Correspondence with Austria on Cohesion and Desaster Relief Funds for Flood Relief
Dear Secretariat General of the European Commission,
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:
In September, President von der Leyen was quoted on flood relief funds in Austrian press [1], implying additional support from cohesion and disaster funds. Austrian Government implied the funds would be in addition to previously available funds.
Please provide the correspondence with the Austrian government regarding these funds, including any requests for (additional) funds, responses to those requests, clarifying questions if present and information on what those funds were/are previously/currently earmarked for.
Much obliged.
Yours faithfully,
Markus Hametner
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,
I have not received a reply to my Oct 24 request „Correspondence with Austria on Cohesion and Desaster Relief Funds for Flood Relief“. Please inform me of the status of my request.
Yours faithfully,
Markus Hametner
Dear Sir or Madam,
We are writing to you concerning your request for access to documents sent
on 24/10/2024 and registered on 25/11/2024 under case number 2024/6433.
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,
Secretariat-General - 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 Applicant,
Due to an administrative error your request was not registered. We
apologise for this error and will do our best to answer your request as
soon as possible. In the meantime we need your address to advance your
application so please send that as soon as you can so that treatment of
your request can begin.
Sincerely yours,
European Commission
Access to Documents Team
Dear Secretariat General of the European Commission,
frankly, this is absurd. I have received an automatic confirmation of the request on Oct 24 that contains no mention of a postal address being required. Any delay is your responsibility alone.
Yours faithfully,
Markus Hametner
[Personally Identifiable Information removed]
[Personally Identifiable Information removed]
[Personally Identifiable Information removed]
Dear Sir or Madam,
We hereby acknowledge the receipt of your request for access to documents
sent on 24/10/2024 and registered on 27/11/2024 under the case number
2024/6433.
We will handle your request within 15 working days as of the date of
registration. The time-limit expires on 18/12/2024. 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,
Secretariat-General - Access to Documents
European Commission
References
Visible links
1. https://ec.europa.eu/info/principles-and...
Dear Mr Hametner,
Please find attached a message concerning your request for access to
Commission documents registered under the above case number 2024/6433.
Please acknowledge the receipt of this message by return email.
Kind regards,
Daniela Weichhold
European Commission
Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy
Unit F.2 - Austria, [Personally Identifiable Information removed] and the Netherlands
CSM1 06/P001
B-1049 Brussels/Belgium
Dear Secretariat General of the European Commission,
Please pass this on to the person who reviews confirmatory applications.
I am filing the following confirmatory application with regards to my access to documents request 'Correspondence with Austria on Cohesion and Desaster Relief Funds for Flood Relief'.
I note that it is customary to provide a list of documents covered by the request, but in this case I was not provided with such a list. In line with the case law, I ask to give me a list of every document covered by this request, and an explanation for each document how disclosure would specifically and non-hypothetically undermine the protection of decision-making. It's hard to believe that the few documents mentioned in the request are the only ones that fit my request criteria and that there was no communication before or during the conference in Poland referred to in the news report linked in my request.
In its decision, the Commission argues that the release of "preliminary information" would prevent an unbiased decision. But this appears to me an argument of a general nature without specific relation to the present case. It is not in any way unusual for member states to request funds following events such as the flood in September 2024, and it is unclear why the decision-making should in any way be negatively impacted by public access to documents concerning the Austrian request and the way the Commission deals with it.
Member states are well aware of the EU's right to access to documents, as enshrined in the Fundamental Rights Charter, therefore I would like to question the notion that any disclosure could disrupt the "climate of mutual trust" necessary for the fulfillment of the procedure. Disclosure of documents is the norm, not the exception. It also be noted that member states shall be consulted according to Regulation 1049/2001, but they do not retain a veto over disclosure.
Furthermore, I note that the Commission acknowledges in its reply that documents covered by request relate to legislative procedures. I would like to point out the findings of the court in the De Capitani ruling (T-540/15). The Court stated that “it is precisely openness in the legislative process that contributes to conferring greater legitimacy on the institutions in the eyes of EU citizens and increasing their confidence in them by allowing divergences between various points of view to be openly debated. It is in fact rather a lack of information and debate which is capable of giving rise to doubts in the minds of citizens, not only as regards the lawfulness of an isolated act, but also as regards the legitimacy of the decision-making process as a whole.” [para. 78] The Court drew a link between openness and the strengthening of democracy and noted that the possibility for citizens to find out the considerations underpinning legislative action was a precondition for the effective exercise of democratic rights. It further noted that the Court had never before recognized a presumption of non-disclosure in respect of documents that formed part of the legislative process. It observed that “the effectiveness and integrity of the legislative process cannot undermine the principles of publicity and transparency which underlie that process.” [para. 83] The Court accepted that a risk of external pressure could constitute a legitimate ground for restricting access to documents related to the decision-making process, but “the reality of such external pressure must … be established with certainty, and evidence must be adduced to show that there is a reasonably foreseeable risk that the decision to be taken would be substantially affected owing to that external pressure”. [para. 99]
In this light, I contend that the Commission was wrong to not disclose the documents in question in its initial reply.
Additionally, I wish to argue for an overriding public interest in disclosure. Answers to this request are required not only to clarify comments attributed to Commision President Von der Leyen in the Austrian press which were interpreted to refer to _additional_ funds, while further later comments seem to imply these funds were merely redistributed. They are also required to gain an understanding about how clearly the issue was understood by EU and Austrian officials at the point of the reports, which efforts were made to clarify expectations raised in the press and who knew when if the requested funds would be additional funds or restructuring of previous monetary committments. The request would create transparency around the conduct of public officials in fulfilling in their public duties, which the public has already been informed about by those public officials. It would also allow a fact check of these public officials' public statements, which should be a strong argument for disclosure.
A full history of my request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.asktheeu.org/en/request/corr...
Yours faithfully,
Markus Hametner
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
2024/6433, sent on 19/12/2024 and registered on 19/12/2024.
We will handle your confirmatory request within 15 working days as of the
date of registration. The time-limit expires on 22/01/2025. 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 received a reply to my confirmatory request, sent and registered on 19/12/2024, within the time-limit of 22/01/2025 that was communicated to me by the Secretariat-General. No extension was communicated to me either, please update me on the status of my confirmatory application.
Yours faithfully,
Markus Hametner
[1]FW: access to documents request - Correspondence with Austria on
Cohesion and Desaster Relief Funds for Flood Relief - Ares(2025)614274
(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 Hametner,
Thank you for your e-mail.
We sincerely apologize for the delay in the treatment of your confirmatory
application.
We would like to confirm that the internal consultations in relation to
your application are fully ongoing and that we, in line with the
applicable legal framework, extended the statutory time-limits by 15
additional working days, expiring on 12 February 2025.
However, there seems to be a technical issue in the EASE platform and the
letter was not correctly sent to you. You can kindly find it attached for
your information.
Please accept our apologies for the inconvenience and thank you for your
understanding. We would like to assure youthat we are doing our utmost to
provide you with a reply as soon as possible.
Kind regards,
Access to Documents Team
European Commission
Secretariat-General Unit C.1 (Transparency, Document Management and Access
to Documents) - cr
Dear applicant,
We are writing concerning your confirmatory request for access to
Commission documents for case EASE 2024/6433 registered on 19 December
2024.
We are currently working on your confirmatory 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 22 January 2025.
A new deadline is needed as the consultations regarding your file are
still ongoing.
Therefore, in line with Article 8(2) 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 12 February 2025 .
We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.
Kind regards,
SG.C.1 Access to Documents Team
References
Visible links
1. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/...
Dear Secretariat General of the European Commission,
thank you for confirming on Feburary 10 the expiration of the new time limit as of February 12. It is now February 14. Happy Valentine's day. I have not received an update to my confirmatory request. Until when will you be able to finalize this request?
Please inform me of all steps you have taken so far in working on this confirmatory application, when you have taken them and which elements are still missing (as you said: „we have not yet been able to gather all the elements necessary to carry out a full analysis of your request“) for what reason.
Yours faithfully,
Markus Hametner
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/...
[1]access to documents request - Correspondence with Austria on Cohesion
and Desaster Relief Funds for Flood Relief - Ares(2025)1502372 (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 Hametner,
Thank you for your e-mail.
We sincerely apologize for the failure to reply within the statutory time
limit.
We would like to confirm that the internal consultations in relation to
your application are fully ongoing. Therefore, we can, at this stage, not
commit to a specific timeframe within when the decision will be adopted
nor provide you with more detailed information.
However, we would like to assure you that we are doing our utmost to
provide you with a reply as soon as possible.
Please accept our apologies for the inconvenience this delay may cause to
you and thank you for your understanding.
Kind regards,
Access to Documents Team
European Commission
Secretariat-General Unit C.1 (Transparency, Document Management and Access
to Documents) - cr
Dear SG ACCES DOCUMENTS,
I have not received any updates after your February 25 email confirming my confirmatory application is could not be handled within the statutory time limit. Please inform me of the status of my confirmatory application, provide a reason for the additional 3 month delay and explain which actions were taken since I requested the confirmatory application.
Yours sincerely,
Markus Hametner
[1]access to documents request - Correspondence with Austria on Cohesion
and Desaster Relief Funds for Flood Relief - Ares(2025)1502372 -
Ares(2025)4002918 (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 Hametner,
Thank you for your e-mail.
We sincerely apologize for the failure to reply within the statutory time
limit.
We would like to confirm that the internal consultations in relation to
your application are fully ongoing.
Therefore, we cannot commit to a specific timeframe within when the
decision will be adopted.
However, we would like to assure you that we are doing our utmost to
provide you with a reply as soon as possible.
Please accept our apologies for the inconvenience this delay may cause
and thank you for your understanding.
Kind regards,
Access to Documents Team
European Commission
Secretariat-General Unit A.2 (Document Management and Access to
Documents)
Dear SG ACCES DOCUMENTS,
according to the Ombudsman, I should have received a reply from you on 3 February 2026. I have yet to receive any communication related to my request "Correspondence with Austria on Cohesion and Desaster Relief Funds for Flood Relief" since your "sincere apology" on 10 May 2025.
Yours sincerely,
Markus Hametner
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/...
[1]FW: access to documents request - Correspondence with Austria on
Cohesion and Desaster Relief Funds for Flood Relief - Ares(2025)1502372 -
Ares(2025)4002918 - Ares(2026)3421755 (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 Hametner,
We thank you for your correspondence of 27 March 2026 regarding file EASE
2024/6433.
Please be informed that we have checked with our technical team and can
confirm that the decision and the corresponding documents were correctly
send out on 5 February 2026. However, we are happy to reattach them to the
present email and would like to inform you that they are now also publicly
accessible on
[2]https://ec.europa.eu/transparency/docume....
Kind regards,
Access to Documents Team
European Commission
Secretariat-General Unit A.2 (Document Management and Access to Documents)
Link: [1]File-List
Link: [2]themeData
Link: [3]colorSchemeMapping
[4]FW: access to documents request - Correspondence with Austria on
Cohesion and Desaster Relief Funds for Flood Relief - Ares(2025)1502372 -
Ares(2025)4002918 - Ares(2026)3421755 - Ares(2026)3422180 (Please use
this link only if you are an Ares user – Svp, utilisez ce lien
exclusivement si vous êtes un(e) utilisateur d’Ares)
Part II
Dear Mr Hametner,
We thank you for your correspondence of 27 March 2026 regarding file EASE
2024/6433.
Please be informed that we have checked with our technical team and can
confirm that the decision and the corresponding documents were correctly
send out on 5 February 2026. However, we are happy to reattach them to the
present email and would like to inform you that they are now also publicly
accessible on
[5]https://ec.europa.eu/transparency/docume....
Kind regards,
Access to Documents Team
European Commission
Secretariat-General Unit A.2 (Document Management and Access to Documents)
Link: [1]File-List
Link: [2]themeData
Link: [3]colorSchemeMapping
[4]FW: access to documents request - Correspondence with Austria on
Cohesion and Desaster Relief Funds for Flood Relief - - Ares(2026)3422237
(Please use this link only if you are an Ares user – Svp, utilisez ce lien
exclusivement si vous êtes un(e) utilisateur d’Ares)
Part III
Dear Mr Hametner,
We thank you for your correspondence of 27 March 2026 regarding file EASE
2024/6433.
Please be informed that we have checked with our technical team and can
confirm that the decision and the corresponding documents were correctly
send out on 5 February 2026. However, we are happy to reattach them to the
present email and would like to inform you that they are now also publicly
accessible on
[5]https://ec.europa.eu/transparency/docume....
Kind regards,
Access to Documents Team
European Commission
Secretariat-General Unit A.2 (Document Management and Access to Documents)