Meeting with Axel Springer SE on 08/02/2021

La demande est réussie.

Alexander Fanta

Dear Secretariat General of the European 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 documents related to a meeting between Anthony Whelan, Cabinet member of Ursula von der Leyen, and Axel Springer SE on February 8, 2021 as found in the Transparency Register. The request includes e-mails, meeting minutes and any other document related to the meeting.

Yours faithfully,

Alexander Fanta

netzpolitik.org
Rue de la Loi 155
1040 Bruxelles
Belgium

ve_sg.accessdoc (SG), Secrétariat général de la Commission européenne

[1]Ares(2021)1713898 - RE: access to documents request - Meeting with Axel
Springer SE on 08/02/2021 --- Ref. Gestdem 2021/1361

Sent by ve_sg.accessdoc (SG) <[SG request email]>. All responses have
to be sent to this email address.
Envoyé par ve_sg.accessdoc (SG) <[SG request email]>. Toutes les
réponses doivent être effectuées à cette adresse électronique.

Dear Sir,

We hereby acknowledge receipt of your application for access to documents,
which was registered on 09/03/2021 under reference number GESTDEM
2021/1361.

In accordance with Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 regarding public access to
European Parliament, Council and Commission documents, your application
will be handled within 15 working days.

The time limit will expire on 30/03/2021. In case this time limit needs to
be extended, you will be informed in due course.

You have lodged your application via a private third-party website, which
has no link with any institution of the European Union.
Therefore, the European Commission cannot be held accountable for any
technical issues or problems linked to the use of this system.

Please note that the private third party running the AsktheEU.org website
is responsible and accountable for the processing of your personal data
via that website, and not the Commission.
For further information on your rights, please refer to the third party’s
privacy policy.

We understand that the third party running the AsktheEU.org website
usually publishes the content of applicants’ correspondence with the
Commission on that website. This includes the personal data that you may
have communicated to the Commission (e.g. your private postal address).

Similarly, the third party publishes on that website any reply that the
Commission will send to the email address of the applicants generated by
the AsktheEU.org website.

If you do not wish that your correspondence with the Commission is
published on a private third-party website such as AsktheEU.org, you can
provide us with an alternative, private e-mail address for further
correspondence. In that case, the Commission will send all future
electronic correspondence addressed to you only to that private address,
and it will use only that private address to reply to your request. You
should still remain responsible to inform the private third-party website
about this change of how you wish to communicate with, and receive a reply
from, the Commission.

For information on how we process your personal data visit our page
Privacy statement – access to documents.

Yours faithfully,

Access to documents team (rc)
SG.C.1
Transparency

Afficher les sections citées

ve_sg.d1 (SG), Secrétariat général de la Commission européenne

Link: [1]File-List
Link: [2]themeData
Link: [3]colorSchemeMapping

[4]Ares(2021)2205932 - Ares(2021)1713799 - access to documents request -
extension of the deadline - GESTDEM 2021/1361

Sent by ve_sg.d1 (SG) <[email address]>. All responses have to
be sent to this email address.
Envoyé par ve_sg.d1 (SG) <[email address]>. Toutes les réponses
doivent être effectuées à cette adresse électronique.

Dear Mr Fanta,

 

We refer to your e-mail of 09.03.2021 in which you make a request for
access to documents, registered on 09.03.2021 under reference number
GESTDEM 2021/1361.

 

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 on 30.03.2021.

 

An extended time limit is needed in order to retrieve the documents
requested.

 

Therefore, we have to extend the time limit with 15 working days in
accordance with Article 7(3) of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 regarding
public access to documents. The new time limit expires on 23.04.2021.

 

We apologise for this delay and for any inconvenience this may cause.

 

Best Regards,

The secretariat SG.D.1

 

Afficher les sections citées

ve_sg.d1(SG), Secrétariat général de la Commission européenne

2 Attachments

Please find attached document Ares(2021)2532328 from ve_sg.d1 (SG.D.1) dated 14/04/2021.

Veuillez trouver ci-joint le document Ares(2021)2532328 de ve_sg.d1 (SG.D.1) daté du 14/04/2021.

Dear Secretariat General of the European Commission,

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 'Meeting with Axel Springer SE on 08/02/2021'.

Key information in the document was redacted with reference to the exception for commercial interests as set out in Article 4 (2) of Regulation 1049/2001. No further rationale for the redaction was set out.

I would like to point out that the General Court of the European Union in the Evropaïki Dynamiki case (T-167/10) has clearly set out that the authority denying access must establish how access to the documents requested would specifically and actually undermine that objective in a way that was reasonably foreseeable and not purely hypothetical. Furthermore, the European Ombudsman has found (Case: 1701/2011/ANA 24 June 2013; Case: 676/2008/RT) that not all information about a company is commercially sensitive, so a test should be performed each time to conclude whether the exception applies. In this context it may be pointed out that the negative opinion of a stakeholders regarding disclosure is not binding for the Commission. I ask the General Secretariat to spell out exactly how the disclosure would hurt specifically hurt the commercial interests of Axel Springer SE or provide full access to the paragraph in question.

Yours faithfully,

Alexander Fanta

Sg-Acc-Doc@ec.europa.eu, Secrétariat général de la Commission européenne

Your message has been received by the Transparency Unit of the
Secretariat-General of the European Commission.
Requests for public access to documents are treated on the basis of
[1]Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 of 30 May 2001 regarding public access to
European Parliament, Council and Commission documents.
The Secretariat-General will reply to your request within 15 working days
upon registration of your request and will duly inform you of the
registration of the request (or of any additional information to be
provided in view of its registration and/or treatment).
 
 
L’unité «Transparence» du secrétariat général de la Commission européenne
a bien reçu votre message.
Les demandes d’accès du public aux documents sont traitées sur la base du
[2]règlement (CE) n° 1049/2001 du 30 mai 2001 relatif à l’accès du public
aux documents du Parlement européen, du Conseil et de la Commission.
Le secrétariat général répondra à votre demande dans un délai de 15 jours
ouvrables à compter de la date d’enregistrement de votre demande, et vous
informera de cet enregistrement (ou vous indiquera toute information
supplémentaire à fournir en vue de l'enregistrement et/ou du traitement de
votre demande).
 
 
Ihre Nachricht ist beim Referat „Transparenz“ des Generalsekretariats der
Europäischen Kommission eingegangen.
Anträge auf Zugang zu Dokumenten werden auf der Grundlage der
[3]Verordnung (EG) Nr. 1049/2001 vom 30. Mai 2001 über den Zugang der
Öffentlichkeit zu Dokumenten des Europäischen Parlaments, des Rates und
der Kommission behandelt.
Das Generalsekretariat beantwortet Ihre Anfrage innerhalb von
15 Arbeitstagen nach deren Registrierung und wird Sie über die
Registrierung Ihres Antrags (oder die Notwendigkeit weiterer Informationen
im Hinblick auf dessen Registrierung und/oder Bearbeitung) unterrichten.
 
 

References

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

ve_sg.accessdoc (SG), Secrétariat général de la Commission européenne

[1]Ares(2021)2535441 - RE: Internal review of access to documents request
- Meeting with Axel Springer SE on 08/02/2021 --- Ref. Gestdem 2021/1361

Sent by ve_sg.accessdoc (SG) <[SG request email]>. All responses have
to be sent to this email address.
Envoyé par ve_sg.accessdoc (SG) <[SG request email]>. Toutes les
réponses doivent être effectuées à cette adresse électronique.

Dear Sir,

Thank you for your email dated 14/04/2021 by which you request, pursuant
to Regulation No 1049/2001 regarding public access to European Parliament,
Council and Commission documents, a review of the position taken by the
Secretariat General in reply to your initial application GESTDEM
2021/1361.

We hereby acknowledge receipt of your confirmatory application for access
to documents which was registered on 14/04/2021 (Ares(2021)2535401).

Your application will be handled within 15 working days (05/05/2021). In
case this time limit needs to be extended, you will be informed in due
course.

Please be informed that the answer to your confirmatory application is a
formal Commission decision that will be notified to you by express
delivery. Thank you for providing your contact phone number, so that the
external delivery service can contact you in case of absence.

Please note that the Commission will not use your phone number for any
other purpose than for informing the delivery service, and that it will
delete it immediately thereafter.

Yours faithfully,

Access to documents team (cr)
SG.C.1
Transparency

Afficher les sections citées

ve_sg.accessdoc (SG), Secrétariat général de la Commission européenne

1 Attachment

Link: [1]File-List
Link: [2]Edit-Time-Data
Link: [3]themeData
Link: [4]colorSchemeMapping

[5]Your confirmatory application for access to documents under Regulation
(EC) No 1049/2001 - GESTDEM 2021/1361 - 1st holding letter -
Ares(2021)3021768

Sent by ve_sg.accessdoc (SG) <[SG request email]>. All responses have
to be sent to this email address.
Envoyé par ve_sg.accessdoc (SG) <[SG request email]>. Toutes les
réponses doivent être effectuées à cette adresse électronique.

Dear Mr Fanta,

 

I refer to your email of 14 April 2021, registered on the same day, 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 (hereafter ‘Regulation (EC)
No 1049/2001’).

 

I would like to inform you that your confirmatory application is currently
being handled. Unfortunately, due to ongoing consultations, we are not in
a position to reply to your confirmatory request within the prescribed
time limit which expired on 5 May 2021.

 

Consequently, we have to extend this period by another 15 working days in
accordance with Article 8(2) of Regulation(EC) No 1049/2001. The new
deadline expires on 31 May 2021.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

 

 

María OLIVÁN AVILÉS
Head of Unit

[6]cid:image001.gif@01D13362.41D673C0

European Commission

Secretariat General

Unit C.1 (Transparency, Document Management and Access to Documents)

 

References

Visible links
1. file:///tmp/cid:filelist.xml@01D74264.2E569CF0
2. file:///tmp/cid:editdata.mso
3. file:///tmp/~~themedata~~
4. file:///tmp/~~colorschememapping~~
5. https://webgate.ec.testa.eu/Ares/documen...

ve_sg.accessdoc (SG), Secrétariat général de la Commission européenne

1 Attachment

Link: [1]File-List
Link: [2]Edit-Time-Data
Link: [3]themeData
Link: [4]colorSchemeMapping

[5]Your confirmatory application for access to documents under Regulation
(EC) No 1049/2001 - GESTDEM 2021/1361 - 2nd holding letter -
Ares(2021)3605204

Sent by ve_sg.accessdoc (SG) <[SG request email]>. All responses have
to be sent to this email address.
Envoyé par ve_sg.accessdoc (SG) <[SG request email]>. Toutes les
réponses doivent être effectuées à cette adresse électronique.

Dear Mr Fanta,

 

I refer to your email of 14 April 2021, registered on the same day, by
which you submit a confirmatory application in accordance with Article
8(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 regarding public access to European
Parliament, Council and Commission documents ("Regulation (EC) No
1049/2001"), registered under reference numbers GESTDEM 2021/1361.

 

We also refer to our holding reply of 6 May 2021, by which the time limit
for replying to your application was extended by 15 working days. This
extended time limit expired on 31 May 2021.

 

We regret to have to inform you that we will not be able to respond within
the extended time-limit. The consultations with the Cabinet concerned and
the Secretariat-General services are still ongoing as well as our reniewed
search and therefore we are missing the important elements needed to carry
out a full analysis of your request and to take a final decision. We
believe that we will be able to close all ongoing internal consultations
this week.

 

However, we can assure you that we are doing our utmost to provide you
with a final reply as soon as possible. We regret this additional delay
and sincerely apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

 

Yours faithfully,

 

 

 

María OLIVÁN AVILÉS
Head of Unit

[6]cid:image001.gif@01D13362.41D673C0

European Commission

Secretariat General

SG.C.1 (Transparency, Document Management and Access to Documents)

 

References

Visible links
1. file:///tmp/cid:filelist.xml@01D756F2.2A3CC8E0
2. file:///tmp/cid:editdata.mso
3. file:///tmp/~~themedata~~
4. file:///tmp/~~colorschememapping~~
5. https://webgate.ec.testa.eu/Ares/documen...

Dear ve_sg.accessdoc (SG),

I see that the deadline for dealing with my internal review has long expired. Can you provide a response?

Yours sincerely,

Alexander Fanta

SG ACCES DOCUMENTS, Secrétariat général de la Commission européenne

5 Attachments

Link: [1]File-List
Link: [2]Edit-Time-Data
Link: [3]themeData
Link: [4]colorSchemeMapping

Dear Mr Fanta,

Please note that the confirmatory decision in above mentioned case was
sent to you on 12 July 2021 (please see enclosed).

Yours sincerely,

 

ACCESS TO DOCUMENTS TEAM (GD)

 

[5]cid:image001.png@01D45409.F767C980

European Commission

Secretariat-General

SG C.1

[6][email address]

 

 

 

Afficher les sections citées

Dear SG ACCES DOCUMENTS,

thanks, got it.

Yours sincerely,

Alexander Fanta