Documents related to meetings between DC Agri Commissioner and stakeholders on EUDR
Dear Agriculture and Rural Development,
Under the right of access to documents in the EU treaties, as developed in Regulation 1049/2001, I am requesting documents which were created with reference to, or during, a meeting held between AGRI Commissioner, Janusz Wojciechowski and COPA-COGECA and a number of other stakeholders on the EU Deforestation Regulation.
The meeting took place on or in the days leading up to 15th May 2024. (See tweet from DC Agri here sent on 15/05/2024: (https://x.com/jwojc/status/1790672846760... )
These documents should include but not be limited to all agendas and minutes of meetings; attendees of meetings; details of the locations of meetings; presentation slides used, and any other materials shared or used (e.g. briefings, leaflets), including in preparation and after the meetings took place, with any of the stakeholders who attended or were invited, during the previous 12 months.
If this request is too broad, please let me know.
I would like to receive this information electronically, and I prefer you produce the documents on a rolling basis. The Commission's search for—or deliberations concerning—certain documents should not delay the production of others that the Commission has already retrieved and elected to produce.
Many thanks for your help.
Yours faithfully,
Lucy Jordan
Dear Sir or Madam,
We are writing to you concerning your request for access to documents sent
on 28/05/2024 and registered on 29/05/2024 under case number 2024/2804.
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 Ms Jordan,
Kind reminder!
We are not able to start handling your request without your postal
address. If we do not receive your reply we may close this case.
Thank you in advance.
Best regards,
AGRI ATD Team
Der Ms Jordan,
We are writing concerning your request for access to Commission documents
registered on 29 May 2024 under case number 2024/2804.
On 29 May 2024, we asked you to send us your postal address and explained
the reasons why we need it, and a reminder was sent to you on 03 June
2024.
Since we have not received your postal address, we have closed this case.
Kind regards,
AGRI ATD Team