HEAD OF LEGAL AND ASSURANCE SERVICES
Parma, 26 July 2017
Ref. DD/CP/mm (2017)- out -18120375
Martin Pigeon
Corporate Europe Observatory
26, rue d'Edimbourg
BE-1050 Brussels
Belgium
e-mail:
ask+request-4300-
xxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxx.xxx
Re:
Your request for public access to documents of 17 May 2017
Our ref: PAD 2017/038
Dear Mr Pigeon,
I refer to your request for public access to documents submitted on 17 May 2017
through Ask the EU website, by means of which you requested access to “
the following
documents:
1. all correspondence, including emails, between EFSA (employees and Board
members) and third parties (excluding with and from Corporate Europe
Observatory, PAN-Europe, ENSSER, La Via Campesina, Testbiotech, Sciences
Citoyennes, Gene Watch and Greenpeace, as well as the submissions received by
EFSA during its recent public consultation on the matter) related to EFSA's
independence (and in particular but not exclusively EFSA's ongoing review of its
independence policy) since 1st January 2016.
2. all minutes of meetings between EFSA and third parties (minus Corporate Europe
Observatory, Testbiotech, PAN-Europe, ENSSER, La Via Campesina, Sciences
Citoyennes, Gene Watch and Greenpeace, as well as the submissions received by
EFSA during its recent public consultation on the matter) related to EFSA's
independence (and in particular but not exclusively EFSA's ongoing review of its
independence policy) since 1st January 2016.”
As per our letter of 4 July 2017 and taking into account the third-party consultations in
accordance with Article 4(4) of the PAD Regulation, which took considerable time, we
proposed you a reply in batches. This letter constitutes the second and final batch of
documents falling within the scope of your request as follows.
1. Partial disclosure – 2nd and final batch
With regard to the first point of your request and as already stated in our letter of 4 July
2017, we understand that your request covers correspondence (e-mails or other) with
third parties relating to EFSA’s independence policy and its review, in the time period
from 1 January 2016 until the date of your request.
We are pleased to provide you with a final set of documents that have been identified
consisting of the correspondence between EFSA and the third parties as follows:
European Food Safety Authority • Via Carlo Magno 1A • 43126 Parma • ITALY
Tel. + 39 0521 036 111 • Fax + 39 0521 036 110 • www.efsa.europa.eu
Comments received after the submission deadline of the public consultation on
EFSA’s draft Policy on Independence;
Two e-mails from a citizen;
Correspondence exchanged with a journalist in which we have masked
information outside the scope of your request related to the independence policy;
E-mails exchanges with three journalists similar in content concerning the
independence policy.
We would like to inform you that on 21 June 2017 the Management Board adopted the
update of the EFSA’s independence policy which is now publicly available1. Furthermore,
an ex post analysis on EFSA’s 2011 Policy on Independence and 2014 Rules on
Declarations of Interest was carried out by Deloitte Belgium2. The Final Comprehensive3
and Summary4 Reports of this audit exercise, entitled “Ex post Evaluation of the Policy
on Independence and Scientific Decision-Making Processes of EFSA and of its
Implementing Rules on Declaration of Interest” are also publicly available. Other related
documents have been identified. However, EFSA holds that these documents cannot be
disclosed since they are to be protected under the exception relating to the “purpose of
inspections, investigations and audits” provided in the third indent of Article 4(2) of PAD
Regulation. We can add that these documents concern the audit activity carried out by
Deloitte under the procurement contract.
Please note that personal data (i.e. names of individuals and other personal data)
present in all the documents disclosed to you have been masked in accordance with
Article 4(1)(b) of the PAD Regulation and Article 8(b) of the Data Protection Regulation
(EC) No 45/2001. In line with the settled case law of the Union Courts5, EFSA will only
be able to balance the interests at stake and to consider the disclosure of personal data
after you have provided an express and legitimate justification and convincing
arguments in order to demonstrate the necessity of having personal data transferred to
you.
With regard to the second point of your request, we have further verified the meetings
held between EFSA and third parties relating to the EFSA’s independence policy and its
review. As a result, no other meetings were identified to fall in the scope of your
request.
We hope you find the disclosed document useful. I must remind you that all persons
reproducing, redistributing, exploiting or making commercial use of this information are
expected to adhere to the terms and conditions asserted by the copyright holder.
2. Confirmatory application
To exercise your right to appeal against this decision of partial disclosure by a
confirmatory application, you may write to EFSA at the address below. You have fifteen
working days from receipt of this letter to appeal. Beyond this deadline, your initial
request will be considered as fully satisfied. In case you submit a confirmatory
application, EFSA will inform you of the outcome of this re-examination of your request
within fifteen working days of receipt, either by granting you access to the documents or
by confirming the refusal. In the latter case, you will also be informed of any further
appeal routes available.
1
http://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/corporate/pub/policyonindependence.
2
http://www.efsa.europa.eu/sites/default/files/efsacontractors2016.pdf.
3
http://www.efsa.europa.eu/sites/default/files/mb170322-ev.pdf.
4
http://www.efsa.europa.eu/sites/default/files/mb170322-ev-s.pdf.
5 See Judgment in Case C-28/08 P, European Commission v The Bavarian Lager Co. Ltd., EU:C:2010:378.
2
Further correspondence must be sent to:
EFSA
Dirk Detken, Head of the Legal and Assurance Services
Via Carlo Magno 1/A
I-43126 Parma
Italy
e-mail:
xxxx.xxxxxx.xxxxxx.xx.xxxxxxxxx@xxxx.xxxxxx.xx Yours sincerely,
[SIGNED]
Dirk Detken
Cc: V. Villamar, J. Ramsay (EFSA)
Encl: 1
3