EUROPEAN EXTERNAL ACTION SERVICE
AFFGEN.2
Head of Division
Brussels, 27 October 2020
eeas.sg.affgen.2 (2020) 6049557
Ms Margarida da Silva
Subject: Your request for access to documents of 16 January 2020
Our ref: 2020/004
Dear Ms da Silva,
With reference to the last paragraph of my letter of 26 March 2020, I regret to inform you that
EEAS did not receive agreement from the consulted party to disclose the Document number 8
“Draft contract with EUTOP Berlin Gmbh” and Document number 9 “Revised contract with
EUTOP Berlin Gmbh. – signed”.
Our examination of these documents, including in consultation with the third party concerned,
concluded that they contain personal data related to Mr. Sabathil. Their disclosure would
undermine the privacy and the integrity of the individual, in accordance the Regulation nº
2018/1725.1 Therefore such documents cannot be disclosed according to Article 4 (1)(b) of
Regulation nº 1049/2001 (protection of the privacy and the integrity of the individual).
Article 4 (1) (b) of Regulation 1049/2001 provides that access to documents is refused where
disclosure would undermine the protection of privacy and integrity of the individual, in
particular in accordance with legislation regarding the protection of personal data.
Article 3 (1) of the Regulation nº 2018/1725 ("the Data Protection Regulation") provides that
'personal data' shall mean any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person
[...]. As the Court of Justice confirmed in case C-465/00 (Rechnungshof
), there is no reason of
principle to justify excluding activities of a professional
[...] nature from the notion of “private
life.”
Furthermore, the release of these documents to the general public would harm the commercial
interests of EUTOP Gmbh.
1 Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2018 on the
protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data by the Union institutions, bodies,
offices and agencies and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Regulation (EC) No 2018/1725 and
Decision No 1247/2002/EC, OJ L 295, 21.11.2018, p. 39–98
European External Action Service – B-1046 Brussels – Belgium – Tel.: (32-2) 584 11 11
Office: EEAS PARC 06/560 – e-
mail: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxx.xxxxxx.xx
Therefore, I regret to inform you that we are not in a position to disclose these documents at this
point in time, neither as a whole nor partially, since their release could seriously undermine the
privacy and the integrity of the individual, in accordance with the EU legislation regarding the
protection of personal data and the commercial interests of a natural or legal person
[Article 4(1)(b), Article 4(2), first indent and Article 4(4) of the Regulation nº 1049/2001].
Should you wish this position to be reviewed, you may confirm your initial request within
15 working days.
Yours sincerely,
[e-signed]
Gabriele Visentin
2