Ex-commissioners' transitional allowances

La solicitud fue rechazada por Secretaría General de la Comisión Europea.

Dear Secretariat General,

Under the right of access to documents in the EU treaties, as developed in Regulation 1049/2001, I am requesting documents which contain the following information:

- the total budget spent on transitional allowances for all former commissioners since 1 November 2014
- a breakdown of the total transitional allowance received by each former commissioner since 1 November 2014

Yours faithfully,

Vicky Cann
CEO
Rue d'Edimbourg 26
1050 Brx

Secretaría General de la Comisión Europea

1 Adjuntos

Dear Madam,

 

Thank you for your email dated 27/07/2016.

 

We hereby acknowledge receipt of your application for access to documents,
which was registered on 27/07/2016 under reference number GestDem
2016/4227.

 

In accordance with Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 regarding public access to
European Parliament, Council and Commission documents, your application
will be handled within 15 working days.

 

The time limit will expire on 18/08/2016. In case this time limit needs to
be extended, you will be informed in due course.

 

Yours faithfully,

 

Carlos Remis
SG.B.4
Transparence
Berl. 05/315

 

 

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EC ARES NOREPLY, Secretaría General de la Comisión Europea

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Veuillez trouver ci-joint le document Ares(2016)4347539 concernant "access to documents request - Ex-commissioners' transitional allowances --- Ref. Gestdem 2016/4227" envoyé par M/Mme LEMAITRE Marc le 11/08/2016.

Please find attached document Ares(2016)4347539 regarding "access to documents request - Ex-commissioners' transitional allowances --- Ref. Gestdem 2016/4227" sent by Mr/Ms LEMAITRE Marc on 11/08/2016.

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Dear Secretariat General,

Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews. I am writing to request an internal review of Secretariat General's handling of my FOI request 'Ex-commissioners' transitional allowances'.

I consider that information about the amount of transitional allowance paid per commissioner should be released for the following reasons:

- there is a precedent in releasing financial information per commissioner as with this request, which asked for information on claimed expenses: https://www.asktheeu.org/en/request/comm... In fact my request is more simple than this one. I do not require any other information, or break down per claim, other than the total payment made to each ex-commissioner.

- there is a genuine necessity for this information to be released. Without this information, no assessment of whether or not the transitional allowance is effective in preventing conflicts of interest and in reinforcing the ongoing duty, as stated in TFEU article 245, to "behave with integrity and discretion as regards the acceptance, after they have ceased to hold office, of certain appointments or benefits" is possible. A key purpose of the transitional allowance is to provide a cushion of financial support so that ex-commissioners do not need to take on new jobs which put at risk the reputation and integrity of the EU institutions, including the Commission. But any assessment of its effectiveness has to be based on specific information about who has received what.

- moreover, commissioners are public figures who have chosen to expose themselves to scrutiny by third parties, particularly the media and general public. Thus, they have generally already accepted that some of their personal data will be disclosed to the public. My request would involve only very limited transfer of data and it would not reveal other information such as the new income subsequently received (or even their precise salary whilst commissioner). It will simply provide information about the transitional allowance received, as paid out of EU funds.

- finally, and in the light of the above, I do not consider that you have adequately explained how disclosure of the requested data would specifically and actually undermine ex-commissioners' privacy.

A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.asktheeu.org/en/request/ex_c...

I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours faithfully,

Vicky Cann

Secretaría General de la Comisión Europea

Due to the holiday period in August, some delays may occur in the
treatment of your access-to-documents request, especially where the
processing of data requires the consultation of national administrations,
external organisations or other services.

* *  *

Pendant la période des congés en août, certains retards peuvent se
produire dans le traitement de votre demande d'accès aux documents, en
particulier lorsque le traitement des données exige la consultation des
administrations nationales, d’organisations extérieures ou d’autres
services.

 

*  *  *

Während der Ferienzeit im August könnten Verzögerungen bei der Bearbeitung
Ihres Antrags auf Zugang zu Dokumenten auftreten, insbesondere wenn die
Berarbeitung die Konsultierung der nationalen Verwaltungen, externer
Organisationen oder anderer Dienststellen erforderlich macht.

 

Secretaría General de la Comisión Europea

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Dear Ms Cann,

 

Please find attached a note for your attention regarding your confirmatory
application GestDem 2016/4227.

 

Best regards,

 

 

 

ACCESS TO DOCUMENTS (NL)

[1]cid:image002.jpg@01CFC082.A6D14DD0
European Commission
Secretariat General
B4 – Transparency

 

References

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Secretaría General de la Comisión Europea

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Dear Ms Cann,

 

Please find attached an advance information copy of the confirmatory
decision taken on your request for access to documents registered under
Gestdem number 2016/4227, adopted on 04/10/2016 in the above-mentioned
case.

 

Please note that the Secretariat General of the European Commission will
proceed with the formal notification of the decision in the coming days.

 

This advance copy is solely sent for your information and is not the
formal notification of the confirmatory decision.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

Carlos Remis
SG.B.4
Transparence
Berl. 05/315