Evidence for Vaccines Reducing Transmission
Dear European Commission,
Under the right of access to documents in the EU treaties, as developed in Regulation 1049/2001, I am requesting documents that were used in the evidence for the following claim on Page 8 of the Proposal for a COUNCIL RECOMMENDATION on a coordinated approach to facilitating safe free movement during the COVID-19 pandemic and replacing Recommendation (EU) 2020/1475: https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/default/...
On page eight, the following claim is made:
"Taking into account the progress in terms of vaccine uptake, the map’s
criteria and thresholds should, however, be adapted. The criterion of new cases should be
weighted by the vaccine uptake in the same region, to take into account that vaccination
reduces the risk of transmitting SARS-CoV-2"
Yet there is no source given for this claim that transmission is reduced.
Please provide the body of evidence the European Council used to determine this.
I look forward to your response.
Yours faithfully,
Richard Querrey
Dear Sir,
Thank you for your request for access to documents.
Unfortunately, you have not indicated your postal address. This is necessary for registering and handling your request in line with the procedural requirements.
Please send us your full postal address at your earliest convenience. Pending your reply, we reserve the right to refuse the registration of your request.
Alternatively, you may use directly the electronic form available on the Europa website:
]http://ec.europa.eu/transparency/regdoc/....
Yours faithfully,
Access to documents team (cr)
SG.C.1
Transparency
Dear [email address],
According to Regulation 1049/2001 the applicant simply has to make a written request in any form, including electronic form. There is no further requirement to give any personal details nor to state reasons for the request.
Article 6.1 of the Regulation says "Applications for access to a document shall be made in any written form, including electronic form, in one of the languages referred to in Article 314 of the EC Treaty and in a sufficiently precise manner to enable the institution to identify the document. The applicant is not obliged to state reasons for the application.
Please send the information via electronic copy.
Yours sincerely,
Richard Querrey
Dear Mr Querrey,
Since 1 April 2014, the submission of a postal address became a mandatory feature for the purpose of making an application for access to documents. We would like to explain why we need your postal address in order to register and handle your application for access to documents:
• Firstly, to obtain legal certainty as regards the date you received the European Commission reply to your application for public access to documents. Article 297 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) states that ‘[…] decisions which specify to whom they are addressed, shall be notified to those to whom they are addressed and shall take effect upon such notification.’ In line with this provision, if the Commission does not grant full access to the requested documents, it notifies the reply to the applicant via registered mail with acknowledgement of receipt or via delivery service. This requires an indication of a valid postal address by the applicant;
• Secondly, to apply correctly the Data Protection Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 . Knowing whether the applicant is an EU resident (or not) is necessary for deciding which conditions shall apply for the transmissions of personal data to applicants for access to documents. These conditions are not the same for recipients established in the Union and for recipients in third countries. As the vast majority of the documents requested contain personal data, the Commission cannot ensure the correct application of the data protection rules in the absence of a postal address;
• Thirdly, to apply correctly Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 . Article 4(1)(b) of that Regulation refers to the protection of the privacy and integrity of the individual and has to be applied in line with the Data Protection Regulation;
• Fourthly, to protect the interest of other citizens and safeguard the principle of good administration. The Commission has to treat all citizens equally by ensuring that the legal framework for public access to documents is respected. For example, it has to verify whether Article 6(3) of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 is being evaded by introducing several requests under different identities. Indeed, in its Ryanair judgment , the General Court confirmed that Article 6(3) of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 cannot be evaded by splitting an application into several, seemingly separate, parts. In addition, the Commission has to make sure that the legal framework is respected and the right of access to documents is not abused by making requests under an invented identity.
The considerations above show that the request for and the consequent processing of the applicant’s postal address is not only appropriate, but also strictly necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest within the meaning of Article 5(1)(a) of Data Protection Regulation, namely providing a smooth and effective access to documents.
We therefore kindly reiterate our request to you to provide a full valid postal address, so we can duly register and handle your request. Please note that, once we receive your postal address, we will register your request for access as an initial application for access to documents in the meaning of Article 6(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001. The deadline for handling your initial request shall run as from the moment of registration of your application following the submission of your postal address.
Thank you in advance.
With kind regards,
Access to documents team (cr)
SG.C.1
Transparency