Ref. Ares(2023)3048876 - 02/05/2023
EUROPEAN COMMISSION
DIRECTORATE-GENERAL FOR ENERGY
Directorate A – Energy policy: Strategy and Coordination
A.1 – Interinstitutional, Policy Coordination and Planning
The Head of Unit
Brussels, 02/05/2023
MP ener.a.1(2023)4563949
Mr Barnaby Pace
Global Witness, c/o WeWork
Rue de Commerce 31 /
Handelsstraat 31
1000 Brussels
By email: ask+request-12647-
xxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxx.xxx
Subject:
Your application for access to documents – EASE 2023/1266
Dear Mr Pace,
We refer to your e-mail of 23 February 2023 in which you make a request for access to
documents, registered on 23 February 2023 under the above-mentioned reference
number.
You request access to
all documents—including but not limited to correspondence,
emails, minutes, notes (hand written or electronic), audio or video recordings, verbatim
reports, operational conclusions, lines to take, briefings, and presentations—related to
the meeting on February 16 between Thor-Sten Vertmann and Vattenfall.
Your application concerns the following documents:
N.
Stakeholder
Ares
Date
Title
1
Vattenfall
Ares(2023)962795
16/02/2023 MEETING REQUEST TSV
13/2/2023 or 16/02/2023, or
17/02/2023 - Meeting with
Vattenfall representatives on
electricity market reform
2
Vattenfall
Ares(2023)2829542 16/02/2023 MINUTES_MEETING WITH
VATTENFALL_20230216
Commission européenne/Europese Commissie, 1049 Bruxelles/Brussel, BELGIQUE/BELGIË – Tel. +32 22991111
Office: DM24 08/084 – Tel. direct line +32 229-62496
Having examined the documents requested under the provisions of Regulation (EC) No
1049/2001 regarding public access to documents, I have come to the conclusion that the
documents listed above may be partially disclosed.
In fact, a complete disclosure of the identified documents is prevented by the exception
concerning the protection of privacy and the integrity of the individual outlined in Article
4(1)(b) of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001, because they contain the following personal data:
-
the names/initials and contact information of Commission staff members not
pertaining to the senior management;
-
the names/initials and contact details of other natural persons.
Article 9(1)(b) of the Data Protection Regulation does not allow the transmission of these
personal data, except if you prove that it is necessary to have the data transmitted to you
for a specific purpose in the public interest and where there is no reason to assume that
the legitimate interests of the data subject might be prejudiced. In your request, you do not
express any particular interest to have access to these personal data nor do you put forward
any arguments to establish the necessity to have the data transmitted for a specific purpose
in the public interest.
Consequently, I conclude that, pursuant to Article 4(1)(b) of Regulation (EC) No
1049/2001, access cannot be granted to the personal data contained in the requested
documents, as the need to obtain access thereto for a purpose in the public interest has not
been substantiated and there is no reason to think that the legitimate interests of the
individuals concerned would not be prejudiced by disclosure of the personal data concerned.
Access is granted to minutes of a meeting with external parties (document n.2). This
document was drawn up for internal use under the responsibility of the relevant service.
It solely reflects the service’s interpretation of the interventions made and does not set
out any official position of the third parties to which the document refers. It does not
reflect the position of the Commission and cannot be quoted as such.
In accordance with Article 7(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001, you are entitled to make
a confirmatory application requesting the Commission to review this position.
Such a confirmatory application should be addressed to the Secretariat-General of the
Commission within 15 working days upon receipt of this letter. You can submit it in one of
the following ways:
by asking for a review via your portal1 account (available only for initial requests
submitted via the portal account),
1
https://www.ec.europa.eu/transparency/documents-request
2
or by mail:
European Commission
Secretariat-General
Transparency,
Document
Management
&
Access
to
Documents
(SG.C.1)
BERL 7/076
B-1049 Brussels
or by email to: xxxxxxxxxx@xx.xxxxxx.xx
Yours sincerely,
Electronically signed
Paula Abreu Marques
3
Electronically signed on 28/04/2023 17:40 (UTC+02) in accordance with Article 11 of Commission Decision (EU) 2021/2121
