Correspondence between REA and the institution regarding internal checks, reviews and audit in 2024.
Dear Research Executive Agency,
Pursuant to the right of access to documents laid down in the EU Treaties and as implemented by Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001, I hereby request access to documents containing the following information:
All correspondence related to audits, internal checks, and verification procedures, specifically including:
-letters sent by the Research Executive Agency to the institution identified by PIC number 999990849 during the year 2024,
-communications informing the institution of the initiation or outcome of checks or audits, and
-any decision letters of 2024 concerning the recovery of EU funds related to eventually sampled projects.
The purpose of this request is to understand how the Research Executive Agency conducts checks and audits of beneficiary institutions, which constitutes an overriding public interest in terms of transparency and accountability in the management of EU funds. In addition the request constitutes an overriding public interest in the determination of
1)Accountability in the recovery of EU funds
2)Verification of good administration and equal treatment of the agency
Access to the correspondence is necessary to assess whether recovery rules are applied consistently and without arbitrariness across beneficiaries, in accordance with the principle of good administration under Article 41 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights.
3)Detection of errors or systemic weaknesses
Independent scrutiny of REA assessments during internal checks or audit contributes to identifying potential errors, misinterpretations of grant rules or systemic weaknesses in recovery procedures, without implying any allegation of wrongdoing.
If full disclosure of the requested documents is not possible, I kindly request:
partial access to the documents, with any sensitive elements redacted where necessary, or
at a minimum, confirmation of whether such documents exist, including their dates and reference numbers.
I would prefer to receive the requested documents in electronic format.
Yours faithfully,
Matteo Ottaviani
Erfprins 18, 2342CK, Oegstgeest
The Netherlands
[1]AoR -Access to documents request [M. Ottaviani - Ares(2026)1248252] -
Ares(2026)1248705 (Please use this link only if you are an Ares user –
Svp, utilisez ce lien exclusivement si vous êtes un(e) utilisateur d’Ares)
Dear Mr Ottaviani,
We refer to your Access to Documents request submitted to the European
Research Executive Agency (REA) on 3 February 2026 via the website
AskTheEU.org. Your request has been registered on 4 February 2026 under
reference number Ares(2026)1248252.
In accordance with Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 regarding public access to
European Parliament, Council and Commission documents, your application
will be handled within 15 working days. The time limit will expire on 25
February 2026. In case this time limit needs to be extended, you will be
informed in due course.
Kindly note that the AsktheEU.org website is a private third-party website
which has no link with any institution of the European Union. Therefore,
the European Commission or REA cannot be held accountable for any
technical issues or problems linked to the use of this system.
Please also note that the private third party running the AsktheEU.org
website is responsible and accountable for the processing of your personal
data via that website, and not the European Commission or REA. For further
information on your rights, please refer to the third party’s privacy
policy.
We understand that the third party running that website usually publishes
the content of applicants’ correspondence with the European Commission or
REA on that website. This includes the personal data that you may have
communicated to the European Commission or REA (e.g. your private postal
address). Similarly, the third party publishes on that website any reply
that REA will send to the email address of the applicants generated by the
AsktheEU.org website.
If you do not wish your correspondence with REA to be published on the
AsktheEU.org website, you can provide us with an alternative, private
e-mail address for further correspondence. In that case, REA will send all
future electronic correspondence addressed to you only to that private
address.
Yours faithfully,
REA ACCESS TO DOCUMENTS
For information related to the processing of your personal data by REA,
you may consult the relevant Data Protection Notice available in the
Public Central Register for Data Protection Records in REA.
Link: [1]File-List
Link: [2]themeData
Link: [3]colorSchemeMapping
[4]Clarification request [M. Ottaviani - Ares(2026)1248252] -
Ares(2026)1248705 - Ares(2026)1296601 (Please use this link only if you
are an Ares user – Svp, utilisez ce lien exclusivement si vous êtes un(e)
utilisateur d’Ares)
Dear Mr Ottaviani,
Thank you for your request regarding documents related of audits and
checks sent by REA to the institution identified by PIC number 999990849,
during the year 2024.
The description given in your application does not enable us to identify
concrete documents which would correspond to your request.
We therefore invite you, pursuant to Article 6(2) of Regulation 1049/2001
regarding public access to documents, to provide us with more detailed
information:
• To specify, if possible, the projects you are interested in, as this
entity has participated in many projects over the years and the
identification of the documents is difficult.
• To clarify the following two points:
1. When requesting outgoing communications to the entity regarding checks
or audits (second bullet point of your request), you are specifically
seeking documents sent in the year 2024, right?
2. Could you confirm that when requesting the decision letters sent in
2024 concerning the recovery of EU funds (third bullet point of your
request), you are referring to the entity with PIC number 999990849,
right?
Your guidance will help us process your request more efficiently.
We look forward to your response within 7 working days at the latest.
Please note that the 15 working days the time limit for handling your
application will start running when we receive the requested
clarifications.
Best regards,
REA Access to Documents
From: REA ACCESS DOCUMENTS <[email address]>
Sent: Wednesday, February 4, 2026 11:58 AM
To: Matteo Ottaviani <[FOI #16803 email]>
Cc: REA ACCESS DOCUMENTS <[REA request email]>
Subject: AoR -Access to documents request [M. Ottaviani -
Ares(2026)1248252] - Ares(2026)1248705
[5]AoR -Access to documents request [M. Ottaviani - Ares(2026)1248252] -
Ares(2026)1248705 (Please use this link only if you are an Ares user –
Svp, utilisez ce lien exclusivement si vous êtes un(e) utilisateur d’Ares)
Dear Mr Ottaviani,
We refer to your Access to Documents request submitted to the European
Research Executive Agency (REA) on 3 February 2026 via the website
AskTheEU.org. Your request has been registered on 4 February 2026 under
reference number Ares(2026)1248252.
In accordance with Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 regarding public access to
European Parliament, Council and Commission documents, your application
will be handled within 15 working days. The time limit will expire on 25
February 2026. In case this time limit needs to be extended, you will be
informed in due course.
Kindly note that the AsktheEU.org website is a private third-party website
which has no link with any institution of the European Union. Therefore,
the European Commission or REA cannot be held accountable for any
technical issues or problems linked to the use of this system.
Please also note that the private third party running the AsktheEU.org
website is responsible and accountable for the processing of your personal
data via that website, and not the European Commission or REA. For further
information on your rights, please refer to the third party’s privacy
policy.
We understand that the third party running that website usually publishes
the content of applicants’ correspondence with the European Commission or
REA on that website. This includes the personal data that you may have
communicated to the European Commission or REA (e.g. your private postal
address). Similarly, the third party publishes on that website any reply
that REA will send to the email address of the applicants generated by the
AsktheEU.org website.
If you do not wish your correspondence with REA to be published on the
AsktheEU.org website, you can provide us with an alternative, private
e-mail address for further correspondence. In that case, REA will send all
future electronic correspondence addressed to you only to that private
address.
Yours faithfully,
REA ACCESS TO DOCUMENTS
For information related to the processing of your personal data by REA,
you may consult the relevant Data Protection Notice available in the
Public Central Register for Data Protection Records in REA.
Dear REA ACCESS DOCUMENTS,
Thank you for your request for clarification.
I understand that the number of projects involved may be significant. However, my original request is to verify whether REA carried out an ex post audit or check on the institution in the year 2024 and whether any decisions were issued following potential findings.
I have reasons to believe that the institution was audited in 2024 and that potential irregularities may have been identified. Given the public nature of the funding involved, there is an overriding public interest in clarifying this matter.
In previous correspondence, you indicated only that, for the previously requested projects, no audit was carried out. However, as REA does not regularly perform ex post audits or checks on institutions, any letter sent by REA in 2024 announcing an upcoming check or ex post audit should be easy to identify—likely limited to one or two cases.
To reply clearly to your questions, I am specifically seeking:
Documents sent by REA in the year 2024;
In particular, any letter sent by REA to the institution in 2024 announcing a check or ex post audit of the entity with PIC number 999990849;
Any decision letters issued in 2024, following such an audit, concerning the recovery of EU funds from the entity with PIC number 999990849.
Yours sincerely,
Matteo Ottaviani
Erfprins 18, 2342CK oegstgeest, The Netherlands.
Dear Mr. Ottaviani.
We refer to your Access to Documents request submitted to the European Research Executive Agency (REA) on 3 February 2026 via the website AskTheEU.org. Your request has been registered on 4 February 2026 under reference number Ares(2026)1248252.
Thank you for the clarifications you provided, upon our request. The 15 working days time limit for handling your application start running when your response was received and therefore will expire on 2 March 2026. In case this time limit needs to be extended, you will be informed in due course.
Best regards,
REA ACCESS TO DOCUMENTS
Dear Mr Ottaviani,
Please find attached the REA reply, registered under registration number Ares(2026)2260179 to your request for access to documents registered under registration number Ares(2026)1248252.
Please acknowledge receipt of this message by return email to [REA request email]
Yours faithfully,
REA ACCESS TO DOCUMENTS
For information related to the processing of your personal data by REA, you may consult the relevant Data Protection Notice here: https://rea.ec.europa.eu/system/files/20...