Dear Mr Vranken,
 
Thank you for your e-mail dated 25 October 2019.  We hereby acknowledge
receipt of your application for access to documents, which was registered
by EDA on 28 October 2019.
 
In accordance with Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 regarding public access to
European Parliament, Council and Commission documents, applicable to EDA
in accordance with Article 30 of Council Decision 2015/1835 of 12 October
2015, your application will be handled within 15 working days. The time
limit will expire on 18 November 2019. In case this time limit needs to be
extended, you will be informed in due course.
 
Yours sincerely,
 

European Defence Agency
Access to Documents
[1][IMG]
[2][IMG] [4][email address]
[3][IMG]   Rue des Drapiers 17-23, 1050 Brussels, Belgium
  [5]www.eda.europa.eu/info-hub/eda-
documents/access-to-eda-documents

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Dear Mr. Vranken,
 
Further to our email below, we would like to inform you that the Annual
Conference is taking place at the end of November and registration is
still open. Consequently, the currently available list of invitees is not
final.

Could you please confirm whether you request a draft list or if you prefer
to wait for a final list?

Pending this clarification, please note that the 15 working days time
limit for handling your application is suspended.
 

European Defence Agency
Access to Documents
[1][IMG] [2][IMG]
[3][IMG] [4][email address]
  Rue des Drapiers 17-23, 1050 Brussels, Belgium
  [5]www.eda.europa.eu/info-hub/eda-
documents/access-to-eda-documents

_____________________________________________
From: ACCESS TO DOCUMENTS <[email address]>
Sent: 28 October 2019 12:01
To: '[FOI #7410 email]'
<[FOI #7410 email]>
Cc: ACCESS TO DOCUMENTS <[email address]>
Subject: FW: access to documents request - EDA annual conference 2019 -
invitees
 
 
Dear Mr Vranken,
 
Thank you for your e-mail dated 25 October 2019.  We hereby acknowledge
receipt of your application for access to documents, which was registered
by EDA on 28 October 2019.
 
In accordance with Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 regarding public access to
European Parliament, Council and Commission documents, applicable to EDA
in accordance with Article 30 of Council Decision 2015/1835 of 12 October
2015, your application will be handled within 15 working days. The time
limit will expire on 18 November 2019. In case this time limit needs to be
extended, you will be informed in due course.
 
Yours sincerely,
 

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(Device Independent << OLE Object: Picture (Device Independent
Bitmap) >> [6]<< OLE Bitmap) >> [9][email address]
Object: Picture (Device << OLE Object: Picture (Device Independent
Independent Bitmap) >> Bitmap) >>   Rue des Drapiers 17-23, 1050
[7]<< OLE Object: Picture Brussels, Belgium
(Device Independent << OLE Object: Picture (Device Independent
Bitmap) >> [8]<< OLE Bitmap) >>   [10]www.eda.europa.eu/info-hub/eda-
Object: Picture (Device documents/access-to-eda-documents
Independent Bitmap) >>

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Dear Sir,

Subject: Your application for access to documents addressed to the
European Defence Agency

We refer to your e-mails dated 25/10/2019 wherein you make a request for
access to documents and which was registered on 28/10/2019 as 2019/21/IN.

You request access to a list of invitees to the annual EDA conference of
2019 and the organisations/institutions/companies these invitees
represent.  By an email of 30/10/2019, EDA indicated that the registration
to the event was not closed and asked you to confirm whether you wanted
access to the draft list, which you confirmed by email on the same day.

We were able to identify one document falling under the scope of your
request. 

Having examined the document requested under the provisions of Regulation
(EC) No 1049/2001 regarding public access to documents[1][1], applicable
to the European Defence Agency (hereinafter “EDA”) in accordance with
Article 30 of the Council Decision defining the statute, seat and
operational rules of the EDA[2][2], we regret to inform you that only
partial access could be granted, as disclosure is prevented by one or more
of the exceptions to the right of access laid down in Article 4 of
Regulation 1049/2001.

Pursuant to Article 4(1)(b) of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001, access to a
document has to be refused if its disclosure would undermine the
protection of privacy and the integrity of the individual, in particular
in accordance with European Union legislation regarding the protection of
personal data.

The applicable legislation in this field is Regulation (EC) No 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[3]^^[3] ^ (‘Regulation 2018/1725’).

Indeed, 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.[4][4]

The document to which you request access contains personal data, in
particular, name, surname and address.

In its judgment in Case C-28/08 P (Bavarian Lager)[5]^^[5]^, the Court of
Justice ruled that when a request is made for access to documents
containing personal data, the Data Protection Regulation becomes fully
applicable.[6][6] Pursuant to Article 9(1)(b) of Regulation 2018/1725,
‘personal data shall only be transmitted to recipients established in the
Union other than Union institutions and bodies if ‘[t]he recipient
establishes that it is necessary to have the data transmitted for a
specific purpose in the public interest and the controller, where there is
any reason to assume that the data subject’s legitimate interests might be
prejudiced, establishes that it is proportionate to transmit the personal
data for that specific purpose after having demonstrably weighed the
various competing interests’.

Only if these conditions are fulfilled and the processing constitutes
lawful processing in accordance with the requirements of Article 5 of
Regulation 2018/1725, can the transmission of personal data occur.

According to Article 9(1)(b) of Regulation 2018/1725, the EDA has to
examine the further conditions for a lawful processing of personal data
only if the first condition is fulfilled, namely if the recipient has
established that it is necessary to have the data transmitted for a
specific purpose in the public interest. It is only in this case that the
EDA has to examine whether there is a reason to assume that the data
subject’s legitimate interests might be prejudiced and, in the
affirmative, establish the proportionality of the transmission of the
personal data for that specific purpose after having demonstrably weighed
the various competing interests. In your request, you do not put forward
any arguments to establish the necessity to have the data transmitted for
a specific purpose in the public interest. Therefore, the EDA does not
have to examine whether there is a reason to assume that the data
subject’s legitimate interests might be prejudiced.

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.

Please be informed that the interests under Article 4(1) are absolute in
nature and therefore not balanced by an overriding public interest in
disclosure.

Means of redress

In accordance with Article 7(2) of Regulation 1049/2001, you are entitled
to make a confirmatory application requesting EDA to review its position.

Such a confirmatory application should be addressed within 15 working days
upon receipt of this letter to the Chief Executive of EDA to the following
email: [7][EDA request email].

Yours faithfully,

European Defence Agency

Access to Documents

[8][IMG][9][IMG][10][IMG] [11][email address]
  Rue des Drapiers 17-23, 1050 Brussels,
Belgium
  [12]www.eda.europa.eu/info-hub/eda-
documents/access-to-eda-documents

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