Contacts between Qatar and the EU on the Methane Regulation
Luis Miguel Hurtado Coronado made this access to documents request to Energy as part of a batch sent to 2 authorities
Luis Miguel Hurtado Coronado
ARIA
Formentera, 15, Reus. 43205. Spain
27 October 2025
Dear Access to Documents Team,
Pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 and Regulation (EC) No 1367/2006, I request access to the following documents held by DG ENER:
Scope of request
- All communications and records between representatives of DG ENER and (a) the Government of Qatar, including the Ministry of Energy, and/or (b) QatarEnergy LNG, and/or their subsidiaries/representatives, where the EU Methane Regulation was discussed.
- All communications and records between the EU Delegation to Qatar and (a) DG Ener, and/or (b) the EEAS, where the EU Methane Regulation was discussed.
Timeframe: 1 November 2024 to 31 October 2025.
Record types included (non-exhaustive)
Emails and attachments (.eml/.msg preferred), letters, notes verbales, meeting requests, agendas, participant lists, briefings, talking points, Q&A, slide decks, non-papers, minutes/readouts, action trackers, teleconference summaries, instant messages used for official business (e.g., MS Teams/WhatsApp/Signal), calendar entries, and any follow-up correspondence.
Likely custodians/locations to search (non-exhaustive)
• DG ENER Cabinet of the Director-General; relevant Directors and Units covering gas markets, international energy relations, and decarbonisation of gases; stakeholder engagement mailboxes.
• Shared drives, ARES/e-DOMEA registries, and meeting calendar systems used for external stakeholder/government engagement.
Timeline, format and delivery
Kindly process within the statutory timeline (15 working days, extendable once with reasons). Rolling, partial releases are welcome. Please provide documents electronically in machine-readable form. Where available, supply native files for spreadsheets/presentations and preserve metadata. Scan any paper-only records at readable resolution.
Transparency, redactions, and third-party consultation
If Article 4 exceptions are invoked, release the remainder with targeted redactions and cite the specific legal basis per excerpt. Given the environmental nature, apply Regulation 1367/2006 and conduct the overriding public-interest test line-by-line. Where third-party consultation is required, proceed under Article 4(4) without delaying partial release.
Administrative handling
Please register this request and provide the case number. If parts are better handled by another service (e.g., SG, TRADE, CLIMA, or EEAS), transfer those parts under Article 6(2) and inform me. If you consider scope optimisation necessary, first provide a document inventory and/or hit counts by custodian and month to enable targeted narrowing.
Sincerely,
Luis Miguel Hurtado Coronado
ARIA
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,
Thank you for your initial request for access to documents.
Please be informed that Commission services will take care of your requested documents pertaining to DG ENER.
Please kindly note that European Agencies & EEAS independently process their own initial requests as well as confirmatory requests for access to documents.
Kind regards,
Access to documents team - cr
SG.A.2
Transparency
Dear Sir or Madam,
We hereby acknowledge the receipt of your request for access to documents
sent on 27/10/2025 and registered on 27/10/2025 under the case number
2025/5519.
We will handle your request within 15 working days as of the date of
registration. The time-limit expires on 17/11/2025. 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 Mr Hurtado Coronado,
We are writing concerning your request for access to Commission documents
registered on 27/10/2025 under case number EASE 2025/5519.
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 17/11/2025.
The application concerns documents held by 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 08/12/2025.
We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.
Kind regards,
DG ENER Access to Documents Team
References
Visible links
1. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/...
Dear Mr Hurtado Coronado,
Please find attached a message concerning your request for access to
Commission documents registered under the above case number 2025/5519.
Please acknowledge the receipt of this message by return email.
Kind regards,
ENER ACCESS TO DOCUMENTS
Dear Transparency Unit,
This application seeks the complete or, failing that, partial disclosure of the three documents initially requested on 27 October 2025 (Ref: 2025/5519) concerning preparatory briefings for a meeting between the European Commission's Directorate-General for Energy (DG ENER), the EU Delegation in Qatar and Qatar and Qatari entities.
The initial refusal to disclose the entirety of these documents is contested based on:
- Precedent: The existence of prior disclosure of similar preparatory documents (please see application Ref: 2024/4098, information relating to a meeting that took place on 24 June 2024 between Director-General for Energy Ditte Juul Jørgensen and COP29 Representatives from Azerbaijan).
- Overriding Public Interest: The urgent and critical public interest surrounding corporate and state lobbying in relation to the EU Methane Regulation and wider EU Energy Policy.
- Principle of Partial Access: The failure to apply the principle of partial disclosure as mandated by the relevant regulation.
A. The Existence of Precedent
The refusal to disclose these preparatory documents fails to consider the Commission’s own practice and established jurisprudence.
Specific Precedent: It is recognized that preparatory briefings related to DG ENER meetings with political leaders have been previously disclosed. This practice indicates that the simple classification of a document as a 'preparatory briefing' does not automatically justify its total sealing under the exception relating to the institution's decision-making process.
Principle of Equal Treatment: To refuse disclosure in this specific case, while similar documents have been released, constitutes a breach of the principle of equal treatment unless a significant and unique differentiating factor can be convincingly demonstrated.
B. Overriding Public Interest in Disclosure
The presumptive protection afforded to preparatory documents must be weighed against the overriding public interest in disclosure, which is particularly strong in this case.
Policy Area Public Interest Justification
EU Methane Regulation: Disclosure is essential for public scrutiny of potential corporate or third-country influence (lobbying) on a key environmental and climate file. Transparency is vital to ensure regulatory capture has not occurred.
EU Energy Policy: Given the current geopolitical context and energy crisis, particularly with regard to EU allies such as the US and Qatar, the public has a right to know the precise inputs and arguments being considered by DG ENER before political meetings that shape critical, high-impact policy decisions.
The documents, if they shed light on the scope, intensity, or arguments presented by lobbying interests seeking to influence the EU's stance on methane or energy supply, are of immediate and high public concern. This concern outweighs the interest in protecting the preparatory space of the institution.
C. Failure to Apply the Principle of Partial Access
The complete sealing of three distinct documents strongly suggests a failure to apply the mandatory requirement of partial access (redaction).
Legal Obligation: The relevant regulation (e.g., Article 4(6) of Regulation 1049/2001) mandates that "If only parts of the requested document fall under the exceptions, the remaining parts shall be released."
Substance Over Form: It is highly improbable that every word and sentence across three preparatory documents is inextricably linked to the 'integrity of the decision-making process.' Facts, contextual background, and publicly known political positions would likely be separable and thus disclosable.
Questionable Justification: The lack of any disclosed text whatsoever makes it impossible to confirm that the institution conducted a genuine, document-specific assessment of whether portions could be redacted and released.
The initial refusal is flawed due to the disregard for prior precedent, the failure to recognise the compelling and overriding public interest, and the improper application of the partial disclosure rule.
The Commission is therefore respectfully requested to:
Re-evaluate the documents with a specific focus on the overriding public interest in transparency regarding lobbying and EU climate/energy policy.
Disclose the three documents in full.
Failing full disclosure, provide a reasoned, point-by-point justification for why every single part of the documents is covered by an exception, and subsequently disclose all non-exemptible parts after redaction.
Sincerely,
Luis Miguel Hurtado Coronado
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 confirmatory request for case
2025/5519, sent on 11/12/2025 and registered on 11/12/2025.
We will handle your confirmatory request within 15 working days as of the
date of registration. The time-limit expires on 13/01/2026. 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 Mr. Hurtado Coronado,
We are writing to you concerning your email of 11 December 2025,
registered on the same day in case EASE 2025/5519, by which you submit a
confirmatory application in accordance with Article 7(2) of Regulation
(EC) No 1049/2001 regarding public access to European Parliament, Council
and Commission documents.
Your confirmatory application is currently being handled. However, we have
not yet been able to gather all the elements necessary to carry out a full
analysis of your request and to take a final decision in your case. We
will not be able to send you the reply within the prescribed time limit
expiring on 13 January 2026.
Therefore, in line with Article 8(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 we
need to extend this time limit by 15 additional working days. The new time
limit expires on 3 February 2026.
We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.
Yours sincerely,
SG.A2 - Document Management and Access to Documents
Dear DG Ener,
This application's response is long overdue. I request a timely reply.
Sincerely,
Luis Miguel Hurtado Coronado
Dear Mr Hurtado Coronado,
We refer to your correspondence of 19 February 2026, in which you ask for
a timely reply to your confirmatory application submitted on 11 December
2025. The processing of your confirmatory request has indeed surpassed the
extended deadline for reply and we would like to apologise for any
inconvenience which might have been caused by this delay.
Unfortunately, we are not yet in a position to provide you with our final
position. At present, the analysis of your confirmatory application is
still ongoing. More concretely, the Secretary-General is focusing on
ensuring that the documents corresponding to your request are individually
and specifically assessed against the exceptions provided under Article 4
of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001, which must be interpreted and applied
strictly, as per settled case-law of the Court of Justice.
We are doing our utmost to finalise the assessment and to provide you with
a final reply as soon as possible.
Yours sincerely,
SG.A2 - Document Management and Access to Documents