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Council of the European Union
General Secretariat
Directorate-General Communication and Information - COMM
Directorate Information and Outreach
Information Services Unit / Transparency
Head of Unit
Brussels, 11 August 2022
Mr Davide Giovannelli
E-mail: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxx.xxx
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxx.xxx
Ref. 22/1589 and 22/1590-vl/vk
Requests made on: 20.07.2022
Dear Mr Giovannelli,
Thank you for your requests for access to documents of the Council of the European Union.
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I regret to inform you that access to documents
ST 11395/22 ADD 3 and
ST 11523/22 cannot be
given for the reasons set out below.
Document
ST 11395/22 ADD 3 focuses on the cooperation of PESCO participating Member States
in cyber defence. It is one of the Addenda to the annual report on the status of PESCO
Implementation, drawn up by the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs
and Security Policy for the Council of the EU.
This Addendum is a classified document, bearing the classification "
EU RESTRICTED -
RESTREINT UE", which means that the unauthorised disclosure of its contents could be
disadvantageous to the interests of the European Union or of one or more of its Member States.
2
Having due regard to the outcome of our consultations with the services of the General Secretariat
responsible for this policy matter, and given the sensitive nature of the information in this
document, regretfully its disclosure must be refused as it could be used by hostile entities to cause
prejudice to public interest as regards defence and military mat ers.
3
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The General Secretariat of the Council has examined your request on the basis of the applicable rules:
Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council regarding public access to
European Parliament, Council and Commission documents (OJ L 145, 31.5.2001, p. 43) and the specific
provisions concerning public access to Council documents set out in Annex II to the Council's Rules of Procedure
(Council Decision No 2009/937/EU, OJ L 325, 11.12.2009, p. 35).
2
Council Decision of 23 September 2013 on the security rules for protecting EU classified information
(2013/488/EU), OJ L 274, 15.10.2013, p. 1.
3
Article 4(1)(a), second indent of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001.
Rue de la Loi/Wetstraat 175 - B-1048 Bruxelles/Brussel - Belgique/België
Tel. +32 (0)2 281 67 10 - www.consilium.europa.eu - xxxxxx@xxxxxxxxx.xxxxxx.xx
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Document
ST 11523/22, drawn up by the European External Action Service (EEAS), contains the
final exercise report (FER) on the EU Interoperability eXercise 2022 (EUIX 22). It focuses on a
technical computer aided exercise addressing a wide spectrum of planning and interoperability
topics to test strategic and operational capabilities, also including the collaboration with
international partners.
Given the sensitive nature of its content, and in the light of our consultation with the competent
services, the General Secretariat regrets being unable to grant public access to this document,
since its disclosure would reveal core elements of the EU's strategic and capacity-building
approach in this field, weakening its action and its international relations.
4 We have also looked into the possibility of releasing parts of these two documents.
5 However, as
the information contained therein forms an inseparable whole, the General Secretariat is unable to
give partial access.
Pursuant to Article 7(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001, you may ask the Council to review this
decision within 15 working days of receiving this reply. Should you see the need for such a review,
you are invited to indicate the reasons thereof.
Yours sincerely,
Fernando FLORINDO
4
Article 4(1)(a), second and third indent of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001.
5
Article 4(6) of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001.
Rue de la Loi/Wetstraat 175 - B-1048 Bruxelles/Brussel - Belgique/België
Tel. +32 (0)2 281 67 10 - www.consilium.europa.eu - xxxxxx@xxxxxxxxx.xxxxxx.xx
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Document Outline
