EUROPEAN COMMISSION
Brussels, 15.6.2021
C(2021) 4469 final
Ms Lala Hakuma Dadci
Rue d'Edimbourg 26
1050 Brussels
Belgium
DECISION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION PURSUANT TO ARTICLE 4 OF THE
IMPLEMENTING RULES TO REGULATION (EC) NO 1049/20011
Subject: Your confirmatory application for access to documents – GESTDEM
2021/2128
Dear Ms Dadci,
I am writing in reference to your email of 6 May 2021, registered on the same day, by which
you lodge a confirmatory application in accordance with Article 7(2) of Regulation (EC) No
1049/2001 regarding public access to European Parliament, Council and Commission
documents2 (hereafter ‘Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001’).
Through your initial application of 7 April 2021, you requested access to, I quote, ‘minutes
of the following meetings:
- 04 May 2020 - Meeting between Commissioner Thierry Breton and Hydrogen
Europe - Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Renewable Energy Sector;
- 05 Jun 2020 - Meeting between Commissioner Thierry Breton and Business Europe
- Speech on actions to strengthen key industrial value chains and ecosystems in the
EU recovery plan;
- 12 Oct 2020 - Meeting between Director-General Kerstin Jorna and Hydrogen
Europe- European Clean Hydrogen Alliance;
1
OJ L 345, 29.12.2001, p. 94.
2
OJ L145, 31.05.2001, p. 43.
Commission européenne/Europese Commissie, 1049 Bruxelles/Brussel, BELGIQUE/BELGIË - Tel. +32 22991111
- 13 Jul 2020 - Meeting between Director-General Kerstin Jorna and Hydrogen
Europe - Follow-up and debrief after kick-off of European Clean Hydrogen
Alliance and reported very positive feedback from industry CEOs as well request
Commissioners involvement’.
In its initial reply of 30 April 2021, the European Commission’s Directorate-General for
Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs identified, as falling with the scope
of your request, two documents corresponding to the meetings of 13 July and 12 October
2020, namely:
- E-mail with the subject ‘Ares(2020)3770101 - Call with Hydrogen Europe’, dated
16 July 2020, Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship
and SMEs, reference Ares(2021)2895762; and
- e-mail with the subject ‘Meeting with Hydrogen Europe, 13 October 2020’,
Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs,
reference Ares(2021)2895762.
The European Commission’s Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry,
Entrepreneurship and SMEs partially disclosed these documents with personal data redacted
in accordance with Article 4(1)(b) (protection of privacy and the integrity of the individual)
of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001.
As regards the remaining documents, the Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry,
Entrepreneurship and SMEs informed you that the European Commission does not hold any
documents that would correspond to the description given in your application.
In your confirmatory application, you question the absence of any documents corresponding
to the following meetings, I quote:
- ‘04 May 2020 - Meeting between Commissioner Thierry Breton and Hydrogen
Europe - Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Renewable Energy Sector;
- 05 Jun 2020 - Meeting between Commissioner Thierry Breton and Business Europe
- Speech on actions to strengthen key industrial value chains and ecosystems in the
EU recovery plan’.
You state that, I quote, ‘[a]fter an extension by the Commission of their deadline to respond
by 15 working days, DG GROW access to document’s team declared that they “did not find
any documents corresponding to the scope of your request”, although the referred meetings
appear in Commissioner Breton agenda on the Commission's website’.
Against this background, the European Commission has carried out a renewed search for the
documents requested. Following this renewed search, I confirm that the European
Commission does not hold any documents that would fall within the scope of your request in
addition to the documents that were already identified and partially disclosed at the initial
stage.
2
As specified in Article 2(3) of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001, the right of access as defined
in that regulation applies only to existing documents in the possession of the institution.
The General Court held in Case T-468/16 (
Verein Deutsche Sprache v
Commission) that
there exists a presumption of lawfulness attached to the declaration by the institution
asserting that documents do not exist3. This presumption continues to apply, unless the
applicant can rebut it by relevant and consistent evidence4. The Court of Justice, ruling on
an appeal in Case C-440/18 P, has confirmed these conclusions5.
In your confirmatory application, you do not provide evidence that the institution is in
possession of documents corresponding to the description provided in your confirmatory
request.
Given that the European Commission does not hold any additional documents falling within
the scope of your application, it is not in a position to fulfil your request.
Finally, I draw your attention to the means of redress available against this decision. You
may either bring proceedings before the General Court or file a complaint with the
European Ombudsman under the conditions specified respectively in Articles 263 and 228
of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.
Yours sincerely,
For the Commission
Ilze JUHANSONE
Secretary-General
3 Judgment of the General Court of 23 April 2018,
Verein Deutsche Sprache v
Commission, T-468/16,
EU:T:2018:207, paragraphs 35-36.
4
Ibid.
5 Order of the Court of Justice of 30 January 2019,
Verein Deutsche Sprache v
Commission, C-440/18 P,
EU:T:2018:207, paragraph 14.
3
