EUTF - Tunisia
To the DG Near of the EU Commission,
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 interim, final and evaluation reports on the project “EU Support to Border Management Institutions in Libya and Tunisia - NDICI-GEO-NEAR/2021/043-487”
all interim, final and evaluation reports on the project “EU Support to Cross-Border Cooperation and Integrated Border Management in North Africa”
Best regards,
Paolo Riva
Dear Sir or Madam,
We are writing to you concerning your request for access to documents sent
on 29/12/2023 and registered on 03/01/2024 under case number 2024/0010.
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,
my postal address is:
Rue Africaine, 1 - 1050 Ixelles - Belgique
Yours faithfully,
Paolo Riva
Dear Sir or Madam,
We hereby acknowledge the receipt of your request for access to documents
sent on 29/12/2023 and registered on 08/01/2024 under the case number
2024/0010.
We will handle your request within 15 working days as of the date of
registration. The time-limit expires on 29/01/2024. 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 Applicant,
We are writing concerning your request for access to Commission documents
registered on 3 January 2024 under case number EASE 2024/0010.
We are currently working on your request. However, we have not yet been
able to gather all the elements necessary to carry out a full analysis of
your request. We will not be able to send you the reply within the
prescribed time limit expiring today, due to further consultations.
Therefore, in line with Article 7(3) of [1]Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001,
we need to extend this time limit by 15 additional working days. The new
time limit expires on 19 February 2024.
We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.
Kind regards,
NEAR ACCDOC Team
References
Visible links
1. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/...
Dear Sir,
We are referring to your request for access to documents with reference
number EASE 2024/0010.
We are afraid that the reply to your request for access to documents has
required longer than usual.
We can assure you that we are doing out utmost to provide you with a final
reply as soon as possible.
Thank you in advance for your kind understanding and apologise for any
inconvenience it may have caused.
Kind regards,
NEAR ACCDOC Team
Dear Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations,
I would like to have an update on my request which is already quite late
Thanks
Yours faithfully,
Paolo Riva
Dear Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations,
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 'EUTF - Tunisia'.
More than 15 days have passed and I still don't have any information
A full history of my request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.asktheeu.org/en/request/eutf...
Yours faithfully,
Paolo Riva
Dear Sir or Madam,
We hereby acknowledge the receipt of your confirmatory request for case
2024/0010, sent on 27/02/2024 and registered on 27/02/2024.
We will handle your confirmatory request within 15 working days as of the
date of registration. The time-limit expires on 19/03/2024. 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 Riva,
We are reaching out for your Access to Documents Request with reference
EASE 2024/0010.
We recall that you requested:
“…all interim, final and evaluation reports on the project “EU Support to
Border Management Institutions in Libya and Tunisia -
NDICI-GEO-NEAR/2021/043-487”
all interim, final and evaluation reports on the project “EU Support to
Cross-Border Cooperation and Integrated Border Management in North
Africa”.
Kindly note that the Phase III of the Border Management Programme for the
Maghreb region (BMP Maghreb) is part of the Action “EU Support to Border
Management Institutions in Libya and Tunisia -
NDICI-GEO-NEAR/2021/043-487”.
Additionally, in your reply to our fair solution proposal for your access
to documents request EASE 2024/0022, you indicated that you would like to
have documents related with “T05-EUTF-NOA-REG-07” which is the BMP
Maghreb.
Please be advised that the request EASE 2024/0022 should include all the
reports related to BMP Maghreb, while EASE 2024/0010 includes only the
reports from the last phase under NDICI.
Therefore, a number of documents identified under the requests EASE
2024/0010 and EASE 2024/0022 overlaps.
Hence, we suggest, that you withdraw the part of your request related with
the Phase III of the BMP Maghreb for the case EASE 2024/0010 and documents
related with BMP Maghreb will be only identify and assess under the AtD
request with ref. EASE 2024/0022.
Could you please confirm that you agree with our proposal?
We will highly appreciate your reply at your earliest convenience and if
possible, in three working days in order to start preparing the reply for
your access to documents request with ref. EASE 2024/0010.
Thank you in advance for your kind attention to this matter.
Kind regards,
NEAR ACCDOC Team
Dear applicant,
We are writing concerning your confirmatory request for access to
Commission documents for case 2024/0010, registered on 27 February 2024.
We are currently working on your confirmatory request. However, we have
not yet been able to gather all the elements necessary to carry out a full
analysis of your request. As internal consultations are still ongoing, we
will not be able to send you the reply within the prescribed time limit
expiring on 19 March 2024.
Therefore, in line with Article 8(2) of [1]Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001,
we need to extend this time limit by 15 additional working days. The new
time limit expires on 12 April 2024.
We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.
Kind regards,
SG.C.1 - Access to documents team
References
Visible links
1. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/...
Dear Mr Riva,
Please find attached a message concerning your request for access to
Commission documents registered under the above case number 2024/0010.
Please acknowledge the receipt of this message by return email.
Kind regards,
NEAR ACCDOC Team
Dear applicant,
Please find attached a message concerning your request for access to
Commission documents registered under the above case number 2024/0010.
Kind regards,
SG.C.1 - Access to documents team