EU-Tunisia migration deal
Dear Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations,
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:
1. A letter from the EU Commission to the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs on 20 October 2023 (https://twitter.com/Tineke_Strik/status/...) states: “The objective is to hold an EU-Tunisia Association Council by the end of the year to tackle many aspects of the bilateral partnership, including the situation of human rights and fundamental values in the country.”
Please provide the minutes from this meeting.
2. It also states: “Two programmes were signed at the beginning of October with the UNHCR and IOM for respectively €8m and €13m to support Tunisia on protection and assisted voluntary returns to countries of origin.”
How many voluntary returns facilitated by the IOM or UNHCR have taken place from Tunisia in each month of 2023? Please provide a breakdown of nationalities for each year.
3. It also states: “In order to keep track of the spending, ensure its efficiency and its compliance, the European Commission monitors its programmes through several means, including regular reports from implementing partners, external evaluation, verification missions and specific results-oriented monitoring exercise. The EU Delegation in Tunis is in contact with the Tunisian MoI as part of the ongoing partnership.”
Please provide:
a) Copies of the “regular reports from implementing partners” referenced above from the past year
b) All “external evaluation” reports referenced above from the past year
c) All documentation relating to the “verification missions” referenced above from the past year
d) All documentation relating to the “specific results-oriented monitoring exercise” referenced above from the past year
e) All correspondence that has taken place between the EU delegation in Tunis and the Tunisian Ministry of Interior as part of the “ongoing partnership” referenced above from the past year.
Yours faithfully,
May Bulman
Dear Sir or Madam,
We are writing to you concerning your request for access to documents sent
on 22/12/2023 and registered on 03/01/2024 under case number 2024/0011.
Since you have not indicated your postal address, we are not able to start
handling your request. The 15 working days to reply to your request will
start running only when you send us your postal address.
You can send your postal address by replying to this e-mail. If we do not
receive your reply we may close this case.
Please note that you can submit a request for access to Commission
documents via the portal [1]'Request a Commission document', which does
not require you to indicate your postal address.
Why do we need your personal postal address?
Since 1 April 2014, the submission of a postal address became a mandatory
feature when submitting an application for access to Commission documents
via an e-mail. We would like to explain why we need your postal address in
order to register and handle your application for access to documents when
submitted via e-mail:
• Firstly, to obtain legal certainty as regards the date you received
the European Commission reply to your application for public access to
documents. Article 297 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the
European Union (TFEU) states that 'decisions which specify to whom
they are addressed, shall be notified to those to whom they are
addressed and shall take effect upon such notification.' In line with
this provision, if the Commission does not grant full access to the
requested documents, it notifies the reply to the applicant via
registered mail with acknowledgement of receipt or via delivery
service. This requires an indication of a valid postal address by the
applicant;
• Secondly, to apply correctly the [2]Data Protection Regulation (EU)
2018/1725. Knowing whether the applicant is an EU resident (or not) is
necessary for deciding which conditions shall apply for the
transmissions of personal data to applicants for access to documents.
These conditions are not the same for recipients established in the
Union and for recipients in third countries. As the vast majority of
the documents requested contain personal data, the Commission cannot
ensure the correct application of the data protection rules in the
absence of a postal address;
• Thirdly, to apply correctly [3]Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001. Article
4(1)(b) of that Regulation refers to the protection of the privacy and
integrity of the individual and has to be applied in line with the
Data Protection Regulation;
• Fourthly, to protect the interest of other citizens and safeguard the
principle of good administration. The Commission has to treat all
citizens equally by ensuring that the legal framework for public
access to documents is respected. For example, it has to verify
whether Article 6(3) of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 is being evaded
by introducing several requests under different identities. Indeed, in
its Ryanair judgment ([4]EU:T:2010:511), the General Court confirmed
that Article 6(3) of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 cannot be evaded by
splitting an application into several, seemingly separate, parts. In
addition, the Commission has to make sure that the legal framework is
respected and the right of access to documents is not abused by making
requests under an invented identity.
The considerations above show that the request for and the consequent
processing of the applicant's postal address is not only appropriate, but
also strictly necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the
public interest within the meaning of Article 5(1)(a) of Data Protection
Regulation, namely providing a smooth and effective access to documents.
Yours faithfully,
Directorate-General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations -
Access to Documents
European Commission
References
Visible links
1. https://www.ec.europa.eu/transparency/do...
2. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/...
3. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/...
4. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/...
Dear Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations,
Here is the postal address:
Stichting Lighthouse Reports
Trans 3
3512 JJ
Utrecht
The Netherlands
Yours faithfully,
May Bulman
Dear Sir or Madam,
We hereby acknowledge the receipt of your request for access to documents
sent on 22/12/2023 and registered on 03/01/2024 under the case number
2024/0011.
We will handle your request within 15 working days as of the date of
registration. The time-limit expires on 24/01/2024. 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,
Directorate-General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations -
Access to Documents
European Commission
References
Visible links
1. https://ec.europa.eu/info/principles-and...
Dear Ms Bulman,
Please find attached a message concerning your request for access to
Commission documents registered under the above case number 2024/0011.
Kind regards,
NEAR ACCDOC Team
Dear Ms Bulman,
We are referring to your request for access to documents EASE 2024/0011.
This is a gentle reminder to reply to the clarification request we sent
you on 18 January 2024.
Thank you in advance for your reply.
Yours sincerely,
NEAR ACCDOC Team
Dear Ms Bulman,
We are referring to your request for access to documents registered under
reference number EASE 2024/0011.
We have not received your reply to the clarification request we sent you
on 18 January 2024.
We hereby invite you to reply by tomorrow 1 February 2024 COB, otherwise
we will close your application.
Thank you in advance.
Yours sincerely,
NEAR ACCDOC Team
Dear Ms Bulman,
We are writing concerning your request for access to Commission documents
registered on 3 January 2024 under case number EASE 2024/0011.
On 18 January 2024 we asked you to clarify the scope of your request since
it was not clear.
Since you have not replied to our clarification request, despite our
reminders, we could not start handling it and we have closed this case.
Kind regards,
NEAR ACCDOC Team