Ref. Ares(2021)5621877 - 14/09/2021
EUROPEAN COMMISSION
DIRECTORATE-GENERAL FOR HEALTH AND FOOD SAFETY
Food and feed safety, innovation
Pesticides and biocides
Brussels,
SANTE/E4/(2021)6325300
Salomé Roynel
PAN Europe
Rue de la Pacification, 67
1000 Brussels, Belgium
By email only:
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxx.xxx
Dear Ms Roynel,
Subject:
Your application for access to documents – Ref GestDem No 2021/4822
We refer to your email dated 16 July 2021 in which you make an access to document on
the basis of Regulation (EC) No 1049/20011 (or ‘the Regulation’) registered on
23 August 2021 under the above-mentioned number.
1. Scope of your request
In your request, you asked access to:
“- Comparative Assessment's review under the REFIT program (article 50, annex IV and
Guidance): PAI Working Group's ongoing work and inputs, contribution of stakeholders.
- Statistics on candidates for Substitution's approved in PPPs, on comparative
assessments which led to substitution since 2018.
- Role of EPPO guidelines, potential interferences and pressures to undermine EU
standards.
- REFIT alignment on the EU Green Deal objectives (role of the Regulation 1107/2009 in
the achievement of the target 2 of the Farm to Fork Strategy).”
2. Assessment of the documents
We have identified 2 documents falling under the scope of your request.
Since the documents originate from a third party, in accordance with Art. 4(4) of the
Regulation (EC) 1049/2001, the originators of the documents have been consulted in
order to assess whether an exception established in Article 4 applies to these documents.
Having examined the documents under the provisions of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001
and considered the opinion of the third party, we have come to the conclusion that partial
access can be granted to these documents are as their full disclosure is prevented by one of
the exceptions to the right of access laid down in Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No
1049/2001.
1 Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 regarding public access to European Parliament, Council and Commission
documents (OJ L 145, 31.5.2001, p. 43).
The documents that can be fully or partially released and the list of documents containing
the result of the assessment carried out on their content on the basis of Regulation (EC)
No 1049/2001 are published on the following Commission webpage:
https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/dyna/extdoc
You can view these documents by entering the GestDem reference of your request
("2021/4822") in the search box at the top of the page.
Alternatively, you can click on "view documents per request" and search on the left
column for the GestDem reference of your request ("2021/4822").
Please note that documents originating from third parties are disclosed to you based on
Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001. However, this disclosure is without prejudice to the rules
on intellectual property, which may limit your right to reproduce or exploit the released
documents without the agreement of the originator, who may hold an intellectual property
right on them. The European Commission does not assume any responsibility from their
reuse.
3. Protection of personal data
Protection of privacy and the integrity of the individual, in particular in accordance with
Community legislation regarding the protection of personal data - Article 4(1)(b) of
Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001
With regard to documents numbered 1 and 2 a complete disclosure of the identified
documents is prevented by the exception concerning the protection of privacy and the
integrity of the individual outlined in Article 4(1)(b) of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001,
because they contain the following personal data:
-
the names/initials and contact information of Commission staff members not
pertaining to the senior management;
-
the names/initials and contact details of other natural persons;
-
other information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person, namely job
titles, functions, signatures.
Article 9(1)(b) of the Data Protection Regulation2 does not allow the transmission of
these personal data, except if you prove that it is necessary to have the data transmitted to
you for a specific purpose in the public interest and where there is no reason to assume
that the legitimate interests of the data subject might be prejudiced. In your request, you
do not express any particular interest to have access to these personal data nor do you put
forward any arguments to establish the necessity to have the data transmitted for a specific
purpose in the public interest.
Consequently, we conclude that, pursuant to Article 4(1)(b) of Regulation (EC) No
1049/2001, access cannot be granted to the personal data contained in the requested
documents, 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 disclosure of the personal data
concerned.
2 Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2018 on the
protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data by the Union institutions,
bodies, offices and agencies and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Regulation (EC) No
45/2001 and Decision No 1247/2002/EC, OJ L 295, 21.11.2018, p. 39.
Therefore, documents 1 and 2 are disclosed redacted of the parts containing personal data.
4. Means of redress
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
Unit C.1. ‘Transparency, Document Management and Access to Documents’
BERL 7/076
B-1049 Bruxelles,
or by email to:
xxxxxxxxxx@xx.xxxxxx.xx
Yours sincerely,
Klaus Berend
Electronically signed on 13/09/2021 14:42 (UTC+02) in accordance with article 11 of Commission Decision C(2020) 4482