Ref. Ares(2021)2957660 - 04/05/2021
EUROPEAN COMMISSION
SECRETARIAT-GENERAL
Directorate A - Strategy, Better Regulation & Corporate Governance
The Director
Brussels
SG.A.3/TD/KB
Diogo Augusto
ask+request-9222-
xxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxx.xxx
Dear Mr Augusto,
Subject:
Your application for access to documents – GESTDEM 2021/1737
We refer to your e-mail of 20 March 2021 in which you make a request for access to:
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 all meetings between member of the
Commission and representatives of BusinessEurope from July 2020 to the
present.
Due to its wide scope, your request has been split between different services of the
Commission. This reply relates only to the documents linked to a meeting between Executive
Vice-President Dombrovskis and representatives of BusinessEurope that took place on 20
November 2020.
The following documents fall within the scope of your application:
Minutes of the meeting with BusinessEurope held on 20 November 2020, registered
under reference Ares(2021)2506110 (hereafter ‘document 1’).
Briefing for the meeting with BusinessEurope held on 20 November 2020, registered
under reference Ares(2021)2760479 (hereafter ‘document 2’).
We enclose a copy of document 1. This document was drawn up for internal use under the
responsibility of the relevant officials of the Cabinet of Executive Vice-President Dombrovskis.
It solely reflects the author's interpretation of the interventions made and does not set out any
official position of the third parties to which the document refers, which was not consulted on its
content. It does not reflect the position of the Commission and cannot be quoted as such.
Regarding document 2, I have concluded that it may be partially disclosed. Some parts of
document 2 have been blanked out as their disclosure is prevented by the exception to the right
of access laid down in the third indent of Article 4(1)(a) of Regulation 1049/2001.
The third indent of Article 4(1)(a) of Regulation 1049/2001 provides that ʻ[t]he institutions
shall refuse access to a document where disclosure would undermine the protection of […]
the public interest as regards […] international relations […]ʼ.
The relevant undisclosed parts of document 2 concern information about trade and political
relations of a number of key trade partners and include also an assessment of their policies in
this respect.
Public disclosure of that information, including the identification of the third countries
concerned, risk undermining the relations between the EU and those countries as it would
affect the atmosphere of mutual trust between the EU and the countries concerned. Also,
public access to this information would reveal strategic objectives of the Union that are
relevant in the framework of current trade and political relations with those countries as well
as ongoing and future trade negotiations.
It is not possible to provide more detailed explanation regarding the type or character of
information included in the withheld parts of the documents, without actually revealing them
and thus undermining the protection of the interest mentioned above.
Document 2 also contains CVs of two representatives of BusinessEurope. These CVs contain
several types of personal data such as names, work experience, education etc. The names of
the persons concerned as well as other data or information from which their identity can be
deduced undoubtedly constitute personal data in the meaning of Article 3(1) of Regulation
2018/1725.
There are reasons to assume that the legitimate interests of the data subjects concerned would
be prejudiced by the disclosure of the personal data reflected in the documents, as there is a
real and non-hypothetical risk that such public disclosure would harm their privacy and
subject them to unsolicited external contacts.
Consequently, I conclude that, pursuant to Article 4(1)(b) of Regulation 1049/2001, access
cannot be granted to the personal data, as the need to obtain access thereto for a purpose in
the public interest has not been substantiated and there is no reason to think that the
legitimate interests of the individuals concerned would not be prejudiced by the disclosure of
the personal data concerned.
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
this letter to the Secretary-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 Brussels
or by email to:
xxxxxxxxxx@xx.xxxxxx.xx
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Yours faithfully,
Michael WIMMER
Director
Annexes:
Minutes of the meeting with BusinessEurope held on 20 November 2020, registered
under reference Ares(2021)2506110 (hereafter ‘document 1’).
Briefing for the meeting with BusinessEurope held on 20 November 2020, registered
under reference Ares(2021)2760479 (hereafter ‘document 2’).
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Electronically signed on 28/04/2021 15:13 (UTC+02) in accordance with article 11 of Commission Decision C(2020) 4482