Communication EU-India FTA
Dear Trade,
Under the right of access to documents in the EU treaties, as developed in Regulation 1049/2001, I am requesting all documents (starting from 8th May 2021 up until 31st July 2024) related to meetings between representatives of DG Trade and representatives of the European dairy industry (including trade associations, industry associations, law firms, individual companies and COPA COGECA) with regard to the EU-India free trade agreement.
These documents should include:
- all agendas for each of these meetings;
- any record of the aforementioned meetings. This may include, but not necessarily be limited to, minutes of the meetings, verbatim reports of the meetings, transcripts etc, that would provide a record of the proceedings of the meetings;
- all documents prepared or received for the purpose of these meetings and/or distributed among the attendees before or during the course of these meetings (such as – but not limited to handouts, leaflets, briefings or background notes);
- all correspondence sent or received in preparation for these meetings and/or in order to arrange these meetings, including all attachments;
- all documents prepared or received with regards to and/or as a follow up to these meetings;
- all correspondence sent or received with regards to and/or as a follow up to these meetings,
including all attachments.
Yours faithfully,
Hans Wetzels
Follow the Money
Dear Sir or Madam,
We are writing to you concerning your request for access to documents sent
on 31/07/2024 and registered on 01/08/2024 under case number 2024/4094.
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,
Directorate-General for Trade - 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 Trade,
Hereby my postal address:
Hans Wetzels
Naarderstraat 153
2574PG, Den Haag
the Netherlands
Yours faithfully,
Hans Wetzels
Dear Sir or Madam,
We hereby acknowledge the receipt of your request for access to documents
sent on 31/07/2024 and registered on 01/08/2024 under the case number
2024/4094.
We will handle your request within 15 working days as of the date of
registration. The time-limit expires on 23/08/2024. 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 Trade - Access to Documents
European Commission
References
Visible links
1. https://ec.europa.eu/info/principles-and...
Subject: Your application for access to documents – EASE 2024/4094, here:
extension of the time limit for the reply
Dear Mr Wetzels,
We refer to your application for public access to documents registered on
1 August 2024 under the EASE reference number mentioned in subject.
Your application is currently being handled and the reply to it should be
finalised very soon.
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
23 August 2024 i.e. today.
An extended time limit is needed as for the preparation of the reply
different services need to be consulted.
Therefore, we have to extend the time limit by 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 13 September 2024.
We apologise for this delay and for any inconvenience this may cause.
Yours sincerely,
DG TRADE Access to Documents Team
European Commission
Directorate General for Trade
Unit R3 – Transparency, Civil Society and Communications
CHAR
1049 Brussels
Belgium
Make your voice heard
Conference on the Future of Europe | #TheFutureIsYours |
[1]futureu.europa.eu
References
Visible links
1. https://futureu.europa.eu/
Dear Mr WETZELS,
Please find attached our reply to your request registered under the number
EASE 2024/4094.
We would appreciate if you could confirm receipt of the present e-mail by
replying to [DG TRADE request email].
Kind regards,
DG TRADE Access to Documents Team
European Commission
Directorate General for Trade
Unit R3 – Transparency, Civil Society and Communications
CHAR