Documents on meeting Zuckerberg/Breton in June
Alexander Fanta a fait une demande de Accès à l'information à Réseaux de communication, contenu et technologies
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Dear Communications Networks, Content and Technology,
Under the right of access to documents in the EU treaties, as developed in Regulation 1049/2001, I am requesting documents which contain the following information:
- All documents (meeting minutes, briefing notes, e-mails, etc.) regarding the June 23, 2023 meeting between Commissioner Breton and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg
Yours faithfully,
Alexander Fanta
Follow the Money
Rue Auguste Orts 2
1000 Bruxelles
Belgium
Your message has been received by the Transparency Unit of the
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Dear Sir or Madam,
We hereby acknowledge the receipt of your request for access to documents
sent on 07/12/2023 and registered on 08/12/2023 under the case number
2023/7285.
We will handle your request within 15 working days as of the date of
registration. The time-limit expires on 09/01/2024. We will let you know
if we need to extend this time limit for additional 15 working days.
To find more information on how we process your personal data, please see
[1]the privacy statement.
Yours faithfully,
Secretariat-General - Access to Documents
European Commission
References
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1. https://ec.europa.eu/info/principles-and...
Dear Mr Fanta,
We refer to your request for access to documents, registered under the
reference number 2023/7285.
Your application is currently being handled. However, we will not be in a
position to complete the handling of your application within the time
limit of 15 working days, which expires today.
An extended time limit is needed as different consultations need to be
done.
Therefore we have to extend the time limit with 15 working days in
accordance with Article 7(3) of Regulation (EC) 1049/2001 regarding public
access to documents. The new time limit expires on 30 January 2024.
We apologise for this delay and any inconvenience this may cause.
Yours faithfully,
DG CONNECT Access to Documents Team
European Commission
Rue de la loi, 51
B-1049, Brussels/ Belgium
Hello,
Please find attached a message concerning your request for access to
Commission documents registered under the above case number 2023/7285.
Please acknowledge the receipt of this message by return email.
Kind regards,
DG CONNECT Access to documents Team
Dear Communications Networks, Content and Technology,
Please pass this on to the person who reviews confirmatory applications.
I am filing the following confirmatory application with regards to my access to documents request 'Documents on meeting Zuckerberg/Breton in June'.
In regard to the parts of the document withheld on the basis of the international relations exception, I would like to ask the Commission to re-examine the document to see if disclosure can actually be said to hurt the protected interest. In this context, I would like to point out that in In ‘t Veld v Council, the ECJ agreed with the General Court that not all internal debates could reveal strategic objectives or be exploited by negotiating partners. In Besselink v Council, the General Court found that disclosing positions already known by negotiating partners, drafted before any actual negotiation took place, can also not reasonably be said to undermine the EU’s international relations.
In regard to the parts of the document withheld on the basis of the commercial interest exception, the European Ombudsman has repeatedly pointed out that not all information about a company is commercially sensitive, so a test should be performed each time to conclude whether the exception applies (European Ombudsman Case: 1701/2011/ANA 24 June 2013; Case: 676/2008/RT 07 July 2010). Disclosure must be granted if it does not undermine the commercial interest of the company, and refusal must be reasoned substantially and sufficiently. The institution is not bound by opposition to disclosure by the economic operator. In this light, I would like to ask the Council to re-evaluate my request and grant widest possible disclosure.
In regard to the parts of the document withheld on the basis of the exception for ongoing decision-making, the Commission notes that the redacted information concerns an ongoing law-making process on the AI Act, as well as the implementation of the DSA, DMA and the Code of Practice on Disinformation. I note that these, two, should be considered part of ongoing legislative efforts as further implementing and delegated acts are expected.
I contend that the Commission has not sufficiently demonstrated that disclosure of the document would "seriously undermine" the institution's decision-making process, as is required under this exception. In this context, I would like to point out the findings of the court in the De Capitani ruling (T-540/15). The Court stated that “it is precisely openness in the legislative process that contributes to conferring greater legitimacy on the institutions in the eyes of EU citizens and increasing their confidence in them by allowing divergences between various points of view to be openly debated. It is in fact rather a lack of information and debate which is capable of giving rise to doubts in the minds of citizens, not only as regards the lawfulness of an isolated act, but also as regards the legitimacy of the decision-making process as a whole.” [para. 78] The Court drew a link between openness and the strengthening of democracy and noted that the possibility for citizens to find out the considerations underpinning legislative action was a precondition for the effective exercise of democratic rights. It further noted that the Court had never before recognized a presumption of non-disclosure in respect of documents that formed part of the legislative process. It observed that “the effectiveness and integrity of the legislative process cannot undermine the principles of publicity and transparency which underlie that process.” [para. 83] The Court accepted that a risk of external pressure could constitute a legitimate ground for restricting access to documents related to the decision-making process, but “the reality of such external pressure must … be established with certainty, and evidence must be adduced to show that there is a reasonably foreseeable risk that the decision to be taken would be substantially affected owing to that external pressure”. [para. 99]
I would like to add that I believe there to be an overriding public interest in disclosure.
Yours faithfully,
Alexander Fanta
Dear Sir or Madam,
We hereby acknowledge the receipt of your confirmatory request for case
2023/7285, sent on 29/01/2024 and registered on 29/01/2024.
We will handle your confirmatory request within 15 working days as of the
date of registration. The time-limit expires on 19/02/2024. We will let
you know if we need to extend this time limit for additional 15 working
days.
Yours faithfully,
Secretariat-General - Access to Documents
European Commission
Dear Mr Fanta,
We refer to your email, registered on 29 January 2024, by which you submit
a confirmatory application in accordance with Article 7(2) of Regulation
(EC) No 1049/2001 regarding public access to European Parliament, Council
and Commission documents ("Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001"), registered
under reference number above.
Your confirmatory application is currently being handled.
Unfortunately, we have not yet been able to finalise the internal
consultations needed to carry out a full analysis of your request and to
take a final decision. Therefore, we were not in a position to reply to
your confirmatory request within the prescribed time limit which expired
on 19 February 2024. Consequently, we have extended this period by another
15 working days in accordance with Article 8(2) of Regulation (EC)
No1049/2001. The new deadline expires on 11 March 2024.
We regret this additional delay and sincerely apologise for any
inconvenience this may cause. However, we can assure you that we are doing
our utmost to provide you with a final reply as soon as possible.
Yours sincerely,
SG.C1 ACCESS TO DOCUMENTS TEAM