Chapter 23 opening/closing benchmarks
Dear Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations,
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. EU Common Position documents on Chapter 23 opening/closing benchmarks for Montenegro, Albania and North Macedonia,
2. Any internal assessment grids or templates used by DG NEAR used to assess progress of Montenegro, Albania and North Macedonia on Chapter 23 and specifically in the area of personal data protection,
3. Any other assessments used to assess progress of Montenegro, Albania and North Macedonia on Chapter 23 and specifically in the area of personal data protection,
4. Any documents exchanged with the European Data Protection Board or other European Commission bodies on the progress of Montenegro, Albania and North Macedonia on Chapter 23 and specifically in the area of personal data protection.
Yours faithfully,
Dr Jakob R Avgustin
Dear Dr Jakob R Avgustin,
We received an email for access to documents from you under Regulation
(EC) 1049/2001.
There is some further information we require before proceeding to formally
register your request. You must indicate your full name and a postal
address for the request to be registered in our system.
There are eligibility checks which must be conducted to decide whether you
are eligible to submit an access to documents request. In line with the
Detailed rules for the application of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001, only
citizens of the Union and natural or legal persons residing or having
their registered office in a Member State can submit requests to have
access to Commission documents.
Therefore, we kindly ask for the following clarifications/information:
• Please inform us of your nationality and/or postal address.
• If you are requesting as a natural person, please provide proof of the
postal address and/or the nationality you declare.
• If you are requesting on behalf of a legal person, we kindly ask for
further information on the entity/organisation to determine whether
the legal entity has its headquarters or at least one registered
office in the EU.
Many thanks in advance.
Kind regards,
ENEST ACCDOC Team
Dear [email address],
Thank you for your email.
As per your request, I confirm I am a citizen of the Republic of Slovenia, though I currently reside in the UK. My UK address can be seen in my Slovenian passport - but I can't seem to be able to attach any documents here. Please advise how I can share that information with you.
Yours sincerely,
Jakob R Avgustin
Dear Sir or Madam,
We hereby acknowledge the receipt of your request for access to documents
sent on 04/05/2026 and registered on 18/05/2026 under the case number
2026/2593.
We will handle your request within 15 working days as of the date of
registration. The time-limit expires on 09/06/2026. 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 Enlargement and Eastern Neighbourhood - Access to
Documents
European Commission
References
Visible links
1. https://ec.europa.eu/info/principles-and...
Dear Mr Rebic Avgustin,
We are writing concerning your request for access to Commission documents
registered on 18/05/2026 under case number EASE 2026/2593.
We are not yet able to identify any document based on the description
given in your request.
In line with Article 6(2) of [1]Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 regarding
public access to documents, we invite you to send us more detailed
information on the documents you request, such as references, dates or
periods during which the documents would have been drawn up, persons or
bodies who drafted the documents etc.
For example, in your request you refer to "docuements" generally under
point 1. Can you please be more specific here n what documents you are
requesting. In point 2, you refer to "any internal assessment grids or
templates ", used to assess progress on Chapter 23 "and" in the area of
data protection specifically. Are you able to be more precise and describe
what grids internal assessment grids, templates you are requesting rather
than "any".
Furthermore, in point 3, you mention, "Any other assessments" which is
very broad. We also want to clarify which bodies/institutions your request
is targeted at because you mention exchanges "with the European Data
Protection Board or other European Commission bodies". We invite you to be
clarify your request in this regard.
Lastly, we ask that you clarify and confirm whether your request is
specifically for documents on progress specifically in the area of
"personal data protection" as described in your request under points 2, 3
and 4
The 15 working days to reply to your request will start running only when
you reply to this message. If you do not reply within 7 working days, we
will close this case in line with our detailed rules for the application
of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001.
Kind regards,
ENEST ACCDOC Team
References
Visible links
1. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/...
Dear Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations,
Thank you for your message.
With regard to question 1 - my request refers to any type of document that includes the EU Common Position on Chapter 23 opening/closing benchmarks for Montenegro, Albania and North Macedonia. It is my understanding of the accession process that candidate countries undergo a screening process during which benchmarks are set for the candidate to pursue. I am interested in documents showing such benchmarks when negotiations opened and if any of them closed on Chapter 23 for Montenegro, Albania and North Macedonia. I am unable to speculate about the type or format of such documents,.
With regard to question 2 - again, it is my understanding that DG NEAR and its successor assess progress of candidates during their negotiations which then result in progress reports. I am interested in any documents showing such assessments on Chapter 23 - specifically in the area of personal data protection for Montenegro, Albania and North Macedonia, whatever their type or format. For example, on what basis or assessment does a progress report state that "progress has been made" or that the national data protection law still needs alignment with the acquis. To reiterate, I am requesting any documents with those assessments the conclusions of which then usually feed into the progress reports.
With regard to question 3 - this question is the same as question 2, but was set up in a broader fashion, attempting to request for any and all documents of the DG assessments of progress on Chapter 23 - specifically in the area of personal data protection for Montenegro, Albania and North Macedonia, whatever their type or format.
With regard to question 4 - it is my understanding that DG is sometimes advised by the EDPB or other EC bodies when undertaking assessments as per questions 2 and 3 above, This part of the request refers to any documents - again whatever their type or format, exchanged to that end.
To clarify, only questions 2, 3 and 4 are focused on personal data protection, question 1 refers to the entirety of Chapter 23.
Yours faithfully,
Jakob R Avgustin
Dear ENEST ACCDOC Team,
On 1 June you requested further clarification of my request which I provided on 2 June.
In that same message you confirmed that the 15-day working days due date for your reply would start after my response was received. I believe the due date expires tomorrow 24 June - could I please have an update as to my request?
Thank you,
Jakob R Avgustin
Dear Mr Rebic Avgustin,
We are writing concerning your request for access to Commission documents
registered on 18/05/2026 under case number EASE 2026/2593.
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 on 24/06/2026.
For the following reasons:
• the application concerns different Services, which must be consulted.
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 15 July 2026.
We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.
Kind regards,
ENEST ACCDOC Team
References
Visible links
1. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/...
Hello,
Please find attached a message concerning your request for access to
Commission documents registered under the above case number 2026/2593.
Please acknowledge the receipt of this message by return email.
Kind regards,
ENEST ACCDOC Team
Hello,
Please find attached a message concerning your request for access to
Commission documents registered under the above case number 2026/2593.
Please acknowledge the receipt of this message by return email.
Kind regards,
ENEST ACCDOC Team
Dear ENEST ACCDOC Team
I acknowledge receipt of your response and all the attachments.
Thank you,
Jakob R Avgustin