Access to documents – Media payments through Havas framework contract
Dear Secretariat General of the European Commission,
I am a journalist working for an independent Dutch media platform. In this capacity, I request access to the following documents under Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 regarding public access to European Parliament, Council and Commission documents:
1. All documents relating to the framework contract(s) between the European Commission and Havas Media France concerning the distribution of media funding in the period 2020–2025.
2. A list of media outlets or organizations that received funding, grants, or promotional contracts via Havas Media under this framework.
3. The specific selection criteria and budgetary breakdown of funds allocated via this mechanism, particularly in the context of the 2024 European Parliament election period.
4. Any communication, minutes or emails exchanged between the European Commission and Havas Media France or Vivendi concerning editorial independence, distribution of funds, or public transparency.
If parts of these documents are confidential or redacted, I kindly ask for partial disclosure under Article 4 of the Regulation.
I am happy to clarify or refine this request further if needed.
Sincerely,
Marit Nubé
Journalist – NieuwRechts
Dear Sir or Madam,
We are writing to you concerning your request for access to documents sent
on 11/04/2025 and registered on 11/04/2025 under case number 2025/2060.
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,
Secretariat-General - 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 Secretariat General of the European Commission,
My postal address is:
[Name] Cvandaag
[Address] Arthur van Schendelstraat 650
[ZIP Code] 3511 MJ Utrecht
Yours faithfully,
Marit Nubé
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/...
Dear Sir or Madam,
We hereby acknowledge the receipt of your request for access to documents
sent on 11/04/2025 and registered on 11/04/2025 under the case number
2025/2060.
We will handle your request within 15 working days as of the date of
registration. The time-limit expires on 08/05/2025. 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
Visible links
1. https://ec.europa.eu/info/principles-and...
Dear Secretariat General of the European Commission,
Thank you for your message. My postal address is as follows:
[Name] Cvandaag
[Street] Arthur van Schendelstraat 650
[ZIP Code] 3511 MJ Utrecht
Yours faithfully,
Marit Nubé
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/...
Dear Madam,
We are writing concerning your request for access to Commission documents
registered on 11/04/2025 under case number 2025/2060.
We are currently working on your request. However, we will not be able to
send you the reply within the prescribed time limit expiring on
08/05/2025.
An extended time limit is needed since different services must be
consulted.
Therefore, in line with Article 7(3) of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001, we
need to extend the time limit by 15 additional working days. The new time
limit expires on 02/06/2025.
We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.
Yours sincerely,
ACCESS TO DOCUMENTS TEAM
European Commission
DG COMM
Dear Ms Nubé,
We are writing to you concerning your request for access to Commission
documents for case 2025/2060, registered on 11/04/2025.
On 08/05/2025, we extended the time-limit for replying to your initial
request to 02/06/2025.
Unfortunately, we will not be able to send you the reply within this
extended time limit due to the complexity of the file and to consultation
of third parties.
However, we assure you that we are doing our best to send a reply to your
initial request as soon as possible.
We regret this additional delay and sincerely apologize for any
inconvenience this may cause.
Kind regards,
DG COMM – Access to Documents
European Commission
Dear Ms Nubé,
Please find attached the reply to your request for access to Commission
documents registered under the above case number 2025/2060.
Please acknowledge the receipt of this message by return email.
Kind regards,
ACCESS TO DOCUMENTS TEAM
European Commission
DG COMM
Dear Ms Nubé,
Please find attached the reply to your request for access to Commission
documents registered under the above case number 2025/2060.
Please acknowledge the receipt of this message by return email.
Kind regards,
ACCESS TO DOCUMENTS TEAM
European Commission
DG COMM
Dear Ms Nubé,
Please find attached the reply to your request for access to Commission
documents registered under the above case number 2025/2060.
Please acknowledge the receipt of this message by return email.
Kind regards,
ACCESS TO DOCUMENTS TEAM
European Commission
DG COMM
Dear Ms Nubé,
Please find attached the reply to your request for access to Commission
documents registered under the above case number 2025/2060.
Please acknowledge the receipt of this message by return email.
Kind regards,
ACCESS TO DOCUMENTS TEAM
European Commission
DG COMM