Ref. Ares(2024)4009098 - 04/06/2024
EUROPEAN COMMISSION
DIRECTORATE-GENERAL FOR TRADE

Directorate R – Resources, Interinstitutional Relations, Communications and Civil Society
  Transparency, Civil Society and Communication
Brussels,
TRADE.R.3/(2024)1990138
Ms Lora Verheecke
9 Rue du Bronze
1070 Brussels
By email only – with request for
explicit acknowledgment of receipt:
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxx.xxx
Subject:
Your application for public access to documents – EASE 2024/0926
Dear Ms Verheecke,
I refer to your application dated 13 February 2024, registered on 18 February 2024 under
the  above  mentioned  EASE  reference  number,  in  which  you  make  a  request  for  public
access  to  documents  under  Regulation  (EC)  No 1049/20011  (‘Regulation 1049/2001’).
Please accept our apologies for the delay in replying.
1.
SCOPE OF YOUR REQUEST
You have been requesting public access to the following documents:
‘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  European
Roundtable for Industry on 25th March 2022.’
We have identified five documents falling within the scope of your request:
01 – Ares(2021)7756974 – Meeting Request;
02 – Ares(2021)7647842 – Letter to EVP Dombrovskis;
03 – Ares(2021)7647842 – ERT’s Membership list;
04 – Ares(2022)2409698 – Meeting Minutes;
05 – Ares(2024)3967797 – Speech_ ERT Meeting.

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 (Official Journal
OJ L 145, 31.5.2001, p. 43).
Commission européenne/Europese Commissie, 1049 Bruxelles/Brussel, BELGIQUE/BELGIË – Tel. +32 22991111

2.
ASSESSMENT AND CONCLUSIONS UNDER REGULATION 1049/2001
Having  examined  the  requested  documents  under  the  applicable  legal  framework,  I  am
pleased to grant partial public access to all identified documents, with only personal data
redacted.
A  complete  disclosure  of  the  documents  is  prevented  by  the  exception  concerning  the
protection  of  privacy  and  the  integrity  of  the  individual  outlined  in  Article 4(1)(b)  of
Regulation 1049/2001 (for details please see below).
Copies of the accessible documents in their redacted version are enclosed to the present
letter.
2.1.
Protection of privacy and the integrity of the individual – Article 4(1)(b) of
Regulation 1049/2001
2.1.1.  ‘Personal data’
We disclose the identified documents only partially, as they contain certain personal data,
which  must  be  redacted  in  accordance  with  Article 4(1)(b)  of  Regulation 1049/2001,
namely:
–  the names/initials and contact information of Commission staff members not pertaining
to the senior management;
–  the  names/initials  and/or  contact  details  of  other  natural  persons  –  other  than
Commission staff members;
–  handwritten  signatures/abbreviated  signatures  and/or  other  handwritings  of  natural
persons;
–  other information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person.
Article 4(1)(b)  of  Regulation 1049/2001  provides  that  ‘[t]he  institutions  shall  refuse
access to a document where disclosure would undermine the protection of: […] privacy
and  the  integrity  of  the  individual,  in  particular  in  accordance  with  Community
legislation regarding the protection of personal data’.
The  applicable  legislation  in  this  field  is  Regulation (EU)  No 2018/17252  (hereafter
‘Regulation 2018/1725’ or ‘Data Protection Regulation’).
Article 3(1) of Regulation 2018/1725 provides that personal data means ‘any information
relating  to  an  identified  or  identifiable  natural  person  […]’.  The  Court  of  Justice  has
specified that any information, which by reason of its content, purpose or effect, is linked to
a particular person is to be considered as personal data.3 Please note in this respect that the
names,  signatures,  functions,  email  addresses,  telephone  numbers  etc.,  and/or  initials

2   Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2018 on the
protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data by the Union institutions,
bodies,  offices  and  agencies  and  on  the  free  movement  of  such  data,  and  repealing  Regulation  (EC)
No 45/2001 and Decision No 1247/2002/EC, OJ L 295, 21.11.2018, p. 39.
3  Judgment  in  Peter  Novak  v  Data  Protection  Commissioner,  case  C-434/16,  points 33-35,
ECLI:EU:T:2018:560.
2

pertaining to staff members of an institution are to be considered personal data4, as well
as  those  of  individuals  belonging  to  third  parties.  As  already  indicated  above,  all
documents contain such personal information.
2.1.2.  Question of ‘transfer’ of personal data and conclusion
Article 9(1)(b) of Regulation 2018/1725 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 1049/2001, access
cannot be granted to the personal data, 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.
2.2.
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  documents5.
You  may  reuse  the  documents  disclosed  free  of  charge  for  non-commercial  and
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 entirely originating from third parties or documents containing parts of
third  party  origin  (like  in  the  present  case:  documents 01,  02  and  03)  are  disclosed  to
you based on Regulation 1049/2001.  However, disclosure of such third party content 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.
Finally,  document 04  was  drawn  up  under  the  responsibility  of  the  relevant  official.  It
solely reflects the  author's interpretation  of the interventions made and does not  set  out
any  official  position  of  the  third  party  to  which  the  document  refers,  which  was  not
consulted on its content. It does not necessarily reflect the position of the Commission and,
therefore, cannot be quoted as such.

4  Judgment in Port de Brest v Commission, case T-39/17, points 43-44, ECLI:EU:T:2018:560.
5  OJ L 330, 14.12.2011, p. 39.
3

3.  POSSIBILITY OF A CONFIRMATORY APPLICATION
In  accordance  with  Article 7(2)  of  Regulation 1049/2001,  you  are  entitled  to  make  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, either by
•  asking  for  a  review  via  your  portal6  account  (available  only  for  initial  requests
submitted via the portal account), or
•  email to xxxxxxxxxx@xx.xxxxxx.xx, or
•  letter post to the following address:
European Commission
Secretariat-General
‘Transparency, Document Management & Access to Documents’ (unit SG C.1)
BERL 7/76
Rue de la Loi 200/Wetstraat 200
1049 Brussels.
Yours sincerely,
[Electronically signed]
Maud LABAT
Head of Unit
Enclosures (5):  List of documents,
5 documents (partially redacted).

6  https://www.ec.europa.eu/transparency/documents-request
4
Electronically signed on 03/06/2024 14:03 (UTC+02) in accordance with Article 11 of Commission Decision (EU) 2021/2121

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