Ref. Ares(2021)6941533 - 11/11/2021

EUROPEAN COMMISSION
DIRECTORATE-GENERAL FOR COMMUNICATIONS NETWORKS, CONTENT AND
TECHNOLOGY

The Director-General

Brussels,
CONNECT/R4
Ms Sophie Petitjean
Résidence Palace
Rue de la Loi, 155
1040 Bruxelles
Belgium


     Advance copy via email:
  xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxx.xxx


REGISTERED LETTER WITH ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF RECEIPT
Subject: Your application for access to documents - RefGestDem 2021/5202
Dear Ms Petitjean,
We  refer  to  your  email  dated  25  August  2021  wherein  you  make  a  request  for  access  to
documents  pursuant  to  Regulation  (EC)  No  1049/2001  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the
Council  of  30  May  2001  regarding  public  access  to  European  Parliament,  Council  and
Commission documents (hereinafter ‘Regulation 1049/2001’), registered on the same day under
the abovementioned reference number. We also refer to our email, dated 15 September 2021, our
reference  Ares(2021)5658310,  whereby  we  informed  you  that  the  time  limit  for  handling  your
application was extended by 15 working days pursuant to Article 7(3) of Regulation 1049/2001.
1.
SCOPE OF YOUR APPLICATION
Your request reads as follows:
΄΄ Dear Communications Networks, Content and Technology,

Under  the  right  of  access  to  documents  in  the  EU  treaties,  as  developed  in  Regulation
1049/2001, I am interested in the information received by DG connect about the efficiency
of national contact tracing and warning applications and the European Federation Gateway
Service (which connects the backends of 17 national apps).

Commission européenne/Europese Commissie, 1049 Bruxelles/Brussel, BELGIQUE/BELGIË - Tel. +32 22991111
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xx.xxxxxx.xx

I'm  particularly  interested  in  potential  breach  of  data  (some  member  states  have  had  to
close  momentarily  their  application)  and  what  information  DG  connect  received  about  it
(following the request made at the last ehealth network meeting)

I'm also interested in the efficiency and the problems of the French app.

Yours faithfully,

Sophie Petitjean
Résidence Palace, Rue de la Loi 155, 1040 Bruxelles

ps  :  my  request  is  also  addressed  to  DG  santé,  should  this  DG  be  the  one  holding  those
data΄΄.
2.
DOCUMENTS FALLING WITHIN THE SCOPE OF THE REQUEST
We have identified the following documents as falling within the scope of your request:
-  Summary report -19th eHealth Network meeting (Teleconference) 3 June 2021 (ANNEX I)
-  eHealth Network - COVID 19 - Technical working group on contact tracing apps meeting -
28/4/2021- Minutes of the meeting (ANNEX II)
Please note that this reply relates only to documents in possession of DG CONNECT held up to
the date of your initial application, i.e. 25 August 2021. Other Directorates-General to which you
may have sent similar requests will respond separately.
3.
ASSESSMENT UNDER REGULATION 1049/2001
Following  an  examination  of  the  identified  documents  under  the  provisions  of  Regulation
1049/2001, we have arrived at the conclusion that full access can be granted to ANNEX I, whilst
partial access is granted to ANNEX II.
A. Full disclosure
ANNEX I is fully disclosed. Please note that this document is publicly available online via the
following link:
https://ec.europa.eu/health/sites/default/files/ehealth/docs/ev_20210603_sr_en.pdf
B. Partial disclosure
Article 4(2) first indent of Regulation 1049/2001 provides that the institutions shall refuse access
to  a  document  where  disclosure  would  undermine  the  protection  of  commercial  interests  of  a
natural  or  legal  person,  including  intellectual  property,  unless  there  is  an  overriding  public
interest in disclosure.
This provision must be interpreted in light of Article 339 of the Treaty of the Functioning of the
European  Union  (TFEU),  which  requires  staff  members  of  the  EU  institutions  to  refrain  from
Commission européenne/Europese Commissie, 1049 Bruxelles/Brussel, BELGIQUE/BELGIË - Tel. +32 22991111
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xx.xxxxxx.xx

disclosing information of the kind covered by the obligation of professional secrecy, in particular
information about undertakings, their business relations or their cost components.
Parts  of  ANNEX  II  are  covered  by  the  abovementioned  exception  as  they  contain  business
sensitive  information  relating  to  the  concerned  third  party’s  views,  positions  and  activities.
Disclosure of these parts of the document would  seriously  affect  the third party’s  relations and
position in the market and would undermine its commercial interests.
Consequently, the abovementioned parts have been blanked out  as their disclosure is prevented
by  the  exception  to  the  right  of  access  laid  down  in  Article  4(2),  first  indent  of  Regulation
1049/2001.
Other parts of this document have been redacted as being outside the scope of the request.
4.
OVERRIDING PUBLIC INTEREST IN DISCLOSURE
The  exceptions  laid  down  in  Article  4(2)  of  Regulation  1049/2001  apply,  unless  there  is  an
overriding  public  interest  in  the  disclosure  of  documents.  Such  an  interest  must,  firstly,  be  a
public  interest  and,  secondly,  outweigh  the  harm  caused  by  disclosure.  We  have  examined
whether there could be an overriding public interest in the disclosure of the parts of the document
which are being withheld but we have not been able to identify such an interest.
5.
REUSE OF DOCUMENTS
You may reuse  public documents    which have been produced by the European Commission  or
by public and private entities on its behalf based on the Commission Decision on the reuse of the
Commission  documents.  You  may  reuse  the  disclosed  documents  free  of  charge  and  for  non-
commercial and commercial purposes provided that the source is acknowledged and that you do
not distort the original meaning or message of the documents. Please note that the Commission
does not assume liability stemming from the reuse.
6.
CONFIRMATORY APPLICATION
In  accordance  with  Article  7(2)  of  Regulation  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 Secretariat-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 Bruxelles
or by email to: xxxxxxxxxx@xx.xxxxxx.xx
Commission européenne/Europese Commissie, 1049 Bruxelles/Brussel, BELGIQUE/BELGIË - Tel. +32 22991111
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xx.xxxxxx.xx

Yours sincerely,
Electronically signed

Roberto Viola

Enclosures: (2)
Commission européenne/Europese Commissie, 1049 Bruxelles/Brussel, BELGIQUE/BELGIË - Tel. +32 22991111
Electronically signed on 10/11/2021 18:31 (UTC+01) in accordance with article 11 of Commission Decision C(2020) 4482
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xx.xxxxxx.xx

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