Methane regulations - meeting
Dear Energy,
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 related to meetings between DG Energy and third-parties during which the topic of the EU Methane Regulation was mentioned or discussed.
- By third parties I refer to all stakeholders which are not member of the Commission (e.g. private companies, consultancies, trade-groups, think-tanks, etc.)
I am interested in meetings since 2023.
Please disclose the documents on a rolling basis.
Yours faithfully,
Alessandro Runci
via fausto pesci,47, 00177, Rome, Italy
[email address]
Dear Sir or Madam,
We hereby acknowledge the receipt of your request for access to documents
sent on 19/05/2025 and registered on 19/05/2025 under the case number
2025/2734.
We will handle your request within 15 working days as of the date of
registration. The time-limit expires on 11/06/2025. 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,
Secretariat-General - Access to Documents
European Commission
References
Visible links
1. https://ec.europa.eu/info/principles-and...
Dear Ms Runci,
We are writing concerning your request for access to Commission documents
registered on 19/05/2025 under case number 2025/2734.
On the same date we received case number 2025/2733 asking for the same
documents. We conclude that it is a duplicate and therefore we have closed
case number 2025/2734.
Kind regards,
DG ENER Access to Documents Team
Dear Energy,
The two request concern different documents. One is related to meeting documents, the other one to correspondence. I would like both requests to be handled.
Yours faithfully,
Alessandro Runci
Dear Mr Runci,
Thank you for the clarification.
Case 2025/2734 is now reopened.
Kind regards,
DG ENER Access to Documents Team
Dear Mr Runci,
We are writing concerning your request for access to Commission documents
registered on 19/05/2025 under case number 2025/2734.
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 11/06/2025.
The application concerns documents held by different Services, which must
be consulted.
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 02/07/2025.
We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.
Kind regards,
DG ENER Access to Documents Team
References
Visible links
1. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/...
Please find attached a message concerning your request for access to
Commission documents registered under the above case number 2025/2734.
Please acknowledge the receipt of this message by return email.
Kind regards,
ENER C2 Unit support
Dear Energy,
Thank you for addressing my request.
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 'Methane regulation'.
In its response to my access to documents request, DG Energy stated that:
"With regard to all the above-mentioned documents, a complete disclosure is prevented by two exceptions:
- exception outlined in Article 4(1)(a) of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 concerning the protection of the public interest as regards international relations, as these documents contain information on EU- US relations on Methane
- exception concerning the protection of privacy and the integrity of the individual outlined in Article 4(1)(b) of Regulation (EC) No 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."
While I am not interested in obtaining personal data or information, I believe that the exception concerning the protection of public interest has been applied too broadly with regards to some of the documents, whereas transparency should be prioritised given the importance of the subject and its environmental relevance.
This concerns in particular the following documents:
- Briefing - ENER 7749_Director Cristina Lobillo Borrero_meeting with Colin Parfitt VP for Midstream Chevron_final
- Briefing - ENER 8215 for DDG MB and ConocoPhillips final
- Physical meeting ENER 1053 minutes
I am requesting a review of how the above-mentioned exception has been applied in the disclosure of said documents.
Yours faithfully,
Alessandro Runci
via fausto pesci 47
[email address]
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
2025/2734, sent on 30/07/2025 and registered on 30/07/2025.
We will handle your confirmatory request within 15 working days as of the
date of registration. The time-limit expires on 21/08/2025. 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