Meeting with Huawei on 03-12-2020
Alexander Fanta made this access to documents request to Communications Networks, Content and Technology
Dear Communications Networks, Content and Technology,
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:
- Any document connected to a meeting between Commissioner Breton and Huawei on 3 December 2020. This is meant to include meeting minutes, as well as e-mails and follow-up communication. The request shall also include any communication connected to a call by a senior Huawei lobbyist to Commissioner Breton, such as the apology e-mail mentioned here and any further exchanges on the matter: https://www.politico.eu/article/huawei-t...
Yours faithfully,
Alexander Fanta
Follow the Money
Rue Auguste Orts 2
1000 Bruxelles
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
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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 11/10/2024 and registered on 11/10/2024 under the case number
2024/5433.
We will handle your request within 15 working days as of the date of
registration. The time-limit expires on 04/11/2024. 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
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1. https://ec.europa.eu/info/principles-and...
Dear Mr. Fanta,
We refer to your request for access to documents, registered under the
reference number 2024/5433.
Your application is currently being handled. However, we will not be in a
position to complete the handling of your application within the time
limit of 15 working days, which expires today. An extended time limit is
needed as different services need to be consulted.
Therefore, we have to extend the time limit with 15 working days in
accordance with Article 7(3) of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 regarding
public access to documents. The new time limit expires on 25 November
2024.
We apologize for this delay and for any inconvenience this may cause.
Yours faithfully,
DG CONNECT; Access to Documents Team
Dear Sir,
We refer to your request for access to documents registered under the
abovementioned reference number.
Unfortunately, we are not able to send the reply to your application
within the given time limit, which expires today.
You will receive the reply to your application as soon as possible.
We apologize for this delay and for any inconvenience this may cause.
Yours faithfully,
DG CONNECT Access to Documents Team
Hello,
Please find attached a message concerning your request for access to
Commission documents registered under the above case number 2024/5433.
Please acknowledge the receipt of this message by return email.
Kind regards,
DG CONNECT Access to documents Team
Dear Communications Networks, Content and Technology,
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 'Meeting with Huawei on 03-12-2020'.
First of all, I would like the Commission to clarify the circumstances of the meeting on 24 November 2024. I could not find it in the list of Huawei’s meetings in the Transparency Register. Can the Commission explain why the meeting was not registered?
Also, I would like to appeal against the redactions made to the briefing notes for the meeting on 24 November 2020, as well as against the blanket refusal to disclose documents 3 to 11.
Regarding the privacy exception cited for document 1, I note that the European Ombudsman found in case 158/2024/MIG, paragraph 17, that ‘lobbying activities should be transparent, as this enables citizens to understand who or what interest informed a decision and to participate themselves in that decision-making as part of exercising their democratic rights. Interest representatives meeting with an EU institution should therefore not expect that this activity would remain secret. In other words, the Ombudsman finds it questionable whether, generally, a person lobbying an EU institution can legitimately expect that this activity will not be made transparent.’
In this light, I argue that lobbyists for Huawei, insofar as they are listed in the Transparency Register, can reasonably expect that their lobbying activities should face public scrutiny. Should the Commission have met unregistered lobbyists, against its own rules, journalists should all the more be able to scrutinise this lobbying. More specifically, I argue that as Huawei employs various former European Parliament staff and other former public officials, it is necessary to disclose the identities of lobbyists to investigate possible conflict of interest.
As regards the parts of the briefing notes withheld for the protection of public interest as regards the financial, monetary or economic policy of the Community or a Member State, the Commission has made no specific argument as to why, exactly, that interest would be undermined. This is not a valid refusal in line with case law.
As regards the international relations exception, the Commission argues that the content of the briefing note ‘could easily be misinterpreted and misused in a national or international context’. I argue that this purely a hypothetical reason, as we do not know whether it would actually be misinterpreted or misused. In general, I assume that many of the arguments made in these four year old briefing notes have already been made by the Commission in public, and are therefore unlikely to negatively impact international relations.
As regards the commercial interest exception invoked for document 1, I note that the reasoning of DG Connect is very general and it is unclear how, exactly, the interests of Huawei would be undermined.
As regards documents 3-11, DG Connect has invoked the commercial interest and privacy exceptions. It says that ‘documents provide exchanges that contain sensitive business information. The content of the correspondence reflects the nature of their collaboration and professional engagement.’ DG Connect argues that ‘a disclosure of the information contained in these documents would undermine the protection of the legal persons’ business secrets and strategy as it could be utilized by competitors, to the detriment of the legal persons concerned.’
One has to assume that the documents concern, at least in part, the behaviour of a particular senior Huawei lobbyist as described in the Politico story I referenced in my initial request. I argue that embarrassing conduct is not a business secret, and therefore any exchanges relating to said conduct should be no obstacle to disclosure of the documents. DG Connect said that the correspondence reflects the ‘nature of their collaboration and professional engagement’. I take this to mean the nature of the collaboration and engagement between Huawei and DG Connect. I see no clear reason why this collaboration and engagement should be above public scrutiny.
As regards the names and functions of Huawei representatives in the documents, I argue that there is a good reason for public disclosure. The conduct of lobbyists, above being a potential source of embarrassment, could well be an indication of ethical issues. Therefore the applicant, as a journalist pursuing public interest reporting, should be able to scrutinize the documents for further reporting. Furthermore, as already stated above, I argue that as Huawei employs various former European Parliament staff and other former public officials, it is necessary to disclose the identities of lobbyists to investigate possible conflict of interest.
In line with the above arguments, I also argue an overriding public interest in disclosure of the documents in their entirety.
Yours faithfully,
Alexander Fanta
Follow the Money
Rue Auguste Orts 2
1000 Bruxelles
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 confirmatory request for case
2024/5433, sent on 26/01/2025 and registered on 26/01/2025.
We will handle your confirmatory request within 15 working days as of the
date of registration. The time-limit expires on 17/02/2025. 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 2024/5433 registered on 26/01/2025.
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 17/02/2025.
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 10/03/2025.
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 Communications Networks, Content and Technology,
since I made my confirmatory application, it emerged that several Huawei lobbyists are under investigation by Belgian authorities on allegations of corruption, money laundering and criminal organisation. Given these severe allegations, I wish to informally ask the Commission to take this new information into account in its evaluation of my application.
Yours faithfully,
Alexander Fanta
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 FANTA, Alexander,
Please find attached the electronic version of European Commission
Decision C(2025) 7433 as adopted by the European Commission on 28/10/2025
concerning the request 2024/5433.
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,
Access to documents team - SG.A.2