Ref. Ares(2019)2872258 - 29/04/2019
EUROPEAN COMMISSION
Directorate-General for Trade
Directorate A - Resources, Information and Policy Coordination
Transparency and Evaluation
The Head of Unit
Brussels,
trade(2019)3185592
Ms Laura KAYALI
Politico
Rue de la Loi 62
1040 Bruxelles
Email: ask+request-6508-
xxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxx.xxx
Subject: Your application for access to documents-Ref GestDem No 2019/1395
Dear Ms Kayali,
We refer to your e-mail dated 07/03/2019 in which you make a request for access to documents,
registered on 07/03/2019 under the above-mentioned reference number.
You request access to documents that meet the following criteria:
For the period between November 2014 and March 2019:
- List of lobby meetings held with the DG with Amazon or its intermediaries. The list should include:
date, individuals attending + organisational affiliation, the issues discussed,
- Minutes and other reports of these meetings
- All correspondence including attachments (i.e. any emails, correspondence or telephone call notes)
between this DG (including the Commissioner and the Cabinet) and Amazon or any intermediaries
representing its interests.
- All documents prepared for the meetings and exchanged in the course of the meetings between both
parties.
We consider your request to cover documents held up to the date of your initial application, i.e. 7
March 2019
and have identified the following documents in relation to your application:
No
Registration Number
Subject
Request for a meeting of Amazon with Cabinet Malmström,
1
Ares(2018)5695025
14 November 2018
[Re] Request for a meeting of Amazon with Cabinet
2
Ares(2018)5704727
Malmström 14 November 2018
Report of the meeting of Cabinet Malmström with Amazon-
3
Ares(2018)6013338
14/11/2018
Report – meeting Director-General with Amazon on trade
4
Ares(2018)3583700
policy and data flows - 4/7/18
Commission européenne/Europese Commissie, 1049 Bruxelles/Brussel, BELGIQUE/BELGIË - Tel. +32 22991111
Partial access is granted to the above listed documents, subject to the redaction of personal data on
the basis of the exception of Article 4(1)(b) of Regulation 1049/2001. Few parts have been redacted
as being out of scope of your request.
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 (EC) No 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/EC1 (‘Regulation 2018/1725’).
Indeed, 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.2 Please note in this respect that the names, signatures, functions,
telephone numbers and/or email addresses pertaining to staff members of an institution are to be
considered personal data.3
In its judgment in Case C-28/08 P (
Bavarian Lager)4, the Court of Justice ruled that when a request
is made for access to documents containing personal data, the Data Protection Regulation is fully
applicable5.
Pursuant to Article 9(1)(b) of Regulation 2018/1725, personal data shall only be transmitted to
recipients established in the Union other than Union institutions and bodies if
"[t]he recipient
establishes that it is necessary to have the data transmitted for a specific purpose in the public
interest and the controller, where there is any reason to assume that the data subject’s legitimate
interests might be prejudiced, establishes that it is proportionate to transmit the personal data for
that specific purpose after having demonstrably weighed the various competing interests". Only if
these conditions are fulfilled and the processing constitutes lawful processing in accordance with the
requirements of Article 5 of Regulation 2018/1725, can the transmission of personal data occur.
1 Official Journal L 205 of 21.11.2018, p. 39.
2 Judgment of the Court of Justice of 20 December 2017 in C
ase C-434/16, Peter Novak v Data Protection
Commissioner, request for a preliminary ruling, paragraphs 33-35, ECLI:EU:T:2018:560.
3 Judgment of the General Court of 19 September 2018 in
case T-39/17, Port de Brest v Commission,
paragraphs 43-44,
ECLI:EU:T:2018:560.
4 Judgment of 29 June 2010 in Case C-28/08 P,
European Commission v The Bavarian Lager Co. Ltd,
EU:C:2010:378, paragraph 59.
5 Whereas this judgment specifically related to Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 of the European Parliament
and of the Council of 18 December 2000 on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing
of personal data by the Community institutions and bodies and on the free movement of such data, the
principles set out therein are also applicable under the new data protection regime established by
Regulation 2018/1725.
2
According to Article 9(1)(b) of Regulation 2018/1725, the European Commission has to examine the
further conditions for a lawful processing of personal data only if the first condition is fulfilled,
namely if the recipient has established that it is necessary to have the data transmitted for a specific
purpose in the public interest. It is only in this case that the European Commission has to examine
whether there is a reason to assume that the data subject’s legitimate interests might be prejudiced
and, in the affirmative, establish the proportionality of the transmission of the personal data for that
specific purpose after having demonstrably weighed the various competing interests.
In your request, you do not put forward any arguments to establish the necessity to have the data
transmitted for a specific purpose in the public interest. Therefore, the European Commission does
not have to examine whether there is a reason to assume that the data subject’s legitimate interests
might be prejudiced.
Notwithstanding the above, please note that there are reasons to assume that the legitimate interests
of the data subjects concerned would be prejudiced by disclosure of the personal data reflected in the
documents, as there is a real and non-hypothetical risk that such public disclosure would harm their
privacy and subject them to unsolicited external contacts.
Consequently, I conclude that, pursuant to Article 4(1)(b) of Regulation (EC) No 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.
***
In case you would disagree with the assessment provided in this reply, you are entitled, in
accordance with Article 7(2) of Regulation 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
B-1049 Bruxelles,
or by email to:
xxxxxxxxxx@xx.xxxxxx.xx
Yours sincerely,
[E-signed]
Damien LEVIE
Encl.: documents1-4 as indicated on first page
3
Electronically signed on 29/04/2019 14:53 (UTC+02) in accordance with article 4.2 (Validity of electronic documents) of Commission Decision 2004/563
