Copy of document ARES (2022) 4823096
Helen Darbishire made this access to documents request to Secretariat General of the European Commission Automatic anti-spam measures are in place for this older request. Please let us know if a further response is expected or if you are having trouble responding.
Dear Secretariat General of the European Commission,
On 25 August 2023 the European Ombudsman published the reply of the European Commission to the Ombudsman's recommendations related to the time taken by the European Commission to deal with requests for public access to documents, as part of strategic inquiry number OI/2/2022/MIG. The reply is signed by Commission Vice President Věra Jourová.
The relevant European Ombudman page is here: https://www.ombudsman.europa.eu/en/doc/c...
In this reply, there is mention of a 2022 note produced jointly by the Legal Service and the Secretariat General on the efficient handling of access to documents requests. The reference number of this document is given as ARES (2022) 4823096.
I have not been able to find this document online, so, under the right of access to documents in the EU treaties, as developed in Regulation 1049/2001, I hereby request a copy of ARES (2022) 4823096.
My postal address is Calle Príncipe de Anglona 5, 28005 Madrid, Spain.
With best regards,
Helen Darbishire
Access Info Europe
Dear Sir or Madam,
We hereby acknowledge the receipt of your request for access to documents
sent on 28/08/2023 and registered on 28/08/2023 under the case number
2023/5036.
We will handle your request within 15 working days as of the date of
registration. The time-limit expires on 18/09/2023. 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 applicant,
We are writing concerning your request for access to Commission documents
registered on 28/08/2023 under case number 2023/5036.
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. Due to the need to conduct internal consultations we will
not be able to send you the reply within the prescribed time limit
expiring on 18/09/2023.
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 09/10/2023.
We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.
Kind regards,
SG.C1 - Transparency, Document Management and Access to Documents
References
Visible links
1. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/...
Dear Secretariat General of the European Commission,
Thanks for your message re the extension.
It is not clear to me what you mean by stating that you have not be able to "gather all the elements necessary to carry out a full analysis of your request" since I only asked for one specific document which has an ARES number.
I aslo note the concerns raised by the European Ombudsman about lengthy reponses to requests as well as probable overuse of the Regulation 1049 provision on Extensions.
I note in particular that Article 7.3 of Regulation 1049 states that an extension can be applied in "exceptional cases, for example in the event of an application relating to a very long document or to a very large number of documents" which I know is something that can cause you a lot of work and contribute to delays, but I would not say is true in the case of my request.
Furthermore, Article 7.3 requires that the applicant be given "detailed reasons" for the extension, which I am not sure is a standard fully met by your repoly.
That said, I am very interested in obtaining this document, and look forward to a reasonably rapid response.
All the best,
Helen Darbishire
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 Secretariat General of the European Commission,
This request is now over six weeks (2 x 15 working days) since I submitted it.
This request is for only one document, which you should have been able to locate pretty much immediately and review. Since it has already been shared with others, it should really be possible to make it public, and I do not understand the delay.
I also note the concerns raised in my message of 19 September.
I would greatly appreaciate a response in the next few days,.
Yours faithfully,
Helen Darbishire
Access Info Europe
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 Madam,
Please find attached the reply to your request for access to document with
reference EASE 2023/5036.
Sincerely,
Access to documents team (cr)
SG.C.1
Transparency
Dear Secretariat General of the European Commission,
Please kindly pass this on to the person who reviews confirmatory applications.
This is a confirmatory application being submitted with respect to the response received on 24 October 2023 to my access to information request submitted on 28 August 2023 via the AsktheEU.org platform, and given reference number EASE 2023/5036 by the Commission.
In my request I asked for a copy of a document with reference number ARES(2022)4823096 on the efficient handling of access to documents requests. I had learned about the existence of this document in a reference in a letter sent by the Commission to the European Ombudsman, signed by Commission Vice President Věra Jourová, and published by the Ombudsman on 25 August 2023.
In that letter, the Commission refers to that document as “a joint note from the Legal Service and the Secretariat-General on efficient handling of access to documents requests” – the reference is made in the context of a paragraph in which states the Commission states that “the time taken to respond depends largely on the successful interaction with applicants to clarify their request.”
The relevant European Ombudsman page is here: https://www.ombudsman.europa.eu/en/doc/c...
The Commission’s reply to me on 24 October 2023 states that “wide partial access is granted to the requested documents subject to redactions due to the protection of personal data as per point (b) of Article 4(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001.”
There then follows a two-page, reasonably extensive, summary of the law and jurisprudence on personal data protection which seems – at from the perspective of someone who has not seen the requested document – to have been written for more generic use than for making any specific references to the requested document. Indeed, there are even a couple of references to “the requested documents” plural, when in fact only one single document had been sought.
There is one possibly specific statement: “The requested documents [note plural here] contain personal data such as the names, functions, handwritten signatures and contact details of those who do not form part of the senior management of the European Commission.”
Then in the Partial Access section of the Commission’s response, it is stated that:
"In accordance with Article 4(6) of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001, I have considered the possibility of granting (further) partial access to the document requested.
"However, for the reasons explained above, no wider partial access is possible without undermining the already mentioned interests."
The statement “the possibility of granting (further) partial access” is rather confusing, as it is not actually clear whether any partial access at all is being given. Again, this looks like a rather standard, pro forma response.
In any case, no redacted version of the document ARES(2022)4823096 has been provided.
Rather there is an annex, which contains a “Quality Chart” for “Negative replies for access to documents requests (full or partial)” followed by a ten-point check list. This document contains the same reference number and date as the answer letter from the Commission, namely ARES(2023)7248546, so is clearly not the requested ARES(2022)4823096 document, and given that it contains no redactions, it does not appear to be a redacted version of it.
No reference to this Quality Chart is made in the letter to me from the Commission.
Based on this situation, the concerns which I am setting forward in this confirmatory application and to which I ask that you give due consideration are the following:
1. Given that ARES(2022)4823096 is a document which relates to “the efficient handling of access to documents requests” a large part of that document is likely to contain text which is nothing to do with personal data and therefore can be considered for release.
2. There is a clear public interest in knowing the elements which the Commission takes into consideration to ensure efficient handling of requests. Here it is important to recall that requests are made under a right which is established by the EU Treaties (Article 15 TFEU) and the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU (Article 42).
In any case, no other exceptions apart from that relating to personal data protection are invoked by the Commission, so I therefore conclude that there is no problem in having access to the parts of this document which are not covered by the personal data protection clauses in Regulation 1049/2001, while there is indeed a clear public interest in knowing how the right of access to documents is being implemented and upheld by the Commission.
3. I specifically ask that you verify to which extent it is the case that the “requested documents contain personal data such as the names, functions, handwritten signatures and contact details of those who do not form part of the senior management of the European Commission.”
To the extent that ARES(2022)4823096 does contain such personal data, I am most happy to receive a redacted version of the document with those elements redacted. It does, however, rather amaze me that a document which is purported to give guidance on handling access to documents requests would include much of that type of personal data. I would be most grateful if you could clarify this.
4. I would also be grateful if you could clarify with the Commission whether they did actually intend to grant me full or partial access to the document, as their letter is not completely clear on this point.
5. My request was subject to an extension based on the ground that “we have not yet been able to gather all the elements necessary to carry out a full analysis of your request” and the need “to conduct internal consultations”.
This reason for an extension does not seem to be fully in line with Article 7.3 of Regulation 1049, which establishes that an extension can be applied in "exceptional cases, for example in the event of an application relating to a very long document or to a very large number of documents" which does not seem to apply to my request for just one document. Furthermore, Article 7.3 requires that the applicant be given "detailed reasons" for the extension, something which was not done in my case.
I therefore request that you examine whether the extension was justified in this case.
6. Last but not least, I note that the number of working days from the submission of my request to my receipt of a response was 45 working days. So, even accepting a 15 working day extension, albeit one based on the rather weak justification, the Commission exceeded the maximum 30 working days
This is rather ironic given that the request relates to a European Ombudsman inquiry into the length to time which the Commission takes to answer requests. I would be grateful if, when considering this confirmatory application, you also look into whether my right of access to documents and the rules in Regulation 1049/2001 were not breached due to the excessive time taken to respond to a request for just one single document, which should have been easy to locate, given that it had just been shared with the Ombudsman.
I remain at your disposition for any clarifications you may have with respect to this confirmatory application.
Your faithfully,
Helen Darbishire
Access Info Europe.
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
2023/5036, sent on 01/11/2023 and registered on 06/11/2023.
We will handle your confirmatory request within 15 working days as of the
date of registration. The time-limit expires on 27/11/2023. 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 Sir or Madam,
We hereby acknowledge the receipt of your confirmatory request for case
2023/5036, sent on 01/11/2023 and registered on 06/11/2023.
We will handle your confirmatory request within 15 working days as of the
date of registration. The time-limit expires on 27/11/2023. 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 Secretariat General of the European Commission,
I have not yet received a response to my confirmatory application. The deadline was 27 November 2023.
I would be grateful for an update on the status of the response on the confirmatory.
Thank you in advance,
Helen Darbishire
Executive Director
Access Info Europe
Dear applicant,
Thank you for your email from 12 December 2023 requesting an update on the
status of your confirmatory request for access to Commission documents for
case 2023/5036, registered on 06/11/2023.
On 24/11/2023, we extended the time-limit for replying to your
confirmatory request to 18/12/2023.
Unfortunately, as internal consultations are still ongoing, we will not be
able to send you the reply within this extended time limit.
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,
SG.C1 - Transparency, Document Management and Access to Documents
Dear Madam,
We refer to your request for access to documents, registered under the
reference number EASE 2023/7004.
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 must be consulted.
Therefore, we have to extend the time limit with 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 16 January 2024.
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 2023/7004.
Please acknowledge the receipt of this message by return email.
Kind regards,
DG CONNECT Access to documents Team
Dear Secretariat General of the European Commission,
I note that I am still waiting for a reply to the main request on this page.
I also note that you confused the messages between this request, reference 5036, and the request 7004.
I would be most grateful if you could clear this up, so that the status on each is clear.
If you would like to discuss this with me, just let me know and we can arrange a time to talk.
With best regards,
Helen Darbishire
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 Madam Helen Darbishire,
Please find attached the electronic version of Commission Decision
C(2024)801 as adopted by the European Commission on 2.2.2024.
The formal notification of the decision under Article 297 TFEU is being
made only in electronic form.
Could you please confirm receipt of the attached document by return
e-mail?
Many thanks in advance.
Kind regards,
BEVIERE Chantal
European Commission
Secrétariat général de la Commission – SG - B-2
Procédures écrites, d’habilitation et de délégation
B-1049 Brussels/Belgium
+32 2-295.77.42
[1][email address]
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
Dear Mr, Ms
It is very important for us.
Please, could you please acknowledge the receipt of the document enclosed
in the message addressed to you ?
BEVIERE Chantal
European Commission
Secrétariat général de la Commission – SG - B-2
Procédures écrites, d’habilitation et de délégation
B-1049 Brussels/Belgium
+32 2-295.77.42
[1][email address]
From: SG GREFFE CERTIFICATION
Sent: Monday, February 5, 2024 12:44 PM
To: '[FOI #13431 email]'
<[FOI #13431 email]>
Cc: GRIGORAS Eduard (SG) <[email address]>
Subject: C(2024) 801 - Helen Darbishire
Dear Madam Helen Darbishire,
Please find attached the electronic version of Commission Decision
C(2024)801 as adopted by the European Commission on 2.2.2024.
The formal notification of the decision under Article 297 TFEU is being
made only in electronic form.
Could you please confirm receipt of the attached document by return
e-mail?
Many thanks in advance.
Kind regards,
BEVIERE Chantal
European Commission
Secrétariat général de la Commission – SG - B-2
Procédures écrites, d’habilitation et de délégation
B-1049 Brussels/Belgium
+32 2-295.77.42
[2][email address]
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. mailto:[email address]
Dear Mr, Ms
It is very important for us.
Please, could you please acknowledge the receipt of the document enclosed
in the message addressed to you ?
BEVIERE Chantal
European Commission
Secrétariat général de la Commission – SG - B-2
Procédures écrites, d’habilitation et de délégation
B-1049 Brussels/Belgium
+32 2-295.77.42
[1][email address]
From: SG GREFFE CERTIFICATION
Sent: Wednesday, February 7, 2024 3:17 PM
To: '[FOI #13431 email]'
<[FOI #13431 email]>
Cc: GRIGORAS Eduard (SG) <[email address]>
Subject: REMINDER C(2024) 801 - Helen Darbishire
Dear Mr, Ms
It is very important for us.
Please, could you please acknowledge the receipt of the document enclosed
in the message addressed to you ?
BEVIERE Chantal
European Commission
Secrétariat général de la Commission – SG - B-2
Procédures écrites, d’habilitation et de délégation
B-1049 Brussels/Belgium
+32 2-295.77.42
[2][email address]
From: SG GREFFE CERTIFICATION
Sent: Monday, February 5, 2024 12:44 PM
To: '[FOI #13431 email]'
<[3][FOI #13431 email]>
Cc: GRIGORAS Eduard (SG) <[4][email address]>
Subject: C(2024) 801 - Helen Darbishire
Dear Madam Helen Darbishire,
Please find attached the electronic version of Commission Decision
C(2024)801 as adopted by the European Commission on 2.2.2024.
The formal notification of the decision under Article 297 TFEU is being
made only in electronic form.
Could you please confirm receipt of the attached document by return
e-mail?
Many thanks in advance.
Kind regards,
BEVIERE Chantal
European Commission
Secrétariat général de la Commission – SG - B-2
Procédures écrites, d’habilitation et de délégation
B-1049 Brussels/Belgium
+32 2-295.77.42
[5][email address]
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. mailto:[email address]
3. mailto:[FOI #13431 email]
4. mailto:[email address]
5. mailto:[email address]
Dear Madam,
We would like to inform you that, following the adoption of decision
C(2024) 801 in case 2023/5036, Commission services have tried to notify
it to you, without success.
A first notification was sent by email on 05/02/2024 , but as you did not
acknowledge receipt, two reminders were subsequently sent to you
respectively on 07/02/2024 and on 12/02/2024 . As you did not reply even
after the reminders, the Commission services have sent the printed
decision by DHL to the postal address you indicated. However, DHL have
informed us that due to inadequate address the decision could not be
delivered.
In order to be able to notify the decision, could you please provide us as
soon as possible and not later than 01/03/2024 with a correct address and,
if possible, a phone number at which you could be reached by DHL?
Kind regards,
SG.C1 – Transparency, document management and access to documents