Exchanges with the Brussels Council
Alexander Fanta made this access to documents request to Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets Union This request has been closed to new correspondence. Contact us if you think it should be reopened.
Dear Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets Union,
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:
All documents on exchanges with the Brussels Council for Technological Innovation and Global Development ("Brussels Council") and/or Dimitrios Psarrakis. This is meant to include e-mail, meeting minutes and any other document in reference to said entities.
Yours faithfully,
Alexander Fanta
Follow the Money
Rue Auguste Orts 2
1000 Bruxelles
Dear Sir or Madam,
We hereby acknowledge the receipt of your request for access to documents
sent on 04/10/2023 and registered on 04/10/2023 under the case number
2023/5804.
We will handle your request within 15 working days as of the date of
registration. The time-limit expires on 25/10/2023. 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,
Secretariat-General - Access to Documents
European Commission
References
Visible links
1. https://ec.europa.eu/info/principles-and...
Dear Mr Fanta,
We are writing concerning your request for access to Commission documents
registered on 4 October 2023 under case number 2023/5804.
We are currently working on your request. However, we have not yet been
able to gather all the elements necessary to carry out a full analysis of
your request. We will not be able to send you the reply within the
prescribed time limit expiring on 25 October 2023.
Therefore, in line with Article 7(3) 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 17 November 2023.
We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.
Best regards,
DG FISMA
References
Visible links
1. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/...
Dear Mr Fanta,
Please find attached a message concerning your request for access to
Commission documents registered under the above case number 2023/5804.
Please acknowledge the receipt of this message by return email.
Best regards,
DG FISMA
Dear Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets Union,
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 'Exchanges with the Brussels Council'.
In reply to my initial request, I was told that the Commission could not handle my request for documents related to Dimitrios Psarrakis as even identifying such documents is prevented by the Data Protection Regulation. The reply goes on to note that I did not express any particular interest to have access to these personal data or put forward any arguments to establish the necessity to have the data transmitted for a specific purpose in the public interest.
For my confirmatory application, I would like to provide an argument why identification and disclosure of documents falling within the scope of my request would be in the public interest.
First, I note that Mr Psarrakis is a former member of staff of the European Parliament, as well as a former associate of MEP Eva Kaili (among other things, Mr Psarrakis co-authored a number of papers on crypto-currency with Ms Kaili). Ms Kaili has been accused of corruption in the Qatargate scandal, currently pending criminal proceedings in Belgium. In the wake of the scandal, several people around Ms Kaili have been suspected of having participated in corrupt dealings.
My request is intended to establish whether Mr Psarrakis had any interactions with the Commission, and, if so, whether these dealings can be connected to his associate Eva Kaili.
I note that in a similar case (795/2022/OAM), the European Ombudsman has recently argued that an individual’s legitimate interests would not be harmed by the disclosure of information about their professional activities. I believe that in this case, the identification of documents in the scope of my request can hardly be argued to be an infringement of the EU's Data Protection Regulation, as they likely concern Mr Pasarrakis' professional activities.
I further note that I make my request in my role as journalist, a function which has been recognised as "public watchdog" by the European Court of Human Rights. The European Commission has recognised the necessity of the fight against corruption, and the public damage to the EU's image through the Qatargate scandal. I therefore would like to argue that a proper identification or relevant documents, as well as their disclosure, creates an overriding public interest in disclosure.
Yours faithfully,
Alexander Fanta
Follow the Money
Rue Auguste Orts 2
1000 Bruxelles
Your message has been received by the Transparency Unit of the
Secretariat-General of the European Commission.
Requests for public access to documents are treated on the basis of
[1]Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 of 30 May 2001 regarding public access to
European Parliament, Council and Commission documents.
The Secretariat-General will reply to your request within 15 working days
upon registration of your request and will duly inform you of the
registration of the request (or of any additional information to be
provided in view of its registration and/or treatment).
L’unité «Transparence» du secrétariat général de la Commission européenne
a bien reçu votre message.
Les demandes d’accès du public aux documents sont traitées sur la base du
[2]règlement (CE) n° 1049/2001 du 30 mai 2001 relatif à l’accès du public
aux documents du Parlement européen, du Conseil et de la Commission.
Le secrétariat général répondra à votre demande dans un délai de 15 jours
ouvrables à compter de la date d’enregistrement de votre demande, et vous
informera de cet enregistrement (ou vous indiquera toute information
supplémentaire à fournir en vue de l'enregistrement et/ou du traitement de
votre demande).
Ihre Nachricht ist beim Referat „Transparenz“ des Generalsekretariats der
Europäischen Kommission eingegangen.
Anträge auf Zugang zu Dokumenten werden auf der Grundlage der
[3]Verordnung (EG) Nr. 1049/2001 vom 30. Mai 2001 über den Zugang der
Öffentlichkeit zu Dokumenten des Europäischen Parlaments, des Rates und
der Kommission behandelt.
Das Generalsekretariat beantwortet Ihre Anfrage innerhalb von
15 Arbeitstagen nach deren Registrierung und wird Sie über die
Registrierung Ihres Antrags (oder die Notwendigkeit weiterer Informationen
im Hinblick auf dessen Registrierung und/oder Bearbeitung) unterrichten.
References
Visible links
1. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/...
2. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/...
3. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/...
Dear Sir or Madam,
We hereby acknowledge the receipt of your confirmatory request for case
2023/5804, sent on 08/11/2023 and registered on 08/11/2023.
We will handle your confirmatory request within 15 working days as of the
date of registration. The time-limit expires on 29/11/2023. 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
2023/5804, sent on 08/11/2023 and registered on 08/11/2023.
We will handle your confirmatory request within 15 working days as of the
date of registration. The time-limit expires on 29/11/2023. 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 Mr. Alexander Fanta,
Please find attached the electronic version of Commission Decision C(2024)
399 as adopted by the European Commission on 16.1.2024.
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,
MARTIN GALAN MARIA SERENA
Secrétariat général de la Commission
SG B2 - Procédures écrites, habilitation, délégation
BERL 05/P071' +32-2-299.59.48
Dear Ms / Dear Mr,
It is very important for us.
Please, could you please acknowledge the receipt of the document enclosed
in the message addressed to you ?
MARTIN GALAN MARIA SERENA
Secrétariat général de la Commission
SG B2 - Procédures écrites, habilitation, délégation
BERL 05/P071' +32-2-299.59.48
From: SG GREFFE CERTIFICATION
Sent: Wednesday, January 17, 2024 5:34 PM
To: '[FOI #13617 email]'
<[FOI #13617 email]>
Cc: BEVIERE Chantal (SG) <[email address]>
Subject: C(2024) 399 to Alexander Fanta
Dear Mr. Alexander Fanta,
Please find attached the electronic version of Commission Decision C(2024)
399 as adopted by the European Commission on 16.1.2024.
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,
MARTIN GALAN MARIA SERENA
Secrétariat général de la Commission
SG B2 - Procédures écrites, habilitation, délégation
BERL 05/P071' +32-2-299.59.48
Dear Commission,
thank you for your work, I got the reply.
Yours sincerely,
Alexander Fanta