Correspondence between Water Europe and DG Agriculture
Dear DG Agriculture
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) Correspondence (including, but not limited to, emails, text messages and postal letters) between Water Europe and staff/officials of DG Agriculture between Jan 2021 and Oct 2024
2) All documents (including but not limited to minutes, participant lists, agenda, presentations) between Jan 2019-present relating to meetings and/or communications between Water Europe and staff/officials of DG Agriculture,
3) All documents (including but not limited to minutes, participant lists, agenda, presentations) between Jan 2019-present relating to meetings and/or communications between Water Europe and Jorge Pinto Antunes (Cabinet member)
I would like to make clear I prefer you produce the documents on a rolling basis.
At no point should the Commission’s search for—or deliberations concerning—certain documents delay the production of others that the Commission has already retrieved and elected to produce.
To the extent possible, we prefer the documents in electronic format.
Should my request be denied wholly or partially, please explain the denial or all deletions referring to specific exemptions in the regulation. Also I expect the partial release of documents, in case of partial exemption according to article 4.6.
I reserve the right to appeal.
Please confirm having received this application. I look forward to your reply within 15 business days, according to the regulation.
Thank you for your assistance.
Nicolas Celnik
Dear Sir or Madam,
We are writing to you concerning your request for access to documents sent
on 14/11/2024 and registered on 18/11/2024 under case number 2024/6128.
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 Agriculture and Rural Development - 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 Agriculture and Rural Development,
My postal adress is : Nicolas Celnik, [Personally Identifiable Information removed]
Yours faithfully,
Nicolas Ce
Dear Sir or Madam,
We hereby acknowledge the receipt of your request for access to documents
sent on 14/11/2024 and registered on 19/11/2024 under the case number
2024/6128.
We will handle your request within 15 working days as of the date of
registration. The time-limit expires on 10/12/2024. 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 Agriculture and Rural Development - Access to
Documents
European Commission
References
Visible links
1. https://ec.europa.eu/info/principles-and...
Dear Sir,
Please find attached a message concerning your request for access to
Commission documents registered under the above case number 2024/6128.
Please acknowledge the receipt of this message by return email.
Kind regards,
AGRI ATD Team
Dear Sir,
Please find attached a message concerning your request for access to
Commission documents registered under the above case number 2024/6128.
Please acknowledge the receipt of this message by return email.
Kind regards,
AGRI ATD Team
Dear Sir,
Please find attached a message concerning your request for access to
Commission documents registered under the above case number 2024/6128.
Please acknowledge the receipt of this message by return email.
Kind regards,
AGRI ATD Team
Dear Mr Celnik,
We are writing concerning your request for access to Commission documents
registered on 19 November 2024 under case number 2024/6218.
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 10 December 2024.
• Part of the documents requested originate from third parties, which
have been 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 13 January 2025.
We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.
Kind regards,
AGRI ATD Team
References
Visible links
1. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/...