Green hydrogen 1dec 22- 8 july 23 Energy
To DG Energy,
From: Belen Balanya, Corporate Europe Observatory
Rue d’Edimbourg 26, 1050 Brussels.
8 July 2023 RE: Access to Documents related to Green Hydrogen
Dear sirs,
Referring to Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 on public access to EU documents and to the 'Aarhus Regulation', I would herewith like to ask for access to the following:
1. A list of the meetings/ discussions (including those held face to face, online, by telephone etc) that have taken place since 1 December 2022 between Commissioner Simson, her cabinet and/or officials from DG Energy on one hand and representatives from Dii Desert Energy, the MENA Hydrogen Alliance, Hydrogen Europe, the African Hydrogen Partnership Trade Association (AHP), the Hydrogen Council, Green Hydrogen Organisation (GH2), Shell, Total, Equinor, BP, Eni, FTI Consulting and/or Baker McKenzie, on the other, in which the issue of green hydrogen was discussed (including Hydrogen Partnerships with third countries).
2. Any records, minutes or notes of these meetings/discussions.
3. Any briefings prepared for these meetings.
4. All correspondence exchanged since 1 December 2022 (including SMS & any other type of messages processed through phone apps - eg., WhatsApp, Signal, Telegram etc, recorded voice messages, emails, letters and attached documents) between Commissioner Simson, her cabinet and/or DG Energy director general and representatives of companies and/or industry associations Dii Desert Energy, the MENA Hydrogen Alliance, Hydrogen Europe, the African Hydrogen Partnership Trade Association (AHP), Green Hydrogen Organisation (GH2), Shell, Total, Equinor, BP, Eni, Hydrogen Council, FTI Consulting and/or Baker McKenzie, (including lobby consultancies and law firms working for them).
In the interests of good administration, Corporate Observatory Europe requests that the response clearly identifies the documents held by the Commission in relation to each of these categories and clearly indicates to which category the disclosed documents relate.
To the extent possible, our preference is to receive documents in electronic format. Documents that cannot be sent in electronic format should be sent to Corporate Europe Observatory, Rue d’Edimbourg 26, 1050 Brussels – to the attention of Belén Balanyá. Should you transmit documents to us by regular post, we kindly ask you to announce us in advance in this regard.
I would like to make clear I prefer you produce the documents on a rolling basis.
At no point should the Commission’s search for—or deliberations concerning—certain documents delay the production of others that the Commission has already retrieved and elected to produce.
Should my request be denied wholly or partially, please explain the denial or all deletions referring to specific exemptions in the regulation. Also I expect the partial release of documents, in case of partial exemption according to article 4.6.
I reserve the right to appeal.
Please confirm having received this application. I look forward to your reply within 15 business days, according to the regulation.
Thank you for your assistance.
Belen Balanya
Corporate Europe Observatory
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 08/07/2023 and registered on 08/07/2023 under the case number
2023/3977.
We will handle your request within 15 working days as of the date of
registration. The time-limit expires on 31/07/2023. 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 Ms Balanya,
We are writing concerning your request for access to Commission documents
registered on 08/07/2023 under case number 2023/3977.
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 31/07/2023.
The application concerns documents held by different Services, which must
be consulted.
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 22/08/2023.
We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.
Kind regards,
DG ENER Access to Documents Team
References
Visible links
1. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/...
Hello,
Please find attached a message concerning your request for access to
Commission documents registered under the above case number 2023/3977.
Kind regards,
Dear Ms Balanya,
Hope you are doing well. This is just a kind reminder about the fair
solution proposal sent some days ago.
Thank you in advance for your kind cooperation,
Kind regards,
C2 secretariat
Dear VAN HERCK Sophie (ENER),
In response to your proposal for a fair solution regarding my request for access to documents
registered under the case number 2023/3977,
There is a public interest of public interest to be able to monitor and detect potential cases of undue influence. The Union institutions must conduct their work as openly as possible. Article 15 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union states:
1. In order to promote good governance and ensure the participation of civil society, the Union's institutions, bodies, offices and agencies shall conduct their work as openly as possible.
As stated in Case C 280/11 P, the Court lays out the “advantage” of increased openness is that it enables citizens to participate more closely in the decision-making process and guarantees that the administration enjoys greater legitimacy and is more effective and more accountable to the citizen in a democratic system.
In addition to this, in relation to the right of access to EU documents, recital 4 in the preamble to Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 states:
The purpose of this Regulation is to give the fullest possible effect to the right of public access to documents
Article 1 of Regulation 1049/2001 states:
‘The purpose of this Regulation is:
(a) to define the principles, conditions and limits on grounds of public or private interest governing the right of access to European Parliament, Council and Commission … documents … in such a way as to ensure the widest possible access to documents.
Your proposal for a fair solution is ignoring a main part of my request, which is not only about the minutes of meetings but for correspondence exchanged.
I am however narrowing significantly the scope of my original request to:
1- All correspondence exchanged since 1 May 2023 between Commissioner Simson, her cabinet and/or DG Energy director general and representatives of companies and/or industry associations Hydrogen Europe, the African Hydrogen Partnership Trade Association (AHP), Green Hydrogen Organisation (GH2), Shell, Total, Equinor, BP, Eni, Hydrogen Council, FTI Consulting and/or Baker McKenzie, (including lobby consultancies and law firms working for them) in which the issue of green hydrogen was discussed.
2- From the list of meetings you pointed to in your lists I request the minutes of the following meetings:
- 04/07/2023, between Ruud Kempener and REDES ENERGÉTICAS NACIONAIS, GRTgaz, Teréga and Enagás on the latest state of play of H2MED project; development of hydrogen demand, supply and infrastructure.
- 25/05/2023, between Ruud Kempener, Stefano Grassi and Total Energies, NOVE on Presentation of TotalEnergies investments in renewables and decarbonised energies .
- 12/05/2023, between Jaan Mannik and Energias de Portugal (EDP), Portuguese Renewable Energy Association (APREN), Endesa, Galp Energia, Greenvolt, and Iberdrola on implementation of REPower EU objectives in Portugal.
- 08/05/2023, between Ruud Kempener and ReNew Energy Global Plc, on Presentation of the company's hydrogen projects and discussion on potential cooperation activities under EU-India partnership.
- 04/05/2023, between Stefano Grassi, Helena Hinto, Ruud Kempener and Repsol on Russian sanction circumventions, advanced biofuels, renewable hydrogen.
- 18/04/2023, between Ruud Kempener, FTI Consulting Belgium and Anglo American on sharing company's view on the Critical Raw Material Act and its role in the hydrogen economy. Presenting several mining projects in Europe, including the Sakatti project in Finland.
- 19/01/2023, between Stefano Grassi, Tatiana Marquez Uriarte and Gasunie on the EU international hydrogen strategy, offshore networks/electrolysers, hydrogen legislative developments
- 12/01/2023, between Stefano Grassi, Tatiana Marquez Uriarte and Enagás on H2Med project and other hydrogen-related developments
Yours sincerely,
Belen Balanya
Dear Energy,
In response to your proposal for a fair solution regarding my request for access to documents
registered under the case number 2023/3977,
There is a public interest of public interest to be able to monitor and detect potential cases of undue influence. The Union institutions must conduct their work as openly as possible. Article 15 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union states:
1. In order to promote good governance and ensure the participation of civil society, the Union's institutions, bodies, offices and agencies shall conduct their work as openly as possible.
As stated in Case C 280/11 P, the Court lays out the “advantage” of increased openness is that it enables citizens to participate more closely in the decision-making process and guarantees that the administration enjoys greater legitimacy and is more effective and more accountable to the citizen in a democratic system.
In addition to this, in relation to the right of access to EU documents, recital 4 in the preamble to Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 states:
The purpose of this Regulation is to give the fullest possible effect to the right of public access to documents
Article 1 of Regulation 1049/2001 states:
‘The purpose of this Regulation is:
(a) to define the principles, conditions and limits on grounds of public or private interest governing the right of access to European Parliament, Council and Commission … documents … in such a way as to ensure the widest possible access to documents.
Your proposal for a fair solution is ignoring a main part of my request, which is not only about the minutes of meetings but for correspondence exchanged.
I am however narrowing significantly the scope of my original request to:
1- All correspondence exchanged since 1 May 2023 between Commissioner Simson, her cabinet and/or DG Energy director general and representatives of companies and/or industry associations Hydrogen Europe, the African Hydrogen Partnership Trade Association (AHP), Green Hydrogen Organisation (GH2), Shell, Total, Equinor, BP, Eni, Hydrogen Council, FTI Consulting and/or Baker McKenzie, (including lobby consultancies and law firms working for them) in which the issue of green hydrogen was discussed.
2- From the list of meetings you pointed to in your lists I request the minutes of the following meetings:
- 04/07/2023, between Ruud Kempener and REDES ENERGÉTICAS NACIONAIS, GRTgaz, Teréga and Enagás on the latest state of play of H2MED project; development of hydrogen demand, supply and infrastructure.
- 25/05/2023, between Ruud Kempener, Stefano Grassi and Total Energies, NOVE on Presentation of TotalEnergies investments in renewables and decarbonised energies .
- 12/05/2023, between Jaan Mannik and Energias de Portugal (EDP), Portuguese Renewable Energy Association (APREN), Endesa, Galp Energia, Greenvolt, and Iberdrola on implementation of REPower EU objectives in Portugal.
- 08/05/2023, between Ruud Kempener and ReNew Energy Global Plc, on Presentation of the company's hydrogen projects and discussion on potential cooperation activities under EU-India partnership.
- 04/05/2023, between Stefano Grassi, Helena Hinto, Ruud Kempener and Repsol on Russian sanction circumventions, advanced biofuels, renewable hydrogen.
- 18/04/2023, between Ruud Kempener, FTI Consulting Belgium and Anglo American on sharing company's view on the Critical Raw Material Act and its role in the hydrogen economy. Presenting several mining projects in Europe, including the Sakatti project in Finland.
- 19/01/2023, between Stefano Grassi, Tatiana Marquez Uriarte and Gasunie on the EU international hydrogen strategy, offshore networks/electrolysers, hydrogen legislative developments
- 12/01/2023, between Stefano Grassi, Tatiana Marquez Uriarte and Enagás on H2Med project and other hydrogen-related developments
Yours sincerely,
Belen Balanya
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 Energy
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 (on green hydrogen) registered under the case number 2023/3977.
There was no response after my answer on 15/09/2023 to a demand for fair solution.
A full history of my request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.asktheeu.org/r/bb8bc2e9-f94a...
The delay to disclose the documents is unjustified and very long. I hope for a swift disclose of the requested documents.
Kind regards,
Belen Balanya
Dear Sir or Madam,
We hereby acknowledge the receipt of your confirmatory request for case
2023/3977, sent on 24/10/2023 and registered on 24/10/2023.
We will handle your confirmatory request within 15 working days as of the
date of registration. The time-limit expires on 16/11/2023. 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
2023/3977, sent on 24/10/2023 and registered on 24/10/2023.
We will handle your confirmatory request within 15 working days as of the
date of registration. The time-limit expires on 16/11/2023. 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 2023/3977 registered on 24/10/2023..
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 16/11/2023.
Unfortunatelly the dedline needs to be extended due to the complexity of
the request.
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 7/12/2023.
We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.
Kind regards,
References
Visible links
1. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/...
Dear Ms Balanya,
Please find attached a message concerning your request for access to
Commission documents registered under the above case number 2023/3977.
Please acknowledge the receipt of this message by return email.
Kind regards,
DG ENER Access to Documents Team
Dear Ms Balanya,
Please find attached a message concerning your request for access to
Commission documents registered under the above case number 2023/3977.
Please acknowledge the receipt of this message by return email.
Kind regards,
DG ENER Access to Documents Team