Follow up request: IA and RSB opinion on Reach revision
Dear Secretariat General of the European Commission,
Under the right of access to documents in the EU treaties, as developed in Regulation 1049/2001, further to Gestdem 2022/6860, and further to the findings of the European Ombudsman (available here https://www.ombudsman.europa.eu/en/case/...), I am again requesting full access to:
- any impact assessments on the Reach revision submitted to the Regulatory Scrutiny Board (RSB)
- all RSB opinions on these impact assessments.
I note:
- the Judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union of 4 September 2018 in Case C-57/16 P in which the Court held that documents drawn up in the context of an impact assessment procedure for a legislative proposal constitute legislative documents that should be made directly accessible to the public pursuant to Article 12(2) of Regulation No 1049/2001 before the proposal and that access should not be denied on request.
- the findings of the European Ombudsman in the above case who said that, "The European Commission should fully disclose the requested documents concerning the revision of the REACH Regulation without any further delay."
I look forward to receiving the documents immediately.
Thank you in advance.
Yours faithfully,
Vicky Cann
CEO
Rue d'Edimbourg 26
B 1050
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 request for access to documents
sent on 28/09/2023 and registered on 28/09/2023 under the case number
2023/5658.
We will handle your request within 15 working days as of the date of
registration. The time-limit expires on 19/10/2023. 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...
Hello,
Please find attached a message concerning your request for access to
Commission documents registered under the above case number 2023/5658.
Please acknowledge the receipt of this message by return email.
Kind regards,
RSB secretariat
Dear Secretariat General of the European Commission,
I have been on leave but acknowledge your response of 18 October 2023 to my access to documents request 'Follow up request: IA and RSB opinion on Reach revision', 2023/5658.
I am filing the following confirmatory application as I was extremely surprised to receive the Commission's refusal to provide the documents.
The Commission's response indicated that if I were to make a confirmatory review that it should "focus on the question whether there are any additional legal and factual circumstances requiring the adoption of a new decision by the Commission."
As I indicated in my request, in September 2023 the European Ombudsman recommended that "The European Commission should fully disclose the requested documents concerning the revision of the REACH Regulation without any further delay." I note the words "fully" and "without any further delay". That recommendation is fully in line with the Judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union of 4 September 2018 in Case C-57/16.
The Commission states in its response to 2023/5658 that "As regards the Recommendation of the European Ombudsman (case 1053/2023/MIK), the Commission is currently examining the recommendation and will reply accordingly in due time."
I was very surprised that the Commission chose to reject my request for the documents instead of keeping the request open until the Commission's decision-making on this matter was complete. The Commission should either have immediately responded positively to the Ombudsman's recommendation and released the documents in response to my request, or at least left open my request via extended time limits (which is very common practice when handling access to document requests) in case the Commission's "examination" of the Ombudsman's recommendation leads to the conclusion that the documents should indeed be released.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Yours faithfully,
Vicky Cann
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
2023/5658, sent on 01/11/2023 and registered on 06/11/2023.
We will handle your confirmatory request within 15 working days as of the
date of registration. The time-limit expires on 27/11/2023. 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
2023/5658, sent on 01/11/2023 and registered on 06/11/2023.
We will handle your confirmatory request within 15 working days as of the
date of registration. The time-limit expires on 27/11/2023. 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 applicant,
We are writing concerning your confirmatory request for access to
Commission documents for case 2023/5658 registered on 6 November 2023.
We are currently working on your confirmatory 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 27 November 2023.
Therefore, in line with Article 8(2) 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 18 December 2023.
We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.
Kind regards,
SG.C.1 - Access to Documents team
References
Visible links
1. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/...
Dear applicant,
We are writing to you concerning your confirmatory request for access to
Commission documents for case 2023/5658, registered on 6 November 2023.
On 24 November 2023, we extended the time limit for replying to your
confirmatory request to 18 December 2023.
Unfortunately, we will not be able to send you the reply within this
extended time limit. Internal consultations are still ongoing and will
need to be concluded before we can send you the reply.
However, we assure you that we are doing our best to send a reply to your
confirmatory request as soon as possible.
We regret this additional delay and sincerely apologize for any
inconvenience this may cause.
Kind regards,
SG.C.1 - Access to Documents team
Dear Secretariat General of the European Commission,
Please can you confirm when I will receive a response to my confirmatory application for access to
Commission documents for case 2023/5658, registered on 6 November 2023?
Thank you in advance.
Yours faithfully,
Vicky Cann
[1]access to documents request - Follow up request: IA and RSB opinion on
Reach revision - Ares(2024)3362557 (Please use this link only if you are
an Ares user – Svp, utilisez ce lien exclusivement si vous êtes un(e)
utilisateur d’Ares)
Dear Ms Cann,
Thank you for your message.
We would like to sincerely apologise for the significant delay in replying
to your confirmatory application.
Unfortunately, the only information that we can provide you at this stage
is to confirm that the analysis of your confirmatory application and the
necessary internal consultations are fully ongoing at present. Since the
internal decision-making process involves the consultation of several
services, it is not possible to provide you a concrete indication of when
you can expect the Commission’s reply. Please be assured that we are doing
our utmost to reply to your confirmatory application as soon as possible.
We would like to apologise again for the delay in providing you the final
reply to your confirmatory application and for any inconvenience caused by
this delay.
Yours sincerely,
SG.C.1 – Access to documents team - cr
Dear Secretariat General of the European Commission,
I would be grateful if you could confirm when I will receive a response to my confirmatory application for access to
Commission documents for case 2023/5658, registered on 6 November 2023?
Thank you in advance.
Yours faithfully,
Vicky Cann
[1]access to documents request - Follow up request: IA and RSB opinion on
Reach revision - Ares(2024)3362557 - Ares(2024)4729617 (Please use this
link only if you are an Ares user – Svp, utilisez ce lien exclusivement si
vous êtes un(e) utilisateur d’Ares)
Dear Ms Cann,
Thank you for your message and please accept our apologies for the
significant delay in replying to your confirmatory application.
We would like to confirm that the analysis of your confirmatory
application and the necessary internal consultations are still fully
ongoing at present. As the answers to confirmatory applications are formal
Commission decisions, the internal decision-making process involves the
consultation of several services, including of the Legal Service, after
which a decision may be formally adopted within the Secretariat-General.
Therefore, it is unfortunately not possible to provide you with a concrete
indication of when you can expect the Commission’s reply.
Please rest assured that the examination of your request is ongoing and
that we are doing our utmost to ensure that you will receive a reply from
the Commission as soon as possible.
Finally, we would like to apologise again for the delay in providing you
the final reply to your confirmatory application and for any inconvenience
caused by this delay.
Kind regards,
SG.C.1 - Access to documents team - cr
Dear SG ACCES DOCUMENTS,
What is the update on 2023/5658 registered on 28/09/2023 please?
Honestly, the delay is disrespectful to the rules, to case law, and to the Ombudsman.
Yours sincerely,
Vicky Cann
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/...
[1]RE: access to documents request - Follow up request: IA and RSB opinion
on Reach revision - Ares(2024)3362557 - Ares(2024)4729617 -
Ares(2024)7723876 (Please use this link only if you are an Ares user –
Svp, utilisez ce lien exclusivement si vous êtes un(e) utilisateur d’Ares)
Dear Ms Cann,
We refer to your message of 18 October 2024, in which you ask an update
regarding case EASE 2023/5658.
We would like to sincerely apologise for the significant delay in replying
to your confirmatory application.
Unfortunately, we have not yet been able to gather all the elements we
need for a full examination of your application as it raises complex legal
issues, requiring an in-depth investigation as well as continued
consultation between several Commission services.
Please be assured that the examination of your request is ongoing and that
you will receive a reply from the Commission as soon as possible.
Finally, we would like to apologise again for the delay in providing you
the final reply to your confirmatory application and for any inconvenience
caused by this delay.
Yours sincerely,
SG.C1 - Transparency, Document Management and Access to Documents - cr
Dear SG ACCES DOCUMENTS,
I have not heard from you since 30 October 2024 regarding EASE 2023/5658.
I note your previous reply: " Unfortunately, we have not yet been able to gather all the elements we need for a full examination of your application as it raises complex legal issues, requiring an in-depth investigation as well as continued consultation between several Commission services. Please be assured that the examination of your request is ongoing and that you will receive a reply from the Commission as soon as possible."
I do not recognise the "complex legal isues" mentioned, considering that the rules, case law, and the European Ombudsman all indicate that the documents should be published.
When will the Commission comply with this?
Yours sincerely,
Vicky Cann
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/...
Link: [1]File-List
Link: [2]themeData
Link: [3]colorSchemeMapping
[4]Your confirmatory application 2023/5658 - Ares(2025)5783335 (Please
use this link only if you are an Ares user – Svp, utilisez ce lien
exclusivement si vous êtes un(e) utilisateur d’Ares)
Dear Madam,
Please find attached the electronic version of Commission Decision
C(2025)4910 adopted by the European Commission on 11/07/2025.
The formal notification of the decision under Article 297 TFEU is being
made in electronic form.
Could you please confirm receipt of the attached document by return
e-mail?
Many thanks in advance.
Kind regards,
Access to documents team - cr
SGA.2
Transparency
References
Visible links
1. file:///tmp/cid:filelist.xml@01DBF639.9851AD60
2. file:///tmp/~~themedata~~
3. file:///tmp/~~colorschememapping~~
4. https://webgate.ec.testa.eu/Ares/documen...
Dear SG ACCES DOCUMENTS,
I've received the documents - thank you.
Yours sincerely,
Vicky Cann
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 CANN, Vicky,
Please find attached the electronic version of European Commission
Decision C(2025) 4910 as adopted by the European Commission on 11/07/2025
concerning the request 2023/5658.
In accordance with the Terms and Conditions of this portal, please note
that this decision is being formally notified pursuant to article 297 TFEU
through this electronic platform only.
Yours sincerely,
Access to documents team - SG.A.2