EU-Tunisia migration projects

May Bulman a fait une demande de Accès à l'information à Politique européenne de voisinage et négociations d'élargissement

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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:

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: “Such programmes have been funded under the North Africa window in the EUTF for Africa for a total of around €87m between 2014-20 (of which programmes of a total of €66m are still ongoing).”

Please list the programmes and the amounts.

It also states: “Under the NDICI-Global Europe Instrument in 2021 and 2022, migration programmes of around €65m have been adopted and are being contracted.”

Please list the programmes and the amounts.

It also states: “Out of the 2023 budget on migration the EU will support Tunisia for €105m in the fight against smuggling and trafficking of human beings, to facilitate voluntary returns and reintegration back to countries of origin and to strengthen border management capacities, including to strengthen the coastal surveillance system.”

Please list the programmes explaining what this money is being/will be spent on.

Yours faithfully,

May Bulman

NEAR-ACCDOC@ec.europa.eu,

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 2024/0017.

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

NEAR-ACCDOC@ec.europa.eu,

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
2024/0017.

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...

NEAR-ACCDOC@ec.europa.eu,

Dear Applicant,

We are writing concerning your request for access to Commission documents,
registered on 3 January 2024 under the above-mentioned reference number.

Concerning your request, we are of the opinion that it would be better
dealt with as a request for information and could be transferred to the
relevant department of DG NEAR.

The main difference is that in a request for information, which is handled
by the unit in DG NEAR responsible for the concrete program/project you
are asking for, they can reply and provide concrete information to reply
to your questions. A request for information will be handled under the
[1]Code of Good Administrative Behaviour.

However, in a request for access to documents under the Regulation
1049/2001, DG NEAR will not provide concrete information but we will share
documents, if they exists, that may match what you are asking for. Please
note that the Regulation 1049/2001 concerns only to documents in
possession of the Commission and does not require us to create new
documents in order to meet a given request, not even by compiling
information from other existing documents.

We would be grateful if you could inform us if you agree with our
suggestion, as soon as possible and in any case within five working days
upon receipt of this letter.

Thank you.

Kind regards,

NEAR ACCDOC TEAM

References

Visible links
1. https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/default/...

NEAR-ACCDOC@ec.europa.eu,

Dear Applicant,

This is a kind reminder for our question that we sent to you on the 10
January 2024.

Thank you.

Yours sincerely,

NEAR ACCDOC Team

NEAR-ACCDOC@ec.europa.eu,

1 Attachment

Dear Sir,

Please find attached a message concerning your request for access to
Commission documents registered under the above case number 2024/0017.

Kind regards,

NEAR ACCDOC Team

Dear Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations,

I agree with your suggestion.

Yours faithfully,

May Bulman

NEAR-ACCDOC@ec.europa.eu,

Dear Applicant,

We are writing concerning your request for access to Commission documents
registered on 3 January 2024 under case number EASE 2024/0017.

Your request is formulated as a request for information rather than as a
request for documents and cannot be handled under [1]Regulation (EC) No
1049/2001 which applies only to existing documents. Therefore, we have
closed this case.

In addition, kindly note that we have already transfered your request for
information internally to the unit in charge.

Thank you.

Kind regards,

NEAR ACCDOC Team

References

Visible links
1. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/...

NEAR MIGRATION, Politique européenne de voisinage et négociations d'élargissement

2 Attachments