Europe Directorate
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
King Charles Street
London
SW1A 2AH
Email: xxxxxxx.xxx@xxx.xxx.xx
Website: www.fco.gov.uk/foi
Natacha Cingotti
By email:
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxx.xxx
17 July 2013
Dear Natacha Cingotti,
Freedom of Information (FOI) Request Ref: 0361-13
Thank you for your email of 23 April asking for documents that the Foreign and
Commonwealth Office (FCO) and the UK Permanent Representation to the EU holds in
relation to contacts between members of the Permanent Representation of the UK to the EU
and oil companies in relation to MIFID (the Proposal for a Directive of the European
Parliament and of the Council on markets in financial instruments repealing Directive
2004/39/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council) since 1 January 2012.
I am writing to confirm that we have now completed the search for the information which you
requested. I can confirm that the UK Representation in Brussels holds information relevant
to your request.
The FOI Act obliges us to respond to requests promptly, and in any case no later than 20
working days after receiving your request. However, when a qualified exemption applies to
the information and the public interest test is engaged, the Act allows the time for response
to be longer than 20 working days, and a full response must be provided within such time as
is reasonable in all circumstances of the case. We do, of course, aim to make all decisions
within 20 working days, including in cases where we need to consider where the public
interest lies in respect of a request for exempt information.
In this case, however, we have still not yet reached a decision on where the balance of the
public interest lies. We will respond fully to your request by 14 August but hope to be able to
send you some information within the next few days.
The specific exemption which applies in relation to your request is: Section 27 – International
Relations.
I hope you are satisfied with this reply. However, if you wish to make a complaint or if you
would like a review of our decision, please write to the FOI and DPA Team, King Charles
Street, Room K4.10-13, London, SW1A 2AH. E-mail:
xxxxxxx.xxx@xxx.xxx.xx. You have 40
working days to do so from the date of this letter.
If you are not content with the outcome of your complaint, you may then apply directly to the
Information Commissioner for a decision. Generally, the Information Commissioner cannot
make a decision unless you have exhausted the complaints procedure provided by the FCO.
The Information Commissioner can be contacted at: Information Commissioner's Office,
Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF.
You can also find out more about previous FOI replies published on our website at
Publications - Inside Government - GOV.UK. Yours sincerely,
Benjamin Norman
Benjamin Norman
EU Institutions Team
Europe Directorate
We keep and use information in line with the Data Protection Act 1998. We may release this personal information to other UK
government departments and public authorities.