Ref. Ares(2022)7388131 - 25/10/2022
EUROPEAN COMMISSION
DIRECTORATE-GENERAL FOR MIGRATION AND HOME AFFAIRS
Brussels
Directorate-General. HOME
Laura KAYALI
Rue de la Loi 62,
1040 Brussels, Belgium
Subject:
Your application for access to documents – 2022/5604
Dear Ms KAYALI,
We refer to your email of 29 September 2022 in which you make a request for access to
documents, registered on 3 October 2022 under the above-mentioned reference number.
You request access to
‘documents, briefings, minutes and any other relevant
documentation about the meeting held on September 27, 2022 between EU Home Affairs
Commissioner Ylva Johansson and France's Charlotte Caubel’.
The following documents fall within the scope of your application:
-
Flash report - meeting between Ylva Johansson and Charlotte Caubel, 17
September 2022, reference Ares (2022)7167352 (hereafter ‘document 1’)
-
Briefing for a meeting between Ylva Johansson and Charlotte Caubel, 27
September 2022, reference Ares (2022)7166807 (hereafter ‘document 2’)
Having examined the documents requested under the provisions of Regulation (EC) No
1049/2001 regarding public access to documents, I have come to the conclusion that the
documents may only be partially disclosed.
With regard to documents 1 and 2, 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, because they contain the following
personal data:
-
the names/initials and contact information of Commission staff members not
pertaining to the senior management;
-
the names/initials and contact details of other natural persons.
Commission européenne/Europese Commissie, 1049 Bruxelles/Brussel, BELGIQUE/BELGIË - Tel. +32 22991111
Article 9(1)(b) of the Data Protection Regulation1 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 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.
In addition, some parts of document 2 have been blanked out as their disclosure is prevented
by exception to the right of access laid down in
Article 4(3), first subparagraph of the
Regulation (protection of the ongoing decision-making process).
The redacted part of the document 2 relates to exchanges that take place in the course of an
ongoing inter-institutional negotiation process on a proposed Regulation to prevent and
combat child sexual abuse. Disclosing such information at this point in time would affect
the climate of mutual trust between the Member State, i.e. France, and the Commission,
which would also have negative consequences for the protection of the ongoing decision-
making process at inter-institutional level.
Consequently, disclosure of such exchanges of information and views of Commission
services would
seriously undermine the institutions’ decision-making process, as it
would deter Commission officials but also stakeholders form the Member States from
making such remarks independently and without being influenced by the prospect of wide
disclosure exposing the institution and services to which the civil servants belong.
The exception laid down in Article 4(3) of Regulation 1049/2001 applies unless there is an
overriding public interest in disclosure of the document. I observe that you have not
provided any arguments to support any pressing need for the public to obtain access to the
documents. We have also examined whether there could be an overriding public interest in
disclosure but we have not been able to identify such an interest.
You may reuse public documents, which have been produced by the European
Commission or by public and private entities on its behalf based on the
Commission
Decision on the reuse of Commission documents. You may reuse the documents
disclosed free of charge and 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 liability stemming
from the reuse.
1 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.
2
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 to the Secretariat-General of the
Commission within 15 working days upon receipt of this letter. You can submit it in one of
the following ways:
by asking for a review via your portal2 account (available only for initial requests
submitted via the portal account),
or by mail:
European Commission
Secretariat-General
Transparency,
Document
Management
&
Access
to
Documents
(SG.C.1)
BERL 7/076
B-1049 Bruxelles
or by email to: xxxxxxxxxx@xx.xxxxxx.xx
Yours faithfully,
Monique PARIAT
Director General
Annexes: 2 documents and the list of identified documents
2
https://www.ec.europa.eu/transparency/documents-request
3
Electronically signed on 25/10/2022 10:01 (UTC+02) in accordance with Article 11 of Commission Decision (EU) 2021/2121
