Access to meeting minutes regarding the EMFA
Dear Communications Networks, Content and Technology,
In January 2025, the Head of Unit met with multiple stakeholders on the topic: "Exchange of views in the context of preparatory work on draft guidelines on Article 18(1) European Media Freedom Act (EMFA) to be issued by the European Commission under Article 18(9) of the EMFA."
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:
1. The minutes–or a brief/summary–of the meetings held with (a) Reporters sans frontières; (b) European Federation of Journalists; (c) Twitter International Unlimited Company; (d) TikTok Technology Ltd; (e) Snap, Inc.; (f) Meta Platforms Ireland Limited and its various subsidiaries; (g) LinkedIn Ireland; (h) Google; (i) DOT Europe; (j) EBU-UER (European Broadcasting Union).
2. Any pertinent documents to the aforementioned meetings as regards the preparatory work on draft guidelines on Article 18(1) European Media Freedom Act (EMFA) to be issued by the European Commission under Article 18(9) of the EMFA.
In case the documents should be classified or cannot be released because of special treatment exceptions, I am asking for the name, source (e.g. the institution, DG and unit) and any reference number of these documents. If information under the scope of regulation 1049/2001 is not held by DG CONNECT but by the Commission, the Commissioner or another DG or Commission unit, I would like this information to be included in this request.
Yours faithfully,
Charis Papaevangelou
University of Amsterdam
Dear Sir or Madam,
We are writing to you concerning your request for access to documents sent
on 24/03/2025 and registered on 24/03/2025 under case number 2025/1691.
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 Communications Networks, Content and Technology,
Please find below my updated request.
Between 20-23 January 2025, the Head of Unit met with multiple stakeholders on the topic: "Exchange of views in the context of preparatory work on draft guidelines on Article 18(1) European Media Freedom Act (EMFA) to be issued by the European Commission under Article 18(9) of the EMFA."
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:
1. The minutes of, as well as any exchanges (incl. emails, messages, and any other relevant form of communication) that preceded or followed the meetings held:
1a) on 20/1/2025 with: Snap, Inc.; Twitter International Unlimited Company (TIC); Meta Platforms Ireland Limited and its various subsidiaries; LinkedIn Ireland (LNKD); Computer and Communications Industry Association (CCIA Europe); DOT Europe; TikTok Technology Ltd (TikTok); Google;
1b) on 21/1/2025 with: Association of Commercial Television and Video on Demand Services in Europe (ACT); EBU-UER (European Broadcasting Union) (EBU-UER); European Publishers Council (EPC); European Newspaper Publishers' Association (ENPA); News Media Europe (NME)
European Magazine Media Association (EMMA);
1c) on 22/1/2025 with: European Federation of Journalists (EFJ); Reporters sans frontières (RSF)
Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ); European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF)
Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF); ARTICLE 19; International Press Institute (IPI); Civil Liberties Union for Europe (Liberties);
1d) on 23/1/2025 with: European Fact-Checking Standards Network (EFCSN)
2. Any pertinent documents to the preparatory work on draft guidelines on Article 18(1) European Media Freedom Act (EMFA) to be issued by the European Commission under Article 18(9) of the EMFA, such as internal communication within the Unit.
In case the documents should be classified or cannot be released because of special treatment exceptions, I am asking for the name, source (e.g. the institution, DG and unit) and any reference number of these documents. If information under the scope of regulation 1049/2001 is not held by DG CONNECT but by the Commission, the Commissioner or another DG or Commission unit, I would like this information to be included in this request.
Yours faithfully,
Charis Papaevangelou
University of Amsterdam
Nieuwe Achtergracht 166
Postbus 15514
1001 NA Amsterdam
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 24/03/2025 and registered on 24/03/2025 under the case number
2025/1693.
We will handle your request within 15 working days as of the date of
registration. The time-limit expires on 14/04/2025. 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 Sir,
We refer to your request for access to documents, registered under the
abovementioned reference number.
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 today. An extended time limit is
needed as different services need to be consulted.
Therefore we have to extend the time limit with 15 working days in
accordance with Article 7(3) of Regulation (EC) 1049/2001 regarding public
access to documents. The new time limit expires on 12 May 2025.
We apologise for this delay and for any inconvenience this may cause.
Yours faithfully,
DG CONNECT Access to Documents Team
Hello,
Please find attached a message concerning your request for access to
Commission documents registered under the above case number 2025/1693.
Please acknowledge the receipt of this message by return email.
Kind regards,
European Commission
DG CONNECT — ACCESS TO DOCUMENTS
Rue de la Loi, 51
B-1049 Brussels/Belgium
Dear Sir or Madam,
We hereby acknowledge the receipt of your confirmatory request for case
2025/1693, sent on 23/05/2025 and registered on 23/05/2025.
We will handle your confirmatory request within 15 working days as of the
date of registration. The time-limit expires on 17/06/2025. 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 applicant,
We are writing concerning your confirmatory request for access to
Commission documents for case 2025/1693 registered on 23/05/2025.
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. We will not be able to send you the reply within
the prescribed time limit expiring on 17/06/2025, due to ongoing internal
consultations.
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 08/07/2025.
We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.
Kind regards,
Secretariat-General - Access to Documents
European Commission
References
Visible links
1. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/...
Dear applicant,
We are writing to you concerning your confirmatory request for access to
Commission documents for case 2025/1693, registered on 23/05/2025.
On 17/06/2025, we extended the time-limit for replying to your
confirmatory request to 08/07/2025.
Unfortunately, we will not be able to send you the reply within this
extended time limit, due to ongoing internal consultations.
However, we assure you that we are doing our best to send a reply to your
confirmatory request as soon as possible.
We regret this additional delay and sincerely apologize for any
inconvenience this may cause.
Kind regards,
Secretariat-General - Access to Documents
European Commission
Dear PAPAEVANGELOU, Charis,
Please find attached the electronic version of European Commission
Decision C(2025) 8946 as adopted by the European Commission on 14/12/2025
concerning the request 2025/1693.
In accordance with the Terms and Conditions of this portal, please note
that this decision is being formally notified pursuant to article 297 TFEU
through this electronic platform only.
Yours sincerely,
Access to documents team - SG.A.2