Ref. Ares(2020)7713635 - 17/12/2020
EUROPEAN COMMISSION
Brussels, 11.10.2019
C(2019) 7458 final
24100 Kalamata
Greece
DECISION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION PURSUANT TO ARTICLE 4 OF THE
IMPLEMENTING RULES TO REGULATION (EC) NO 1049/20011
Subject: Your confirmatory application for access to documents – GESTDEM
2019/4088
Dear
,
I am writing in reference to your email of 6 August 2019, registered on 7 August 2019, by
which you lodge a confirmatory application in accordance with Article 7(2) of Regulation
(EC) No 1049/2001 regarding public access to European Parliament, Council and
Commission documents2 (hereafter ‘Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001’).
Through your initial application of 16 July 2019, you requested access to ‘[c]opy of the
report prepared by
and submitted to the E[uropean] C[ommission] following his
visit
to
in
December
2018
(https://eeas.europa.eu/regions/
)’.
By letter of 26 July 2019, the Directorate-General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement
Negotiations informed you that it was not able to identify any documents as falling within
the scope of your request. The Directorate-General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement
Negotiations explained the lack of any relevant documents on the ground that
reported back orally following his visit to
and no written report was thus
produced.
In your confirmatory application you question the absence of any document.
1
Official Journal L 345 of 29.12.2001, p. 94.
2
Official Journal L145 of 31.05.2001, p. 43.
Commission européenne/Europese Commissie, 1049 Bruxelles/Brussel, BELGIQUE/BELGIË - Tel. +32 22991111
You take the view that ‘it appears rather difficult to accept that
, tasked with
paying a third follow-up visit to
, had not been asked to prepare at least a
written summary of his main findings but rather was expected to convey them orally to [the
Directorate-General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations].’
You further argue that ‘it is difficult to see how effective it would be […] for
[to
both] convey orally and provide evidence and arguments for his observations on a number
of very technical and rather complicated issues (such as e.g. the potential for new forms of
state capture) with a view to updating the [European] Commission as to the situation in that
country, as well as for his interlocutors to meaningfully follow his presentation’.
According to you ‘at the very least some minutes of the oral presentation of
’s
findings to [the Directorate-General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations]
were kept […].’
Alternatively, you enquire on whether there is an internal document that would justify a
change of practice within the Directorate-General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement
Negotiations, in comparison with the previous two visits of
which resulted in to
‘two, truly standard-setting, fact-finding and assessment reports’.
Against this background, the European Commission has carried out a renewed, thorough
search for the documents requested. Following this renewed search, I confirm that the
Institution does not hold any documents that would correspond to the description given in your
application.
Article 2(3) of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 provides that the right of access as defined in
that regulation applies only to existing documents in the possession of the institution.
As the European Commission does not hold any such documents corresponding to the
description given in your application, it is unfortunately not in a position to fulfil your
request.
Please find below further explanations which address the various queries raised in the
framework of your confirmatory application.
in 2015 and 2017 a
on systemic rule of Law issues
. The objective of that
was to draft a report and make
recommendations, in a particular context, which provided the basis for the European
Commission’s Urgent Reform Priorities.
Following the early parliamentary elections of December 2016 and the establishment of a
new government, the same team of experts was sent to
in
to assess and
report on the progress made in addressing their previous findings.
In 2018, following its recommendation to open accession negotiations with
and the Council Conclusion of 26 June 2018, the European Commission
continued to monitor reform efforts, in particular in the area of the rule of law, including the
Urgent Reform Priorities and the findings of the Senior Experts’ Group.
2