Ref. Ares(2021)1208902 - 12/02/2021
EUROPEAN COMMISSION
DIRECTORATE-GENERAL FOR TRADE
Directorate R - Resources, Interinstitutional Relations, Communications and Civil Society
Resources, HR Business Correspondent and Planning
Brussels, 10 February 2021
TRADE.R.1.001/ML
Ms Lora Verheecke
Rue du Bronze 9
1070 Anderlecht
By email only:
ask+request-8962-
xxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxx.xxx
Subject:
Your application for access to documents – Ref GestDem 2021/0404
Dear Ms Verheecke,
I refer to your application dated 21/01/2021, in which you make a request for access to
documents under Regulation (EC) No 1049/20011 (‘Regulation 1049/2001’), registered
on the same date under the above mentioned reference number.
1. SCOPE OF YOUR REQUEST
In your request, you asked for access to documents containing details of DG TRADE's
expenditures on external consultants for each of the last five financial years (2015-2020)
and a detailed breakdown of the companies and projects or trade agreements financed by
these expenditures.
2. ASSESSMENT AND CONCLUSIONS UNDER REGULATION 1049/2001
In accordance with settled case law2, when an institution is asked to disclose a document,
it must assess, in each individual case, whether that document falls within the exceptions
to the right of public access to documents set out in Article 4 of Regulation 1049/2001.
Such assessment is carried out in a multi-step approach:
- first, the institution must satisfy itself that the document relates to one of the
exceptions, and if so, decide which parts of it are covered by that exception;
1 Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 May 2001
regarding public access to European Parliament, Council and Commission documents (OJ L 145,
31.5.2001, p. 43).
2 Judgment in
Sweden and Maurizio Turco v Council, Joined cases C-39/05 P and C-52/05 P,
EU:C:2008:374, paragraph 35.
Commission européenne/Europese Commissie, 1049 Bruxelles/Brussel, BELGIQUE/BELGIË - Tel. +32 22991111
Office: CHAR 07/152 - Tel. direct line +32 229-51085
- second, it must examine whether disclosure of the parts of the document in
question pose a ’
reasonably foreseeable and not purely hypothetical’ risk of
undermining the protection of the interest covered by the exception;
- third, if it takes the view that disclosure would undermine the protection of any of
the interests defined under Article 4(2) and Article 4(3) of Regulation 1049/2001,
the institution is required ’
to ascertain whether there is any overriding public
interest justifying disclosure’ 3.
In view of the objectives pursued by Regulation 1049/2001, notably to give the public
the widest possible right of access to documents4, ‘
the exceptions to that right […] must
be interpreted and applied strictly’5.
In reply to your request, let me clarify that information about external consultants as well
as other beneficiaries receiving funding from DG Trade (as well as from other European
Commission departments) is publicly available in the
Financial Transparency System (https://ec.europa.eu/budget/fts/index_en.htm).
The Commission is required to publish information on beneficiaries of EU funds
according to Article 38 of the financial regulation applicable to the general budget of the
Union. The European Commission maintains this website in order to make available
information on beneficiaries of EU funds. Information contained in this website is
processed in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and
of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the
processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data. However, if errors
are brought to our attention, we will correct them in line with the protection of personal
data principles.
The Financial Transparency System (by using different search options) allows to break
down the spending by financial year and by responsible departments. Please be informed
that the data for the financial year 2020 is expected to be published in June 2021. Given
that this website covers all the information that you are seeking, we trust that this
satisfies your request.
Yours sincerely,
Electronically signed
Sofia MUNOZ ALBARRAN
Head of Unit
3
Id., paragraphs 37-43. See also judgment in
Council v Sophie in ‘t Veld, C-350/12 P, EU:C:2014:2039,
paragraphs 52-64.
4 See Regulation 1049/2001, recital (4).
5 Judgment in
Sweden v Commission, C-64/05 P, EU:C:2007:802, paragraph 66.
2
Electronically signed on 10/02/2021 11:28 (UTC+01) in accordance with article 11 of Commission Decision C(2020) 4482