Ref. Ares(2022)6311618 - 13/09/2022
EUROPEAN COMMISSION
SECRETARIAT-GENERAL
Directorate E - Citizens, Health, Migration & Security Union
The Director
Brussels
SG.E.4/CA
Sarah Anne Aarup
POLITICO
Rue de la Loi 62
1000 Brussels, Belgium
Sent by email:
ask+request-11656-
xxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxx.xxx
Subject:
Your application for access to documents – GESTDEM 2022/4369
Dear Ms Aarup,
We refer to your e-mail of 29 July 2022 in which you make a request for access to
documents, registered on 29 July 2022 under the reference number above.
You request access to documents that contain information on meetings & correspondence
with pharmaceutical representatives on the TRIPS waiver, specifically:
(i) a list of meetings attended by President Ursula von der Leyen or her team (including
her cabinet and related staff) with representatives of Pfizer, BioNTech, Moderna,
AstraZeneca, GSK, Sanofi, or Merck since 1 September 2020;
(ii) minutes and any other records of these meetings;
(iii) all correspondence (including emails) between President von der Leyen or her team
(including her cabinet and related staff) and representatives of Pfizer, BioNTech,
Moderna, AstraZeneca, GSK, Sanofi, or Merck since 1 September 2020 regarding
intellectual property, patents, or the proposed TRIPS waiver at the WTO.
Please note that:
all meetings attended by President von der Leyen are published online
http://ec.europa.eu/transparencyinitiative/meetings/meeting.do?host=c8e208ad-7dc2-
4a97-acc9-859463c69ec4
all meetings attended by President von der Leyen's Cabinet members are published
online
http://ec.europa.eu/transparencyinitiative/meetings/meeting.do?host=acabb6af-
0317-4a5a-a788-d0b0218dfecd
all meetings attended by Secretary-General Ilze Juhansone are published online
https://ec.europa.eu/transparencyinitiative/meetings/meeting.do?host=394df231-6f63-
43a1-ac2f-a5c6c2aea0b7
Commission européenne/Europese Commissie, 1049 Bruxelles/Brussel, BELGIQUE/BELGIË - Tel. +32 22991111
Your application concerns the following documents:
1. Ares(2022)3624193 Report - meeting between the President von der Leyen's Cabinet
and US Chamber of Commerce on WTO matters held on 5 May 2022 (document 1).
2. Ares(2021)3403887 Letter from Merck to President von der Leyen on waiving IP rights
dated 20 May 2021 and the accompanying email dated 21 May 2021 (documents 2 and
3)
3. Ares(2021)4677777 Reply of the President von der Leyen's Cabinet to letter from
Merck from on waiving IP rights dated 20 July 2021 (document 4).
A complete disclosure of the above-mentioned 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;
-
handwritten signatures/abbreviated signatures of natural persons;
Based on the information available, the country of your residence / your international
organisation is recognized by the Commission as ensuring an adequate level of protection.
However, we would further like to inform you that Article 9(1)(b) of the Data Protection
Regulation 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, I conclude that, pursuant to Article 4(1)(b) of Regulation (EC) No
1049/2001, access is not 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. Therefore,
such personal data has been redacted.
Please note that document 1 was drawn up for internal use under the responsibility of the
relevant member of staff and document 4 is a reply to a third party written under the
responsibility of the relevant member of EC staff. Both documents solely reflect the
author's interpretation of the interventions made and do not set out any official position
of the third parties to which the documents refer, which was not consulted on their
content. They do not reflect the position of the Commission and cannot be quoted as
such.
In addition, documents 2 and 3 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.
2
In case you would disagree with this position, you are entitled, in accordance with Article
7(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001, to submit 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
Unit C.1. ‘Transparency, Document Management and Access to Documents’
BERL 7/076
B-1049 Brussels, or by email to:
xxxxxxxxxx@xx.xxxxxx.xx
Yours faithfully,
(e-signed)
William SLEATH
3
Electronically signed on 13/09/2022 10:29 (UTC+02) in accordance with Article 11 of Commission Decision (EU) 2021/2121
