Exchanges between european commission and organisation concerned by flame retardant
Dear Environment,
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:
On the topic of flame retardants (retardateurs de flamme), all correspondence
(including emails), the list of meetings with detailed minutes and any other reports of such meetings between DG Environment officials and representatives of the following organisations for the time period January 2019-Now :
- Association des brûlés de France (ABF)
- Groupement Technique Français contre l’Incendie (GTFI)
- European Burns Association (EBA)
- European Fire Safety Alliance
- Polystyrène Loop Coöperatief UA
- EUMEPS
- European Flame Retardants Association (EFRA)
- European Brominated Flame Retardant Industry Panel (EBFRIP)
- Flame Retardants Europe
- Phosphorus, Inorganic and Nitrogen Flame Retardants Association (PINFA)
- Bromine Science and Environmental Forum (BSEF)
- LANXESS AG
- Albemarle Europe
- CEFIC
- EBCA (European Burn Casualties Association)
- Fire safety platform
- Burson-Marsteller
- Chemtura
- ICL industrial products
- Tosoh corporation
- Total Petrochemical
Yours faithfully,
Marie-Stella Papeghin
Dear Sir or Madam,
We are writing to you concerning your request for access to documents sent
on 04/11/2022 and registered on 24/11/2022 under case number 2022/6838.
Since you have not indicated your postal address, we are not able to start
handling your request. The 15 working days to reply to your request will
start running only when you send us your postal address.
You can send your postal address by replying to this e-mail. If we do not
receive your reply we may close this case.
Please note that you can submit a request for access to Commission
documents via the portal [1]'Request a Commission document', which does
not require you to indicate your postal address.
Why do we need your personal postal address?
Since 1 April 2014, the submission of a postal address became a mandatory
feature when submitting an application for access to Commission documents
via an e-mail. We would like to explain why we need your postal address in
order to register and handle your application for access to documents when
submitted via e-mail:
• 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 [2]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 [3]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 ([4]EU:T:2010:511), 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.
Yours faithfully,
Directorate-General for Environment - Access to Documents
European Commission
References
Visible links
1. https://www.ec.europa.eu/transparency/do...
2. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/...
3. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/...
4. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/...
Dear Sir or Madam,
We hereby acknowledge the receipt of your request for access to documents
sent on 04/11/2022 and registered on 25/11/2022 under the case number
2022/6838.
We will handle your request within 15 working days as of the date of
registration. The time-limit expires on 16/12/2022. We will let you know
if we need to extend this time limit for additional 15 working days.
To find more information on how we process your personal data, please see
[1]the privacy statement.
Yours faithfully,
Directorate-General for Environment - Access to Documents
European Commission
References
Visible links
1. https://ec.europa.eu/info/principles-and...
Hello,
Please find attached a message concerning your request for access to
Commission documents registered under the above case number 2022/6838.
Kind regards,
B.2 Safe and Sustainable Chemicals unit
DG-Environment
European Commission
Dear Environment,
Please pass this on to the person who reviews confirmatory applications.
I am filing the following confirmatory application with regards to my access to documents request 'Exchanges between european commission and organisation concerned by flame retardant'.
I didn't receive the documents I asked several months ago, despite the legal obligation to provide them to me. The last delay expired the 17/01/2023. In accordance with european law, I ask again this access, by scanned documents as soon as possible.
A full history of my request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: http://www.asktheeu.org/en/request/excha...
Yours faithfully,
Marie-Stella Papeghin
Dear Sir or Madam,
We hereby acknowledge the receipt of your confirmatory request for case
2022/6838, sent on 15/02/2023 and registered on 15/02/2023.
We will handle your confirmatory request within 15 working days as of the
date of registration. The time-limit expires on 08/03/2023. We will let
you know if we need to extend this time limit for additional 15 working
days.
Yours faithfully,
Secretariat-General - Access to Documents
European Commission
Dear Sir or Madam,
We hereby acknowledge the receipt of your confirmatory request for case
2022/6838, sent on 15/02/2023 and registered on 15/02/2023.
We will handle your confirmatory request within 15 working days as of the
date of registration. The time-limit expires on 08/03/2023. We will let
you know if we need to extend this time limit for additional 15 working
days.
Yours faithfully,
Secretariat-General - Access to Documents
European Commission
Dear applicant,
We are writing concerning your confirmatory request for access to
Commission documents for case 2022/6838 registered on 15/02/2023.
We are currently working on your confirmatory request. However, we have
not yet been able to gather all the elements necessary to carry out a full
analysis of your request. We will not be able to send you the reply within
the prescribed time limit expiring on 08/03/2023.
An extended time limit is needed, as additional work and consultations
need to be performed.
Therefore, in line with Article 8(2) of [1]Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 we
need to extend this time limit by 15 additional working days. The new time
limit expires on 29/03/2023.
We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.
Kind regards,
References
Visible links
1. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/...
Dear applicant,
We are writing to you concerning your confirmatory request for access to
Commission documents for case 2022/6838, registered on 15/02/2023.
On 08/03/2023, we extended the time-limit for replying to your
confirmatory request to 29/03/2023
Unfortunately, we will not be able to send you the reply within this
extended time limit as additional work and consultations need to be
performed.
However, we assure you that we are doing our best to send a reply to your
confirmatory request as soon as possible.
We regret this additional delay and sincerely apologize for any
inconvenience this may cause.
Kind regards,
Dear Ms Papeghin,
Please find attached DG ENV reply to your request for access to Commission
documents registered under the above case number 2022/6838.
Once again, please accept our sincerest apologies for any inconvenience
caused by this delay.
Please acknowledge the receipt of this message by return email.
Yours sincerely,
Safe and Sustainable Chemicals unit
DG-Environment
European Commission