for handling your application will start running when we receive the requested clarifications.

Thank you in advance for your understanding.

Yours sincerely,

Access to documents team - RC
SG.C.1
Transparency

-----Original Message-----
From: Peter <[FOI #7933 email]>
Sent: Tuesday, May 5, 2020 5:49 PM
To: SG ACCES DOCUMENTS <[email address]>
Subject: access to documents request - Von der Leyen videoconference meetings

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 documents - including but not limited to minutes, (hand-written) notes, audio recordings, verbatim reports, operational conclusions, lines to take, briefings, e-mails, and presentations - related to the following video conference meetings President Von der Leyen has held with organisations and self-employed individuals.

This includes the 16 March 2020 videoconference with CureVac representatives and the 25 March 2020 with CEOs, but also any other videoconferences with companies that have not been made public yet.

I prefer to receive these documents digitally, so please consider the environment by not sending me postal mail.

Sincerely,
Peter Teffer

postal address:
Peter Teffer
Ekko Voorkamer
Bemuurde Weerd WZ 3
3513 BH Utrecht
The Netherlands

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

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 #7933 email]

If [SG request email] is the wrong address for information requests to Secretariat General of the European Commission, please tell the AsktheEU.org team on email [email address]

This message and all replies from Secretariat General of the European Commission will be published on the AsktheEU.org website. For more information see our dedicated page for EU public officials at https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www....

Please note that in some cases publication of requests and responses will be delayed.

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

hide quoted sections

Dear Madam, Sir,

I write in reply to your request for further information regarding my application for access to documents, which was registered on 06/05/2020 under reference number GESTDEM 2020/2570.

I have asked for documents related to videoconferences held with organisations and self-employed individuals (lobbyists). The register on the website of President Von der Leyen only lists the two videoconferences I mentioned. However, it has been the case in the past that the register was not properly and timely updated. Therefore, there is a possibility that further videoconferences have been held that have not yet been registered. If that is the case, I would like my application to cover those videoconferences as well.

I hope this clarifies my request for documents.

All the best,
Peter Teffer

Secretariat General of the European Commission

Dear Sir,

Many thanks for your clarification email.

Could you please confirm us that those videoconferences you mentioned are also related with COVID-19 matters - as per the two other videoconferences you are asking for?

Many thanks in advance and kind regards,

Access to documents team (cr)
SG.C.1
Transparency

-----Original Message-----
From: Peter <[FOI #7933 email]>
Sent: Wednesday, May 6, 2020 2:21 PM
To: SG ACCES DOCUMENTS <[email address]>
Subject: RE: access to documents request - Von der Leyen videoconference meetings

Dear Madam, Sir,

I write in reply to your request for further information regarding my application for access to documents, which was registered on 06/05/2020 under reference number GESTDEM 2020/2570.

I have asked for documents related to videoconferences held with organisations and self-employed individuals (lobbyists). The register on the website of President Von der Leyen only lists the two videoconferences I mentioned. However, it has been the case in the past that the register was not properly and timely updated. Therefore, there is a possibility that further videoconferences have been held that have not yet been registered. If that is the case, I would like my application to cover those videoconferences as well.

I hope this clarifies my request for documents.

All the best,
Peter Teffer

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

Dear Sir,

We refer to your request for access to documents dated 05/05/2020, registered on 06/05/2020 under reference Gestdem 2020/2570.

The description given in your application does not enable us to identify concrete documents which would correspond to your request and more particularly the part of your request related to:
” … but also any other videoconferences with companies that have not been made public yet”.

We therefore invite you, pursuant to Article 6(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 regarding public access to documents, to provide us with more detailed information on the documents which you seek to obtain, more particularly the topic(s) of the requested documents, etc…

If you need assistance in clarifying or specifying your application, you can contact us by email to: [email address]

In accordance with Article 2, third paragraph of the Implementing Rules to Regulation 1049/2001, the 15 working days time limit for handling your application will start running when we receive the requested clarifications.

Thank you in advance for your understanding.

Yours sincerely,

Access to documents team - RC
SG.C.1
Transparency

-------------------------------------------------------------------
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FOI #7933 email]

This message and all replies from Secretariat General of the European Commission will be published on the AsktheEU.org website. For more information see our dedicated page for EU public officials at https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www....

Please note that in some cases publication of requests and responses will be delayed.

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

hide quoted sections

Secretariat General of the European Commission

Dear Sir,

Please find a kind reminder.

Many thanks in advance and kind regards,

Access to documents team (cr)
SG.C.1
Transparency

-----Original Message-----
From: SG ACCES DOCUMENTS
Sent: Wednesday, May 6, 2020 3:29 PM
To: 'Peter' <[FOI #7933 email]>
Subject: RE: access to documents request - Von der Leyen videoconference meetings

Dear Sir,

Many thanks for your clarification email.

Could you please confirm us that those videoconferences you mentioned are also related with COVID-19 matters - as per the two other videoconferences you are asking for?

Many thanks in advance and kind regards,

Access to documents team (cr)
SG.C.1
Transparency

-----Original Message-----
From: Peter <[FOI #7933 email]>
Sent: Wednesday, May 6, 2020 2:21 PM
To: SG ACCES DOCUMENTS <[email address]>
Subject: RE: access to documents request - Von der Leyen videoconference meetings

Dear Madam, Sir,

I write in reply to your request for further information regarding my application for access to documents, which was registered on 06/05/2020 under reference number GESTDEM 2020/2570.

I have asked for documents related to videoconferences held with organisations and self-employed individuals (lobbyists). The register on the website of President Von der Leyen only lists the two videoconferences I mentioned. However, it has been the case in the past that the register was not properly and timely updated. Therefore, there is a possibility that further videoconferences have been held that have not yet been registered. If that is the case, I would like my application to cover those videoconferences as well.

I hope this clarifies my request for documents.

All the best,
Peter Teffer

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

Dear Sir,

We refer to your request for access to documents dated 05/05/2020, registered on 06/05/2020 under reference Gestdem 2020/2570.

The description given in your application does not enable us to identify concrete documents which would correspond to your request and more particularly the part of your request related to:
” … but also any other videoconferences with companies that have not been made public yet”.

We therefore invite you, pursuant to Article 6(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 regarding public access to documents, to provide us with more detailed information on the documents which you seek to obtain, more particularly the topic(s) of the requested documents, etc…

If you need assistance in clarifying or specifying your application, you can contact us by email to: [email address]

In accordance with Article 2, third paragraph of the Implementing Rules to Regulation 1049/2001, the 15 working days time limit for handling your application will start running when we receive the requested clarifications.

Thank you in advance for your understanding.

Yours sincerely,

Access to documents team - RC
SG.C.1
Transparency

-------------------------------------------------------------------
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FOI #7933 email]

This message and all replies from Secretariat General of the European Commission will be published on the AsktheEU.org website. For more information see our dedicated page for EU public officials at https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www....

Please note that in some cases publication of requests and responses will be delayed.

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

hide quoted sections

Dear Madam, Sir,

Thanks for your reply. You are asking me a question to which I possibly cannot have the answer. If any videoconferences held by the president of the Commission have not been registered, I have no way of knowing they took place - let alone know what the topics of said hypothetical videoconferences has been.

I can only speculate that it seems likely that any videoconferences with private organisations held in the past two months have all been related to COVID-19 in some way - but I cannot be 100% certain of this.

I feel it is somewhat unfair to ask such questions of the person doing the access to documents request. It is the Commission SG that surely has the answer, and could quickly determine whether any additional videoconferences have been held that have not yet been registered.

Best
Peter Teffer

Secretariat General of the European Commission

Your message has been received by the Transparency Unit of the
Secretariat-General of the European Commission.
Requests for public access to documents are treated on the basis of
[1]Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 of 30 May 2001 regarding public access to
European Parliament, Council and Commission documents.
The Secretariat-General will reply to your request within 15 working days
upon registration of your request and will duly inform you of the
registration of the request (or of any additional information to be
provided in view of its registration and/or treatment).
 
 
L’unité «Transparence» du secrétariat général de la Commission européenne
a bien reçu votre message.
Les demandes d’accès du public aux documents sont traitées sur la base du
[2]règlement (CE) n° 1049/2001 du 30 mai 2001 relatif à l’accès du public
aux documents du Parlement européen, du Conseil et de la Commission.
Le secrétariat général répondra à votre demande dans un délai de 15 jours
ouvrables à compter de la date d’enregistrement de votre demande, et vous
informera de cet enregistrement (ou vous indiquera toute information
supplémentaire à fournir en vue de l'enregistrement et/ou du traitement de
votre demande).
 
 
Ihre Nachricht ist beim Referat „Transparenz“ des Generalsekretariats der
Europäischen Kommission eingegangen.
Anträge auf Zugang zu Dokumenten werden auf der Grundlage der
[3]Verordnung (EG) Nr. 1049/2001 vom 30. Mai 2001 über den Zugang der
Öffentlichkeit zu Dokumenten des Europäischen Parlaments, des Rates und
der Kommission behandelt.
Das Generalsekretariat beantwortet Ihre Anfrage innerhalb von
15 Arbeitstagen nach deren Registrierung und wird Sie über die
Registrierung Ihres Antrags (oder die Notwendigkeit weiterer Informationen
im Hinblick auf dessen Registrierung und/oder Bearbeitung) unterrichten.
 
 

References

Visible links
1. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/...
2. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/...
3. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/...

Secretariat General of the European Commission

1 Attachment

Dear Sir,

 

Please find attached a communication regarding your request for access to
documents registered with the above mentioned reference.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

ve_sg.dsg2.d3(SG), Secretariat General of the European Commission

12 Attachments

Please find attached document Ares(2020)3207536 from HAAG Marcel (SG.DSG2.D) dated 19/06/2020.

Veuillez trouver ci-joint le document Ares(2020)3207536 de HAAG Marcel (SG.DSG2.D) daté du 19/06/2020.

Dear Madam, Sir,

Please pass this on to the person who reviews confirmatory applications.

I am filing the following confirmatory application with regards to my access to documents request, which was registered on 06/05/2020 under reference number GESTDEM 2020/2570.

I requested all documents related to the 16 March 2020 videoconference with CureVac representatives. The Commission identified only two documents about that videoconference: a presentation of CureVac activities and a press statement published following the meeting.

I find it unlikely that these are the only two documents in possession of the Commission. I will explain why.

As the press statement (document 2) points out in its first sentence, "the Commission offered up to €80 million of financial support to CureVac". I find it difficult to believe that the decision to offer up to €80m of financial support was made without the existence of any internal Commission documents about this financial support. Surely the decision to offer such a large sum of money was not made during the meeting, based on one presentation by the company itself?

It is also peculiar that there were no preparatory documents identified, like lines to take or briefings for the President. I also question whether there have not been any minutes or other documents that summarised what has been said at the videoconference.

Therefore, I believe that more documents should exist related to that first videoconference.

Secondly, the presentation (document 1) has been heavily redacted. This has been done with a reference to protection of commercial interests. However, it is very much in the public interest to be able to assess why CureVac was selected to receive this sum of €80 million of financial support. It is in the public interest of Europeans that a vaccine is made, and that the limited financial resources of the Commission and the EIB go to the companies that have the highest chance of succeeding. By redacting whole pages of the presentation, the Commission is severely limiting the public to assess whether CureVac is a company that deserves that trust - and by extension public funds.

Finally, I specificially asked for documents related to all videoconferences held with organisations and self-employed individuals (lobbyists), even the ones that were not yet mentioned on the President's website. As I wrote in my e-mails from 6 May and 7 May, it has been the case in the past that the register was not properly and timely updated. Making sure the register is up-to-date is the Commission's responsibility.

Indeed it now appears to have been the case that the Commission was late in registering the page regarding the President's meetings with organisations and self-employed individuals. Since I filed my request, the page has been updated with additional meetings, including videoconferences that took place before the date of my request:

17/04/2020 or 30/04/2020 Videoconference with Chairman of Volvo, Chairman of Siemens and Maersk, CEO of Air Liquide (registered multiple times)
21/04/2020 Videoconference with the Chairman of Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund

It should have been obvious to the Commission that these meetings were part of my original request, and that documents relating to them should have been included in your reply.

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

Sincerely,
Peter Teffer

Secretariat General of the European Commission

Your message has been received by the Transparency Unit of the
Secretariat-General of the European Commission.
Requests for public access to documents are treated on the basis of
[1]Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 of 30 May 2001 regarding public access to
European Parliament, Council and Commission documents.
The Secretariat-General will reply to your request within 15 working days
upon registration of your request and will duly inform you of the
registration of the request (or of any additional information to be
provided in view of its registration and/or treatment).
 
 
L’unité «Transparence» du secrétariat général de la Commission européenne
a bien reçu votre message.
Les demandes d’accès du public aux documents sont traitées sur la base du
[2]règlement (CE) n° 1049/2001 du 30 mai 2001 relatif à l’accès du public
aux documents du Parlement européen, du Conseil et de la Commission.
Le secrétariat général répondra à votre demande dans un délai de 15 jours
ouvrables à compter de la date d’enregistrement de votre demande, et vous
informera de cet enregistrement (ou vous indiquera toute information
supplémentaire à fournir en vue de l'enregistrement et/ou du traitement de
votre demande).
 
 
Ihre Nachricht ist beim Referat „Transparenz“ des Generalsekretariats der
Europäischen Kommission eingegangen.
Anträge auf Zugang zu Dokumenten werden auf der Grundlage der
[3]Verordnung (EG) Nr. 1049/2001 vom 30. Mai 2001 über den Zugang der
Öffentlichkeit zu Dokumenten des Europäischen Parlaments, des Rates und
der Kommission behandelt.
Das Generalsekretariat beantwortet Ihre Anfrage innerhalb von
15 Arbeitstagen nach deren Registrierung und wird Sie über die
Registrierung Ihres Antrags (oder die Notwendigkeit weiterer Informationen
im Hinblick auf dessen Registrierung und/oder Bearbeitung) unterrichten.
 
 

References

Visible links
1. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/...
2. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/...
3. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/...

ve_sg.accessdoc (SG), Secretariat General of the European Commission

[1]Ares(2020)3325439 - RE: Internal review of access to documents request
- Von der Leyen videoconference meetings

Sent by ve_sg.accessdoc (SG) <[SG request email]>. All responses have
to be sent to this email address.
Envoyé par ve_sg.accessdoc (SG) <[SG request email]>. Toutes les
réponses doivent être effectuées à cette adresse électronique.

Dear Sir,

Thank you for your email dated 25/06/2020 by which you request, pursuant
to Regulation No 1049/2001 regarding public access to European Parliament,
Council and Commission documents, a review of the position taken by the
Secretary-General in reply to your initial application GESTDEM 2020/2570.

We hereby acknowledge receipt of your confirmatory application for access
to documents which was registered on 25/06/2020 (Ares(2020)3325368).

Your application will be handled within 15 working days (16/07/2020). In
case this time limit needs to be extended, you will be informed in due
course.

Please be informed that the answer to your confirmatory application is a
formal Commission decision that will be notified to you by express
delivery. Thank you for providing your contact phone number, so that the
external delivery service can contact you in case of absence.

Please note that the Commission will not use your phone number for any
other purpose than for informing the delivery service, and that it will
delete it immediately thereafter.

Yours faithfully,

Access to documents team (RC)

-----Original Message-----
From: Peter <[FOI #7933 email]>
Sent: Thursday, June 25, 2020 5:21 PM
To: SG ACCES DOCUMENTS <[email address]>
Subject: Internal review of access to documents request - Von der Leyen
videoconference meetings

Dear Madam, Sir,

Please pass this on to the person who reviews confirmatory applications.

I am filing the following confirmatory application with regards to my
access to documents request, which was registered on 06/05/2020 under
reference number GESTDEM 2020/2570.

I requested all documents related to the 16 March 2020 videoconference
with CureVac representatives. The Commission identified only two documents
about that videoconference: a presentation of CureVac activities and a
press statement published following the meeting.

I find it unlikely that these are the only two documents in possession of
the Commission. I will explain why.

As the press statement (document 2) points out in its first sentence, "the
Commission offered up to €80 million of financial support to CureVac". I
find it difficult to believe that the decision to offer up to €80m of
financial support was made without the existence of any internal
Commission documents about this financial support. Surely the decision to
offer such a large sum of money was not made during the meeting, based on
one presentation by the company itself?

It is also peculiar that there were no preparatory documents identified,
like lines to take or briefings for the President. I also question whether
there have not been any minutes or other documents that summarised what
has been said at the videoconference.

Therefore, I believe that more documents should exist related to that
first videoconference.

Secondly, the presentation (document 1) has been heavily redacted. This
has been done with a reference to protection of commercial interests.
However, it is very much in the public interest to be able to assess why
CureVac was selected to receive this sum of €80 million of financial
support. It is in the public interest of Europeans that a vaccine is made,
and that the limited financial resources of the Commission and the EIB go
to the companies that have the highest chance of succeeding. By redacting
whole pages of the presentation, the Commission is severely limiting the
public to assess whether CureVac is a company that deserves that trust -
and by extension public funds.

Finally, I specificially asked for documents related to all
videoconferences held with organisations and self-employed individuals
(lobbyists), even the ones that were not yet mentioned on the President's
website. As I wrote in my e-mails from 6 May and 7 May, it has been the
case in the past that the register was not properly and timely updated.
Making sure the register is up-to-date is the Commission's responsibility.

Indeed it now appears to have been the case that the Commission was late
in registering the page regarding the President's meetings with
organisations and self-employed individuals. Since I filed my request, the
page has been updated with additional meetings, including videoconferences
that took place before the date of my request:

17/04/2020 or 30/04/2020 Videoconference with Chairman of Volvo, Chairman
of Siemens and Maersk, CEO of Air Liquide (registered multiple times)
21/04/2020 Videoconference with the Chairman of Deutscher
Gewerkschaftsbund

It should have been obvious to the Commission that these meetings were
part of my original request, and that documents relating to them should
have been included in your reply.

A full history of my request and all correspondence is available on the
Internet at this address:
[2]https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www....

Sincerely,
Peter Teffer

-------------------------------------------------------------------
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FOI #7933 email]

This message and all replies from Secretariat General of the European
Commission will be published on the AsktheEU.org website. For more
information see our dedicated page for EU public officials at
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References

Visible links
1. https://webgate.ec.testa.eu/Ares/documen...
2. https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www....
3. https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www....

hide quoted sections

ve_sg.accessdoc (SG), Secretariat General of the European Commission

1 Attachment

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

[5]Ares(2020)3780848 - holding reply for confirmatory request 2020-2570

Sent by ve_sg.accessdoc (SG) <[SG request email]>. All responses have
to be sent to this email address.
Envoyé par ve_sg.accessdoc (SG) <[SG request email]>. Toutes les
réponses doivent être effectuées à cette adresse électronique.

Dear Mr Teffer,

We refer to your email of  25 June 2020, registered on the same day, by
which you submit a confirmatory application in accordance with Article
7(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 regarding public access to European
Parliament, Council and Commission documents[6]^[1] ("Regulation (EC) No
1049/2001").

 

Your confirmatory application is currently being handled. Unfortunately,
we have not yet been able to gather all the elements needed to carry out a
full analysis of your request and to take a final decision.  Therefore, we
are not in a position to reply to your confirmatory request within the
prescribed time limit which expired on 16 July 2020.

 

Consequently, we have to extend this period by another 15 working days in
accordance with Article 8(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001. The new
deadline expires on 07/08/2020.

 

However, we can assure you that we are doing our utmost to provide you
with a final reply within the next 15 working days.

 

We regret this additional delay and sincerely apologise for any
inconvenience this may cause.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

María OLIVÁN AVILÉS
Head of Unit

[7]cid:image001.gif@01D13362.41D673C0

European Commission

Secretariat General

Unit C.1 (Transparency, Document Management and Access to Documents)

 

 

 

 

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

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

[8][1]               Official Journal L 145 of 31.5.2001, p. 43.

References

Visible links
1. file:///tmp/cid:filelist.xml@01D65C20.F97DAC00
2. file:///tmp/cid:editdata.mso
3. file:///tmp/~~themedata~~
4. file:///tmp/~~colorschememapping~~
5. https://webgate.ec.testa.eu/Ares/documen...
6. file:///tmp/foiextract20211201-31628-lrhqrl#_ftn1
8. file:///tmp/foiextract20211201-31628-lrhqrl#_ftnref1

Dear Madam, Sir,

I refer to my confirmatory application which was registered on 25/06/2020 (Ares(2020)3325368) (related to the initial application GESTDEM 2020/2570).

On 17 July, the Secretariat General extended the deadline to reply by 15 working days. This new deadline, 7 August, is now in the past. This means there is no longer any legal basis for any further delay.

Please wrap up my confirmatory application promptly.

Sincerely,
Peter Teffer

Secretariat General of the European Commission

Your message has been received by the Transparency Unit of the
Secretariat-General of the European Commission.
Requests for public access to documents are treated on the basis of
[1]Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 of 30 May 2001 regarding public access to
European Parliament, Council and Commission documents.
The Secretariat-General will reply to your request within 15 working days
upon registration of your request and will duly inform you of the
registration of the request (or of any additional information to be
provided in view of its registration and/or treatment).
 
 
L’unité «Transparence» du secrétariat général de la Commission européenne
a bien reçu votre message.
Les demandes d’accès du public aux documents sont traitées sur la base du
[2]règlement (CE) n° 1049/2001 du 30 mai 2001 relatif à l’accès du public
aux documents du Parlement européen, du Conseil et de la Commission.
Le secrétariat général répondra à votre demande dans un délai de 15 jours
ouvrables à compter de la date d’enregistrement de votre demande, et vous
informera de cet enregistrement (ou vous indiquera toute information
supplémentaire à fournir en vue de l'enregistrement et/ou du traitement de
votre demande).
 
 
Ihre Nachricht ist beim Referat „Transparenz“ des Generalsekretariats der
Europäischen Kommission eingegangen.
Anträge auf Zugang zu Dokumenten werden auf der Grundlage der
[3]Verordnung (EG) Nr. 1049/2001 vom 30. Mai 2001 über den Zugang der
Öffentlichkeit zu Dokumenten des Europäischen Parlaments, des Rates und
der Kommission behandelt.
Das Generalsekretariat beantwortet Ihre Anfrage innerhalb von
15 Arbeitstagen nach deren Registrierung und wird Sie über die
Registrierung Ihres Antrags (oder die Notwendigkeit weiterer Informationen
im Hinblick auf dessen Registrierung und/oder Bearbeitung) unterrichten.
 
 

References

Visible links
1. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/...
2. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/...
3. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/...

ve_sg.accessdoc (SG), Secretariat General of the European Commission

[1]Ares(2020)4281754 - RE: Ares(2020)3780848 - holding reply for
confirmatory request 2020-2570

Sent by ve_sg.accessdoc (SG) <[SG request email]>. All responses have
to be sent to this email address.
Envoyé par ve_sg.accessdoc (SG) <[SG request email]>. Toutes les
réponses doivent être effectuées à cette adresse électronique.

Dear Mr Teffer,

Thank you for your email.

Your application is currently being handled. However, due to ongoing third
party and inter-service consultations, we were not able to reply on time.

We would like to apologise for the inconvenience and we would like to
assure you that we are doing our utmost to provide you with a final reply
as soon as possible.

Thank you for your understanding.

Kind regards,

Access to documents team (rc)
SG.C.1
Transparency
Berl. 07/251

-----Original Message-----
From: Peter <[FOI #7933 email]>
Sent: Friday, August 14, 2020 4:16 PM
To: SG ACCES DOCUMENTS <[email address]>
Subject: Re: Ares(2020)3780848 - holding reply for confirmatory request
2020-2570

Dear Madam, Sir,

I refer to my confirmatory application which was registered on 25/06/2020
(Ares(2020)3325368) (related to the initial application GESTDEM
2020/2570).

On 17 July, the Secretariat General extended the deadline to reply by 15
working days. This new deadline, 7 August, is now in the past. This means
there is no longer any legal basis for any further delay.

Please wrap up my confirmatory application promptly.

Sincerely,
Peter Teffer

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

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

 [5]Ares(2020)3780848 - holding reply for confirmatory request 2020-2570

 Sent by ve_sg.accessdoc (SG) <[SG request email]>. All responses have
 to be sent to this email address.
 Envoyé par ve_sg.accessdoc (SG) <[SG request email]>. Toutes les
 réponses doivent être effectuées à cette adresse électronique.

 Dear Mr Teffer,

 We refer to your email of  25 June 2020, registered on the same day, by
 which you submit a confirmatory application in accordance with Article
 7(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 regarding public access to European
 Parliament, Council and Commission documents[6]^[1] ("Regulation (EC) No
 1049/2001").

  

 Your confirmatory application is currently being handled. Unfortunately,
 we have not yet been able to gather all the elements needed to carry out
a
 full analysis of your request and to take a final decision.  Therefore,
we
 are not in a position to reply to your confirmatory request within the
 prescribed time limit which expired on 16 July 2020.

  

 Consequently, we have to extend this period by another 15 working days in
 accordance with Article 8(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001. The new
 deadline expires on 07/08/2020.

  

 However, we can assure you that we are doing our utmost to provide you
 with a final reply within the next 15 working days.

  

 We regret this additional delay and sincerely apologise for any
 inconvenience this may cause.

  

 Yours sincerely,

  

 María OLIVÁN AVILÉS
 Head of Unit

 [7]cid:image001.gif@01D13362.41D673C0

 European Commission

 Secretariat General

 Unit C.1 (Transparency, Document Management and Access to Documents)

  

  

  

  

 ------------------------

 ------------------------

 [8][1]               Official Journal L 145 of 31.5.2001, p. 43.

References

 Visible links
 1. [2]file:///tmp/cid:filelist.xml@01D65C20.F97DAC00
 2. [3]file:///tmp/cid:editdata.mso
 3. [4]file:///tmp/~~themedata~~
 4. [5]file:///tmp/~~colorschememapping~~
 5.
[6]https://webgate.ec.testa.eu/Ares/documen...
 6. [7]file:///tmp/foiextract20200717-20550-g5n3dh#_ftn1
 8. [8]file:///tmp/foiextract20200717-20550-g5n3dh#_ftnref1

-------------------------------------------------------------------
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FOI #7933 email]

This message and all replies from Secretariat General of the European
Commission will be published on the AsktheEU.org website. For more
information see our dedicated page for EU public officials at
[9]https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www....

Please note that in some cases publication of requests and responses will
be delayed.

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

References

Visible links
1. https://webgate.ec.testa.eu/Ares/documen...
2. file:///tmp/cid:filelist.xml@01D65C20.F97DAC00
3. file:///tmp/cid:editdata.mso
4. file:///tmp/~~themedata
5. file:///tmp/~~colorschememapping
6. https://webgate.ec.testa.eu/Ares/documen...
7. file:///tmp/foiextract20200717-20550-g5n3dh#_ftn1
8. file:///tmp/foiextract20200717-20550-g5n3dh#_ftnref1
9. https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www....

hide quoted sections

Secretariat General of the European Commission

4 Attachments

Dear Mr TEFFER Peter,

 

Please find attached the electronic version of Commission Decision
C(2020)7962 final as adopted by the European Commission on 11.11.2020.

 

Given the exceptional circumstances due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the
formal notification of the decision under Article 297 TFEU is being made
only in electronic form.

 

Please confirm receipt of the attached document by return e-mail.

 

Kind regards,

 

 

Giovanni VALASTRO

COMMISSION EUROPEENNE

Équipe certification/notification 

BERL 05/155

Tél: +32-2-29 61594

Email: [email address]

 

 

Secretariat General of the European Commission

Dear Mr TEFFER Peter,

Could you please confirm the receipt of the document sent on the
12.11.2020

Kind regards,

Giovanni VALASTRO

COMMISSION EUROPEENNE

Équipe certification/notification 

BERL 05/155

Tél: +32-2-29 61594

Email: [email address]

 

 

 

From: SG GREFFE CERTIFICATION
Sent: Thursday, November 12, 2020 1:59 PM
To: '[FOI #7933 email]'
<[FOI #7933 email]>
Cc: OBLIN Frederic (SG) <[email address]>
Subject: C(2020) 7962 final addressed to TEFFER Peter - Ekko Voorkamer

 

Dear Mr TEFFER Peter,

 

Please find attached the electronic version of Commission Decision
C(2020)7962 final as adopted by the European Commission on 11.11.2020.

 

Given the exceptional circumstances due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the
formal notification of the decision under Article 297 TFEU is being made
only in electronic form.

 

Please confirm receipt of the attached document by return e-mail.

 

Kind regards,

 

 

Giovanni VALASTRO

COMMISSION EUROPEENNE

Équipe certification/notification 

BERL 05/155

Tél: +32-2-29 61594

Email: [1][email address]

 

 

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]

Secretariat General of the European Commission

Dear Mr TEFFER Peter,

It is very important for us.

Please, could you please acknowledge the receipt of the document enclosed
in the message addressed to you ?

Giovanni VALASTRO

COMMISSION EUROPEENNE

Équipe certification/notification 

BERL 05/155

Tél: +32-2-29 61594

Email: [email address]

 

 

From: SG GREFFE CERTIFICATION
Sent: Tuesday, November 24, 2020 12:15 PM
To: [FOI #7933 email]
Cc: OBLIN Frederic (SG) <[email address]>
Subject: 1 RA C(2020) 7962 final addressed to TEFFER Peter - Ekko
Voorkamer

 

Dear Mr TEFFER Peter,

Could you please confirm the receipt of the document sent on the
12.11.2020

Kind regards,

Giovanni VALASTRO

COMMISSION EUROPEENNE

Équipe certification/notification 

BERL 05/155

Tél: +32-2-29 61594

Email: [1][email address]

 

 

 

From: SG GREFFE CERTIFICATION
Sent: Thursday, November 12, 2020 1:59 PM
To: '[FOI #7933 email]'
<[2][FOI #7933 email]>
Cc: OBLIN Frederic (SG) <[3][email address]>
Subject: C(2020) 7962 final addressed to TEFFER Peter - Ekko Voorkamer

 

Dear Mr TEFFER Peter,

 

Please find attached the electronic version of Commission Decision
C(2020)7962 final as adopted by the European Commission on 11.11.2020.

 

Given the exceptional circumstances due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the
formal notification of the decision under Article 297 TFEU is being made
only in electronic form.

 

Please confirm receipt of the attached document by return e-mail.

 

Kind regards,

 

 

Giovanni VALASTRO

COMMISSION EUROPEENNE

Équipe certification/notification 

BERL 05/155

Tél: +32-2-29 61594

Email: [4][email address]

 

 

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. mailto:[FOI #7933 email]
3. mailto:[email address]
4. mailto:[email address]

Dear Mr Valastro,

I can confirm receipt of the Commission's reply from 12 November 2020.

However, I cannot do so without highlighting the irony of the impatience which you expressed with your recent e-mails. The patience the Commission services have needed to muster before receiving this confirmation is nothing compared to the patience the Commission has demanded of me.

I remind you that instead of within the legally allowed 2 x 15 working days, I received my reply after one hundred (100!) working days.

The Commission's last message before its reply, claiming that it was doing its "utmost to provide you with a final reply as soon as possible", was followed by 63 working days of silence.

Yet only eight working days after the European Commission sent me its reply, it has started sending reminder e-mails asking for a confirmation of receipt. And then two (2!) days later I receive another reminder, introduced by the sentence "It is very important for us", without any hint of irony.

Have you not stopped to think how this comes across? I'll tell you: as if the European Commission feels that citizens should respond promptly to its requests, while feeling no problems to ignore deadlines itself. It is almost like you are trying to craft an unpopular image of the European Commission on purpose.

I also would like to note that the meagre apology issued in the 12 November letter did not provide any explanation for the reply's lateness. Perhaps it is good to realise that such apologies ring hollow to the recipient.

Sincerely,
Peter Teffer

Secretariat General of the European Commission

Your message has been received by the Transparency Unit of the
Secretariat-General of the European Commission.
Requests for public access to documents are treated on the basis of
[1]Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 of 30 May 2001 regarding public access to
European Parliament, Council and Commission documents.
The Secretariat-General will reply to your request within 15 working days
upon registration of your request and will duly inform you of the
registration of the request (or of any additional information to be
provided in view of its registration and/or treatment).
 
 
L’unité «Transparence» du secrétariat général de la Commission européenne
a bien reçu votre message.
Les demandes d’accès du public aux documents sont traitées sur la base du
[2]règlement (CE) n° 1049/2001 du 30 mai 2001 relatif à l’accès du public
aux documents du Parlement européen, du Conseil et de la Commission.
Le secrétariat général répondra à votre demande dans un délai de 15 jours
ouvrables à compter de la date d’enregistrement de votre demande, et vous
informera de cet enregistrement (ou vous indiquera toute information
supplémentaire à fournir en vue de l'enregistrement et/ou du traitement de
votre demande).
 
 
Ihre Nachricht ist beim Referat „Transparenz“ des Generalsekretariats der
Europäischen Kommission eingegangen.
Anträge auf Zugang zu Dokumenten werden auf der Grundlage der
[3]Verordnung (EG) Nr. 1049/2001 vom 30. Mai 2001 über den Zugang der
Öffentlichkeit zu Dokumenten des Europäischen Parlaments, des Rates und
der Kommission behandelt.
Das Generalsekretariat beantwortet Ihre Anfrage innerhalb von
15 Arbeitstagen nach deren Registrierung und wird Sie über die
Registrierung Ihres Antrags (oder die Notwendigkeit weiterer Informationen
im Hinblick auf dessen Registrierung und/oder Bearbeitung) unterrichten.
 
 

References

Visible links
1. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/...
2. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/...
3. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/...