Ref. Ares(2016)2496201 - 30/05/2016
EUROPEAN COMMISSION
OFFICE FOR THE ADMINISTRATION AND PAYMENT OF INDIVIDUAL ENTITLEMENTS
PMO/4 - Pensions
The Head of Unit
Brussels,
PMO4/GS
By registered letter with acknowledgment
of receipt
Mr Lee Rotherham
313, Norman Shaw North,
House of Commons,
Westminster SW1A 0AA
Advance copy by email xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxx.xxx
Subject: Freedom of information request – Pensions by country of residence
I refer to your e-mail dated 29 April 2016 in which you request access, under Regulation
(EC) No 1049/2001 regarding public access to European Parliament, Council and
Commission documents, to documents containing information on pensions by country of
residence. More specifically, you seek to obtain a breakdown of the country of residence
of recipients of European Commission pensions, by country/number, and would like the
proportion receiving that pension denominated in Euros to be indicated.
According to the case law (see Judgment of the Court of first Instance of 25 April 2007 in
case T-264/04, WWF European Policy Programme v Council) the concept of a document
must be distinguished from that of information. The public’s right of access to the
documents of the institutions covers only documents and not information in the wider
meaning of the word and does not imply a duty on the part of the institutions to reply to
any request for information from an individual (see, by analogy, the order in Case T-
106/99 Meyer v Commission [1999].
Please be informed that the information requested is contained in databases created for
other uses. In your request, you did not apply, as such, for access to the whole of that
database or to part of the raw data contained within it, but seek to obtain, in essence, a set
of information relating to a part of a database.
As the Commission had to create a document on the basis of your above request, we
consider that the information you requested may not be considered as a document within
the meaning of Regulation 1049/2001 and thus fall outside the scope of the Regulation.
Commission européenne/Europese Commissie, 1049 Bruxelles/Brussel, BELGIQUE/BELGIË - Tel. +32 22991111
Office: AN88 - Tel. direct line +32 229-52799
However, in the interest of transparency and under the Code of Good Administrative
Behaviour you are now granted access to this information. It is presented in the form of a
table here enclosed. For purposes of clarity and ease of reference, note that the data comes
from a database which contains the countries of expedition of the payslips.
I consider that this information addresses your request.
If you consider that the information transmitted to you by the Commission does not
answer to your request, you are entitled to lodge a complaint with the European
Ombudsman in accordance with Article 263 or 228 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the
European Union.
Yours sincerely,
Giuseppe Scognamiglio
Cc:
Mrs A. Vandenhende, M. J. Michiels (PMO)
Enclosed: 1
Electronically signed on 30/05/2016 16:12 (UTC+02) in accordance with article 4.2 (Validity of electronic documents) of Commission Decision 2004/563
2