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Council of the European Union
General Secretariat
Directorate-General Communication and Information - COMM
Directorate Information and Outreach
Information Services Unit / Transparency
Head of Unit
Brussels, 9 June 2021
Mr Stefan Soesanto
Email: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxx.xxx
Ref. 21/0928-rh/nb
Request made on: 28.04.2021
Registered on:
29.04.2021
Deadline extension: 25.05.2021
Dear Mr Soesanto,
Thank you for your request for access to documents of the Council of the European Union.
1 I regret to inform you that access to document
8242/21 cannot be given for the reasons set out
below.
Document
8242/21 of 27 April 2021 is a note from EEAS and Commission to delegations on the
Cyber Diplomacy Toolbox - Lessons Learnt Exercise. It contains sensitive information on EU's
response to malicious cyber activities.
Release of the information contained in this document would jeopardise the public security by
revealing concrete provisions of a proposed working plan, its timeline and evaluation methods.
Therefore, having consulted with originating sources of the document, the General Secretariat is of
the opinion that disclosure of the document would undermine the protection of the public interest
as regards public security. As a consequence, the General Secretariat has to refuse access to the
document
.2
1
The General Secretariat of the Council has examined your request on the basis of the applicable rules:
Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council regarding public access to
European Parliament, Council and Commission documents (OJ L 145, 31.5.2001, p. 43) and the specific
provisions concerning public access to Council documents set out in Annex II to the Council's Rules of Procedure
(Council Decision No 2009/937/EU, OJ L 325, 11.12.2009, p. 35).
2
Article 4(1)(a), first indent, of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001.
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Moreover, the document concerns an issue which is stil under discussion within the Council.
Granting public access to a document intended for internal use on a process where a decision has
not yet been taken could seriously undermine the institution’s decision-making process. In fact,
public knowledge of this internal document could seriously undermine the decision-making process
as Member States might not fully engage or contribute to the lessons learned exercise if they
consider that their participation might lead to public access to positions shared on sensitive or even
classified matters such are those covered by the cyber diplomacy toolbox.
Having again consulted with originating sources of the document, the Council is of the opinion that
the description of the process itself, but also the outcome itself, is sensitive in nature and this
information being made public would seriously undermine the underlying objective of the whole
exercise.
Disclosure of the document at this stage would therefore seriously undermine the decision-making
process of the Council. As a consequence, the General Secretariat has to refuse access to the
document for this reason as well.
3
Having examined the context in which the document was drafted, on balance the General
Secretariat could not identify any evidence suggesting an overriding public interest in its
disclosure.
We have also looked into the possibility of releasing parts of the document.
4 However, as the
information contained in the document forms an inseparable whole, the General Secretariat is
unable to give partial access.
Pursuant to Article 7(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001, you may ask the Council to review this
decision within 15 working days of receiving this reply. Should you see the need for such a review,
you are invited to indicate the reasons thereof.
5
Yours sincerely,
Fernando FLORINDO
3
Article 4(3), first subparagraph, of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001.
4
Article 4(6) of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001.
5
Council documents on confirmatory applications are made available to the public. Pursuant to data protection
rules at EU level (Regulation (EU) No 2018/1725, if you make a confirmatory application your name wil only
appear in related documents if you have given your explicit consent.
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Document Outline