Meeting Verwey - ABN
Dear Madam, Sir,
Under the right of access to documents in the EU treaties, as developed in Regulation 1049/2001, I am requesting documents which contain the following information:
All documents - including but not limited to minutes, (hand-written) notes, audio recordings, verbatim reports, operational conclusions, lines to take, briefings, e-mails, letters, and presentations related to the meeting held on 11 December 2024 between Director-General Maarten Verwey and ABN AMRO CEO Robert Swaak
Only digital copies are required, please consider the environment by not sending me any physical mail.
I am of course available to clarify my request further if needed.
Sincerely
Peter Teffer
Follow the Money
Overtoom 197
1054HT Amsterdam
The Netherlands
Dear Sir or Madam,
We hereby acknowledge the receipt of your request for access to documents
sent on 13/01/2025 and registered on 14/01/2025 under the case number
2025/0184.
We will handle your request within 15 working days as of the date of
registration. The time-limit expires on 04/02/2025. 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,
Directorate-General for Economic and Financial Affairs - Access to
Documents
European Commission
References
Visible links
1. https://ec.europa.eu/info/principles-and...
Dear Mr Teffer,
We are writing concerning your request for access to Commission documents
registered on 14/01/2025 under case number 2025/0184.
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 04/02/2025.
There is an additional need for internal consultations.
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 25/02/2025.
We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.
Kind regards,
DG ECFIN, Access to Documents Team
References
Visible links
1. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/...
Dear Mr Teffer,
Please find attached a message concerning your request for access to
Commission documents registered under the above case number 2025/0184.
Please acknowledge the receipt of this message by return email.
Yours sincerely,
DG ECFIN, Access to Documents Team
Dear Madam, Sir,
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 which was registered under case number 2025/0184.
The Commission says that no records were found of that meeting. That is against the Commission's own rules.
On 4 December 2024 - a week before the meeting between Director-General Maarten Verwey and ABN AMRO CEO Robert Swaak took place - the European Commission adopted Decision 2024/3082 on transparency measures concerning meetings held between Commission staff holding management functions and interest representatives. These rules apply to inter alia Directors-General like Mr Verwey, and the require that minutes "shall be taken of all meetings that Commission staff holding management functions hold with interest representatives". These minutes should include "main points raised and positions expressed at the meeting" and "conclusions from the meeting, where applicable".
If it is indeed the case that "the Commission does not hold any documentation of" the meeting between Director-General Maarten Verwey and ABN AMRO CEO Robert Swaak - as Mr Verwey, who signed the initial reply, says - then this is in violation of Decision 2024/3082.
Additionally, one would expect for any meeting that some paper trail exists, in the form of for example e-mails setting up the meeting.
I therefore would like the secretariat-general to conduct a new search, which goes beyond looking at whether any document was registered, but also whether any un-registered documents falling under the scope of my request exist.
Sincerely,
Peter Teffer
Dear Sir or Madam,
We hereby acknowledge the receipt of your confirmatory request for case
2025/0184, sent on 17/02/2025 and registered on 18/02/2025.
We will handle your confirmatory request within 15 working days as of the
date of registration. The time-limit expires on 11/03/2025. 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
Hello,
We are writing concerning your confirmatory request for access to
Commission documents for case 2025/0184 registered on 18/02/2025.
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 11/03/2025.
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 11/04/2025.
We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.
Kind regards,
Secretariat-General of the European Commission
References
Visible links
1. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/...
Dear Madam, Sir,
I write to you in relation to my confirmatory request for access to Commission documents registered as case 2025/0184.
You have informed me you were not able to send the reply within the prescribed time limit expiring on 11/03/2025.
You also informed me of the need to extend this time limit by 15 additional working days.
But then you told me that the new time limit expires on 11/04/2025.
How does adding 15 working days from 11/03/2025 amount to a new deadline on 11/04/2025? Are there any public holidays in that period I am unaware of?
Sincerely
Peter Teffer
[1]FW: access to documents request - Meeting Verwey - ABN -
Ares(2025)2431646 (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 Sir,
Thank you for your message.
Please be informed that the date in our original message was stated
erroneously, due to a typing error, for which we apologise. The extended
time limit to reply to your confirmatory application expires on
01/04/2025.
With kind regards,
Secretariat-General of the European Commission - cr
Dear Madam, Sir,
I write to you in relation to my confirmatory request for access to Commission documents registered as case 2025/0184.
The extended time limit to reply expired almost a week ago, on 1 April 2025
The request related to one single meeting, which I would think would not make the request that complex to handle.
Please reply to my confirmatory application without delay.
Sincerely
Peter Teffer
Dear TEFFER, Peter,
Please find attached the electronic version of European Commission
Decision C(2025)2638 as adopted by the European Commission on 24/04/2025
concerning the request 2025/0184.
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,
European Commission
Access to Documents SG C1
Dear Madam, Sir,
I confirm receipt of Decision C(2025)2638 as adopted by the European Commission on 24/04/2025 concerning the request 2025/0184.
I disappointedly take note of the fact that despite the delay of more than three weeks, the Decision did not contain an acknowledgement of this delay, or an apology.
Sincerely
Peter Teffer
Peter left an annotation ()
Complaint submitted to the European Ombudsman on 28 April 2025