Ref. Ares(2023)636606 - 27/01/2023
EUROPEAN COMMISSION
Directorate-General for Trade
Directorate R - Resources, Inter-Institutional Relations, Communications and Civil Society
R.3 Transparency, Civil Society and Communications
The Head of Unit
Brussels,
R3/ML/JT
Ms VERHEECKE Lora
Rue du Bronze 9
1070 Bruxelles
By email only – with request for
explicit acknowledgment of receipt
by email reply: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxx.xxx
Subject: Your application for access to documents – EASE 2023/0044
Dear Ms Verheecke,
I refer to your application dated 23 December 2022, in which you make a request for
access to documents under Regulation (EC) No 1049/20011 (‘Regulation 1049/2001’),
registered on 3 January 2023 under the above-mentioned reference number.
1. SCOPE OF YOUR REQUEST
In your request, you asked for access to:
“All documentation (including but not limited to all email correspondence, attendance lists,
agendas, background papers, transcripts and recordings) AND the meeting minutes/notes
relating to the meeting between Valdis Dombrovskis and EU-China Business Association on
19th December 2022.”
In reply to your request, I can inform you that we have identified
two documents that fall
within the scope of your request:
- Document 1: Meeting invitation – Ares (2022)2442388
1 Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 May 2001
regarding public access to European Parliament, Council and Commission documents (OJ L 145,
31.5.2001, p. 43).
Commission européenne/Europese Commissie, 1049 Bruxelles/Brussel, BELGIQUE/BELGIË - Tel. +32 22991111
- Document 2: Meeting minutes – Ares (2023)480888.
In addition to the two identified documents, I can inform you that the speech by
Executive Vice-President Dombrovskis is publicly available at the following link:
Speech by Executive Vice-President at the EU-China Business Association Luncheon |
European Commission (europa.eu)
2. ASSESSMENT AND CONCLUSIONS UNDER REGULATION 1049/2001
Having examined the requested documents under the applicable legal framework, I am
pleased to grant you partial access to
document 1 and full access to
document 2. Copies
of the accessible documents are enclosed to this letter.
A complete disclosure of
document 1 is prevented by the exception concerning the
protection of privacy and the integrity of the individual outlined in Article 4(1)(b) of
Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001, because it contains the following personal data:
-
the names/initials and contact details of other natural persons;
-
handwritten signatures/abbreviated signatures of natural persons;
-
other information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person.
Article 9(1)(b) of the Data Protection Regulation does not allow the transmission of these
personal data, except if you prove that it is necessary to have the data transmitted to you
for a specific purpose in the public interest and where there is no reason to assume that
the legitimate interests of the data subject might be prejudiced. In your request, you do not
express any particular interest to have access to these personal data nor do you] put forward
any arguments to establish the necessity to have the data transmitted for a specific purpose
in the public interest.
Consequently, I conclude that, pursuant to Article 4(1)(b) of Regulation (EC) No
1049/2001, access cannot be granted to the personal data contained in the requested
documents, 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.
3. DISCLAIMER(S)
You may reuse public documents, which have been produced by the European Commission
or by public and private entities on its behalf, based on
Commission
Decision 2011/833/EU of 12 December 2011 on the re-use of Commission documents2.
You may reuse the documents disclosed free of charge for non-commercial and
2
OJ L 330, 14.12.2011, p. 39.
2
commercial purposes, provided that the source is acknowledged, and that you do not
distort the original meaning or message of the documents. Please note that the
Commission does not assume any liability stemming from the reuse.
Furthermore, please note that documents containing content of third party origin, i.e.
either documents originating from third parties or documents containing parts of third
party origin (in the present case
document 1), are disclosed to you based on
Regulation 1049/2001. However, disclosure of such contents or documents of third party
origin is without prejudice to the rules on intellectual property, which may limit your
right to reproduce or exploit the released documents without the agreement of the
originator, who may hold an intellectual property right on them. The European
Commission does not assume any responsibility from the reuse of those documents or
parts of documents.
Document 2 was drawn up for internal use under the responsibility of the relevant
officials of the Cabinet of Executive Vice-President Dombrovskis. It solely reflects the
author's interpretation of the interventions made and does not set out any official position
of the third parties to which the document refers, which was not consulted on its content.
It does not reflect the position of the Commission and cannot be quoted as such.
4. MEANS OF REDRESS
In case you would disagree with this position, you are entitled, in accordance with Article
7(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001, to submit a confirmatory application requesting the
Commission to review this position.
Such a confirmatory application should be addressed within 15 working days upon receipt
of this letter to the Secretariat-General of the Commission at the following address:
European Commission
Secretariat-General
Unit C.1. ‘Transparency, Document Management and Access to Documents’
BERL 7/076
1049 Brussels, or by email to:
xxxxxxxxxx@xx.xxxxxx.xx.Yours sincerely,
Maud Labat
Encl.:
Two documents (partially released)
3
Electronically signed on 27/01/2023 17:10 (UTC+01) in accordance with Article 11 of Commission Decision (EU) 2021/2121
Document Outline
