Ref. Ares(2023)4781329 - 10/07/2023
EUROPEAN COMMISSION
DIRECTORATE-GENERAL FOR TRADE

Directorate R – Resources, Interinstitutional Relations, Communications and Civil Society
  Transparency, Civil Society and Communication
Brussels,
TRADE.R.3/(2023)6246701
Mr Maximilian Henning
Aquamarijnstraat 1-11
9743 PA Groningen
The Netherlands
By email only – with request for
explicit acknowledgment of receipt
by email reply:
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxx.xxx
Subject:
Your application for access to documents – EASE 2023/3184
Dear Mr Henning,
I refer to your application dated 1 June 2023, registered on 2 June 2023 under the above
mentioned  EASE  reference  number,  in  which  you  make  a  request  for  access  to
documents under Regulation (EC) No 1049/20011 (‘Regulation 1049/2001’).
1.
SCOPE OF YOUR REQUEST
You have been requesting public access to the following documents:
‘All  minutes,  agendas,  summaries,  notes  or  memos  issued  before  or  after;  documents
prepared  for,  issued  in  preparation  for,  or  exchanged  during;  as  well  as  all
correspondence  including  attachments  by  either  of  the  meeting  parties  related  to  the
11.05.2023  meeting  between  Car  Rental  Coalition  and  Cabinet  members  of
Commissioner Dombrovskis.’
We have identified four documents falling within the scope of your request:
01 – Ares(2023)3789377 – Meeting Request;
02 – Ares(2023)3789377 – Annex-Letter to President von der Leyen;
03 – Ares(2023)3789377 – Annex-Letter to Commissioner Breton;
04 – Ares(2023)3789425 – Meeting Minutes.

1   Regulation  (EC)  No 1049/2001  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  20 May 2001
regarding public access to European Parliament, Council and Commission documents (Official Journal
OJ L 145, 31.5.2001, p. 43).
Commission européenne/Europese Commissie, 1049 Bruxelles/Brussel, BELGIQUE/BELGIË – Tel. +32 22991111

2.
ASSESSMENT AND CONCLUSIONS UNDER REGULATION 1049/2001
Having  examined  the  requested  documents  under  the  applicable  legal  framework,  I  am
pleased  to  grant  you  partial  access  to  all  identified  documents,  with  only  personal  data
redacted.
A  complete  disclosure  of  the  documents  is  prevented  by  the  exception  concerning  the
protection  of  privacy  and  the  integrity  of  the  individual  outlined  in  Article 4(1)(b)  of
Regulation 1049/2001 (for details please see below).
Copies  of  the  accessible  documents  in  their  redacted  electronic  version  are  enclosed  to
the present letter.
2.1.
Protection of privacy and the integrity of the individual – Article 4(1)(b) of
Regulation 1049/2001
2.1.1.  ‘Personal data’
Article 4(1)(b)  of  Regulation 1049/2001  provides  that  ‘[t]he  institutions  shall  refuse
access to a document where disclosure would undermine the protection of: […] privacy
and  the  integrity  of  the  individual,  in  particular  in  accordance  with  Community
legislation regarding the protection of personal data’.
The  applicable  legislation  in  this  field  is  Regulation (EU)  No 2018/17252  (hereafter
‘Regulation 2018/1725’ or ‘Data Protection Regulation’).
Article 3(1)  of  Regulation 2018/1725  provides  that  ‘personal  data’  means  ‘any
information  relating  to  an  identified  or  identifiable  natural  person  […]’.  The  Court  of
Justice has specified that any information, which by reason of its content, purpose or effect,
is  linked  to  a  particular  person  is  to  be  considered  as  personal  data.3  Please  note  in  this
respect  that  the  names,  signatures,  functions,  email  addresses,  telephone  numbers  etc.,
and/or initials pertaining to staff members of an institution are to be considered personal
data4,  as  well  as  those  of  individuals  belonging  to  third  parties.  As  already  indicated
above, all documents contain such personal information.
We disclose the identified documents with the exception of certain personal data, which
must be redacted in accordance with Article 4(1)(b) of Regulation 1049/2001, namely:
–  the names/initials and contact information of Commission staff members not pertaining
to the senior management;
–  the  names/initials  and/or  contact  details  of  other  natural  persons  –  other  than
Commission staff members;
–  other information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person.

2   Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2018 on the
protection of natural persons  with regard to the processing of  personal data by the Union institutions,
bodies,  offices  and  agencies  and  on  the  free  movement  of  such  data,  and  repealing  Regulation  (EC)
No 45/2001 and Decision No 1247/2002/EC, OJ L 295, 21.11.2018, p. 39.
3  Judgment  in  Peter  Novak  v  Data  Protection  Commissioner,  case  C-434/16,  points 33-35,
ECLI:EU:T:2018:560.
4  Judgment in Port de Brest v Commission, case T-39/17, points 43-44, ECLI:EU:T:2018:560.
2

2.1.2.  Question of ‘transfer’ of personal data and conclusion
Article 9(1)(b) of Regulation 2018/1725 does not allow the transmission of these personal
data, except if you prove that it is necessary to have the data transmitted to you for a specific
purpose  in  the  public  interest  and  where  there  is  no  reason  to  assume  that  the  legitimate
interests of  the  data  subject  might  be prejudiced. In  your  request,  you  do  not  express  any
particular  interest  to  have  access  to  these  personal  data  nor  do  you  put  forward  any
arguments to establish the necessity to have the data transmitted for a specific purpose in the
public interest.
Consequently, I conclude that, pursuant to Article 4(1)(b) of Regulation 1049/2001, access
cannot be granted to the personal data, as the need to obtain access thereto for a purpose in
the  public  interest  has  not  been  substantiated  and  there  is  no  reason  to  think  that  the
legitimate interests  of  the  individuals  concerned  would  not  be prejudiced  by  disclosure  of
the personal data concerned.
2.2.
Disclaimer(s)
You may reuse public documents, which have been produced by the European Commission
or  by  public  and  private  entities  on  its  behalf,  based  on  Commission
Decision 2011/833/EU  of  12 December 2011  on  the  re-use  of  Commission  documents5.
You  may  reuse  the  documents  disclosed  free  of  charge  for  non-commercial  and
commercial  purposes,  provided  that  the  source  is  acknowledged,  and  that  you  do  not
distort  the  original  meaning  or  message  of  the  documents.  Please  note  that  the
Commission does not assume any liability stemming from the reuse.
Furthermore,  please  note  that  documents  containing  content  of  third  party  origin,  i.e.
either documents entirely originating from third parties or documents containing parts of
third  party  origin  (like  in  the  present  case:  documents 01,  02  and  03)  are  disclosed  to
you based on Regulation 1049/2001.  However, disclosure of such third  party  content is
without  prejudice  to  the  rules  on  intellectual  property,  which  may  limit  your  right  to
reproduce or exploit the released documents without the agreement of the originator, who
may  hold  an  intellectual  property  right  on  them.  The  European  Commission  does  not
assume  any  responsibility  from  the  reuse  of  those  documents  or  parts  of  documents
respectively.
Finally, document 04 was drawn up under the responsibility of the relevant Commission
official.  It  solely  reflects  the  author's  interpretation  of  the  interventions  made  and  does
not set out any official position of the third parties to which the document refers, which
were  not  consulted  on  their  content.  It  does  not  necessarily  reflect  the  position  of  the
Commission and, therefore, cannot be quoted as such.


5
OJ L 330, 14.12.2011, p. 39.
3

3.  POSSIBILITY OF A CONFIRMATORY APPLICATION
In  accordance  with  Article 7(2)  of  Regulation 1049/2001,  you  are  entitled  to  make  a
confirmatory application requesting the Commission to review this position.
Such  a  confirmatory  application  should  be  addressed  within  15 working  days  upon
receipt of this letter to the Secretariat-General of the Commission, either by
  asking  for  a  review  via  your  portal6  account  (available  only  for  initial  requests
submitted via the portal account), or
  email to xxxxxxxxxx@xx.xxxxxx.xx, or
  letter post to the following address:
European Commission
Secretariat-General
‘Transparency, Document Management & Access to Documents’ (unit SG C.1)
BERL 7/76
Rue de la Loi 200/Wetstraat 200
1049 Brussels
BELGIUM.
Yours sincerely,
[Electronically signed]
Maud LABAT
Head of Unit
Enclosure(s): (5)
List of documents, 4 documents (redacted)

6
https://www.ec.europa.eu/transparency/documents-request
4
Electronically signed on 07/07/2023 18:17 (UTC+02) in accordance with Article 11 of Commission Decision (EU) 2021/2121

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