Ref. Ares(2018)4580443 - 06/09/2018
EUROPEAN COMMISSION
HEALTH AND FOOD SAFETY DIRECTORATE-GENERAL
Directorate D – Food chain: stakeholder and international relations
D2 – Multilateral International Relations
Brussels,
SANTE/D2/AB/od(2018) 4794214
Mr Vincent Harmsen
Siriusstraat 200, 1622 ZN Hoorn, the
Netherlands
Sent by registered letter with
acknowledgement of receipt
Advance copy by email:
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxx.xxx
Dear Mr Harmsen,
Subject: Your applications for access to documents – Ref. GestDem No 2018/4143
We refer to your email of 30 July 2018 in which you make a request for access to
documents on the basis of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001, registered on the same day
under the above mentioned reference number.
1. Scope of your request
In your request, you asked on the basis of Regulation (EC) No 1049/20011 access to:
"all minutes of meetings and any other reports of such meetings of the SPS Committee of
the World Trade Organization (WTO) where the EU criteria for the identification of
endocrine disruptors, or endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) in general, were
mentioned/discussed (between December 22th 2016 and July 28th 2018)"
2. Identification and assessment of the concerned documents
We have identified 11 documents potentially falling within the scope of your request.
A table with the list of documents containing the assessment carried out on their content on
the basis of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 is attached.
Having examined these documents, we have come to the conclusion that:
1 Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 regarding public access to European Parliament, Council and
Commission documents (OJ L 145, 31.5.2001, p. 43).
Commission européenne/Europese Commissie, 1049 Bruxelles/Brussel, BELGIQUE/BELGIË - Tel. +32 22991111
i. partial access can be granted to 8 documents that are indicated with “Partial” in
the list of documents(no. 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 9 and 11);
ii. 3 the documents that are indicated with “No” in the list of documents fall out
of the scope of your request (no. 4, 7 and 10).
You will find attached the documents that are indicated with “Partial”.
You may re-use Commission documents free of charge for non-commercial and
commercial purposes provided that the source is acknowledged, that you do not distort the
original meaning or message of the documents. Documents originating from third parties
cannot be re-used without the agreement of the originators.
3. Reasons for refusal
Out of scope
Document 4, 7 and 10 are annexes to the reports of WTO SPS Committee meetings and
contain information about the bilateral meetings between the EU and third countries held in
the margins of the Committee. These annexes neither contain information related to the
criteria for endocrine disruptors/endocrine disrupting chemicals, nor requested by the
requester. These documents are therefore out of scope in their entirety.
Also, documents 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 9 and 11 contain information unrelated to the criteria for
endocrine disruptors/endocrine disrupting chemicals. This information has therefore been
redacted as it falls outside the scope of the request.
Protection of personal data
Documents 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 9 and 11 contain personal data, such as the names of
Commission personnel.
Pursuant to Article 4(1)(b) of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001, access to a document has to
be refused if its disclosure would undermine the protection of privacy and the integrity of
the individual, in particular in accordance with EU legislation regarding the protection of
personal data. The applicable legislation in this field is Regulation (EC) No 45/2001.
When access is requested to documents containing personal data, Regulation (EC) No
45/2001 becomes fully applicable. According to Article 8(b) of this Regulation, personal
data shall only be transferred to recipients if they establish the necessity of having the data
transferred to them and if there is no reason to assume that the legitimate rights of the
persons concerned might be prejudiced.
We consider that, with the information available, the necessity of disclosing the
aforementioned personal data to you has not been established and that it cannot be assumed
that such disclosure would not prejudice the legitimate rights of the persons concerned.
Therefore, partial access is granted to the requested documents, expunged of personal data.
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4. Means of redress
In accordance with Article 7(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001, you are entitled to make
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 Secretary-General of the Commission at the following address:
European Commission
Secretary-General
Transparency unit SG-B-4
BERL 5/282
B-1049 Bruxelles
or by em
ail to: xxxxxxxxxx@xx.xxxxxx.xx
Yours sincerely,
Dirk Lange
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Electronically signed on 06/09/2018 15:20 (UTC+02) in accordance with article 4.2 (Validity of electronic documents) of Commission Decision 2004/563