DG Sante correspondence on antimicrobial use and animal product imports
Dear Health and Food Safety,
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:
I would like to access documents sent and received by European Commission's DG Health and Food Safety regarding Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2023/905 of 27 February 2023 supplementing Regulation (EU) 2019/6 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards the application of the prohibition of use of certain antimicrobial medicinal products in animals or products of animal origin exported from third countries into the Union.
Specifically, I would like to request all correspondence (including emails and their attachments) sent or received by DG Health and Food Safety officials and representatives between 1 December 2022 - 28 February 2023, which contain one or more of the following terms: “antibiotic” “antimicrobial” “animal origin” “medicinal”.
I kindly ask you to not redact any name of professional lobbyists and the organisations and companies they work, as such data cannot be considered personal data under Regulations 1049/2001 on access to documents and 45/2001 on data protection.
I would like to receive this information electronically.
Should my request be denied wholly or partially, please explain the denial or all deletions referring to specific exemptions in the regulation. Also I would 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.
With thanks,
Clare Carlile
Dear Sir or Madam,
We are writing to you concerning your request for access to documents sent
on 21/08/2023 and registered on 21/08/2023 under case number 2023/4924.
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 Health and Food Safety - 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 Health and Food Safety,
Many thanks for your reply. My address is:
1 St Nicholas Park,
Bristol, UK
BS5 0LP
Yours faithfully,
Clare Carlile
Dear Sir or Madam,
We hereby acknowledge the receipt of your request for access to documents
sent on 21/08/2023 and registered on 21/08/2023 under the case number
2023/4924.
We will handle your request within 15 working days as of the date of
registration. The time-limit expires on 11/09/2023. 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,
Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety - Access to Documents
European Commission
References
Visible links
1. https://ec.europa.eu/info/principles-and...
Dear Ms Carlile,
Please find attached a message concerning your request for access to
Commission documents registered under the above case number 2023/4924.
Best regards,
SANTE VETERINARY MEDICINES
Dear Health and Food Safety,
Thanks for your reply. I look forward to receiving the information before October 2nd.
Yours faithfully,
Clare Carlile
Dear Health and Food Safety,
The second extended time limit has now passed (2 October 2023). Would it be possible to send an update on when the information requested will be provided?
Yours faithfully,
Clare Carlile
Dear Health and Food Safety,
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 'DG Sante correspondence on antimicrobial use and animal product imports'.
I filed a request on 23 August 2023, which was acknowledged as received. I was informed that the information could not be provided in the first 20 days, and the deadline was extended to 2 October. This has now passed and I have received no response to my request for an update on 4 October.
By law, under all circumstances, the Health and Food Safety should have responded by now. Please could this request be reviewed and the information provided as soon as possible.
Yours faithfully,
Clare Carlile
Dear Health and Food Safety,
I would be grateful to receive an acknowledgment for my request for an internal review (send 10 October 2023). Has this been received?
Yours faithfully,
Clare Carlile
Dear Sir or Madam,
We hereby acknowledge the receipt of your confirmatory request for case
2023/4924, sent on 10/10/2023 and registered on 17/10/2023.
We will handle your confirmatory request within 15 working days as of the
date of registration. The time-limit expires on 09/11/2023. 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
2023/4924, sent on 10/10/2023 and registered on 17/10/2023.
We will handle your confirmatory request within 15 working days as of the
date of registration. The time-limit expires on 09/11/2023. 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 Ms Carlile,
Thank you very much for your email and we apologise for the delay. We confirm that we have passed your confirmatory request to the responsible services that will follow up with you as soon as possible. The reply to your initial request is ongoing and will be sent to you as soon as it is fully signed.
With kind regards,
SANTE ACCESS TO DOCUMENTS
Dear applicant,
We are writing concerning your confirmatory request for access to
Commission documents for case 2023/4924 registered on 17 October 2023.
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. As we are still performing internal
consultations, we will not be able to send you the reply within the
prescribed time limit expiring on 9 November 2023.
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 30 November 2023.
We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.
Kind regards,
SG.C1 - Access to Documents team
References
Visible links
1. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/...
Dear Ms Carlile,
Please find attached a message concerning your request for access to
Commission documents registered under the above case number 2023/4924.
Please acknowledge the receipt of this message by return email.
Best regards,
SANTE VETERINARY MEDICINES
Dear Ms Carlile,
Please find attached a message concerning your request for access to
Commission documents registered under the above case number 2023/4924.
Please acknowledge the receipt of this message by return email.
Best regards,
SANTE VETERINARY MEDICINES
Dear applicant,
Please find attached a message concerning your request for access to
Commission documents registered under the above case number 2023/4924.
Kind regards,
SG.C.1 - Access to Documents team
Dear Health and Food Safety,
Many thanks for the documents. The following does not, however, appear to have been included, although it is in the list of disclosed documents:
30 Ares(2023)6049547 - Comments from P. R. China on Notification GSPSNEU605.pdf
Could this be provided as soon as possible?
Yours faithfully,
Clare Carlile
Dear Health and Food Safety,
Further to my email earlier today, documents 32-34 also have not been enclosed. Please could these be shared as soon as possible.
Yours faithfully,
Clare Carlile
Dear Ms Carlile,
Thank you very much for your emails and sorry to hear that some documents could not reach you.
The documents 30, 32-34 were included in the 2nd email. Just to be sure you receive safely all documents from the 2nd email, we are resending a copy of the email, please see attached.
If there is anything else you might need, please do not hesitate to contact us.
With kind regards,
SANTE ACCESS TO DOCUMENTS
Dear Health and Food Safety,
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 'DG Sante correspondence on antimicrobial use and animal product imports'.
I would like a review of whether all relevant information was provided. For example:
- were all comments from third party countries sent via email provided (e.g. Brazil and Uruguay)?
- were any minutes for the "Meeting between the European Commission and Third Countries" on 12 January 2023 sent via email?
Yours faithfully,
Clare Carlile
Dear Sir or Madam,
We hereby acknowledge the receipt of your confirmatory request for case
2023/4924, sent on 05/12/2023 and registered on 08/12/2023.
We will handle your confirmatory request within 15 working days as of the
date of registration. The time-limit expires on 09/01/2024. 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 Health and Food Safety,
Many thanks for your confirmation.
Yours faithfully,
Clare Carlile
Dear applicant,
We are writing concerning your confirmatory request for access to
Commission documents for case 2023/4924, registered on 8 December 2023.
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. As internal consultations still need to be
performed, we will not be able to send you the reply within the prescribed
time limit expiring on 9 January 2024.
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 30 January 2024.
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 Madam Clare Carlile,
Please find attached the electronic version of Commission Decision
C(2024)802 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 [email address],
Many thanks for your response and review, which has been received and is much appreciated.
Yours sincerely,
Clare Carlile
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 12:49 PM
To: '[FOI #13408 email]'
<[FOI #13408 email]>
Cc: GRIGORAS Eduard (SG) <[email address]>
Subject: C(2024) 802 - Clare Carlile
Dear Madam Clare Carlile,
Please find attached the electronic version of Commission Decision
C(2024)802 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 [email address],
I confirm receipt of the attached document- many thanks.
Yours sincerely,
Clare Carlile