Ref. Ares(2020)3548095 - 06/07/2020
EUROPEAN COMMISSION
DIRECTORATE-GENERAL FOR TRADE
Directorate A - Resources, Information and Policy Coordination
Evaluation and Transparency
Brussels
TRADE.A.5/
By registered letter with acknowledgment
of receipt
Mr Mathias Schindler
Bundestagsbüro Julia Reda,
Unter den Linden 50
11011 Berlin
Germany
Advance copy by email: ask+request-8026-
xxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxx.xxx
Subject: Your application for access to documents – Ref GestDem 2020/3472
Dear Sir,
I refer to your application dated 5 June 2020, in which you make a request for access to
documents under Regulation (EC) No 1049/20011 (‘Regulation 1049/2001’), registered
on 10 June 2020 under the above mentioned reference number.
1. SCOPE OF YOUR REQUEST
In your request, you asked for access to:
a copy of each Access to Documents request from 2018 and 2019 that was refused
registration because the requesting person did not provide a postal address.
2. ASSESSMENT AND CONCLUSIONS UNDER REGULATION 1049/2001
In accordance with settled case law2, when an institution is asked to disclose a document,
it must assess, in each individual case, whether that document falls within the exceptions
1 Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 May 2001
regarding public access to European Parliament, Council and Commission documents (OJ L 145,
31.5.2001, p. 43).
Commission européenne/Europese Commissie, 1049 Bruxelles/Brussel, BELGIQUE/BELGIË - Tel. +32 22991111
xxxxxx.xxxxx@xx.xxxxxx.xx
to the right of public access to documents set out in Article 4 of Regulation 1049/2001.
Such assessment is carried out in a multi-step approach:
- first, the institution must satisfy itself that the document relates to one of the
exceptions, and if so, decide which parts of it are covered by that exception;
- second, it must examine whether disclosure of the parts of the document in
question pose a "
reasonably foreseeable and not purely hypothetical" risk of
undermining the protection of the interest covered by the exception;
- third, if it takes the view that disclosure would undermine the protection of any of
the interests defined under Article 4(2) and Article 4(3) of Regulation 1049/2001,
the institution is required "
to ascertain whether there is any overriding public
interest justifying disclosure"3.
In view of the objectives pursued by Regulation 1049/2001, notably to give the public
the widest possible right of access to documents4, ’
the exceptions to that right […] must
be interpreted and applied strictly’5.
In reply to your request, I can inform you that we have identified the following
4
documents that fall within the scope of your request.
1
GESTDEM 2018/4558
26/08/2018
Ares(2018)4391696
2
GESTDEM 2019/623
01/02/2019
Ares(2019)600022
3
GESTDEM 2019/4079
12/07/2019
Ares(2019)4570591
4
GESTDEM 2019/5520
29/09/2019
Ares(2019)6048190
Having examined the requested documents under the applicable legal framework, I am
pleased to grant you access to these
four documents where only names and other
personal data have been redacted pursuant to article 4(1)(b) of Regulation 1049/2001 and
in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 2018/1725.
Copies of the accessible documents are enclosed to this letter. However, they
contain
personal information, such as names, e-mail addresses that allow the identification of
natural persons, as well as other personal information.
Article 9(1)(b) of the Data Protection Regulation 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 argument to establish the necessity to have the data transmitted for a specific
purpose in the public interest.
2 Judgment in
Sweden and Maurizio Turco v Council, Joined cases C-39/05 P and C-52/05 P,
EU:C:2008:374, paragraph 35.
3
Id., paragraphs 37-43. See also judgment in
Council v Sophie in ‘t Veld, C-350/12 P, EU:C:2014:2039,
paragraphs 52-64.
4 See Regulation 1049/2001, recital (4).
5 Judgment in
Sweden v Commission, C-64/05 P, EU:C:2007:802, paragraph 66.
2
Consequently, I conclude that, pursuant to Article 4(1)(b) of Regulation (EC) No
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.
3. MEANS OF REDRESS
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 within 15 working days upon
receipt of this letter to the Secretary-General of the Commission at the following address:
Secretary-General
European Commission
Transparency, Document Management & Access to Documents
Rue de la Loi 200/Wetstraat 200
BERL 7/76
1049 Brussels
Belgium
or by email to: xxxxxxxxxx@xx.xxxxxx.xx
Yours faithfully
- e-signed
Damien Levie
Encl.:
Documents
(partially) released
3
Electronically signed on 03/07/2020 17:12 (UTC+02) in accordance with article 4.2 (Validity of electronic documents) of Commission Decision 2004/563
Document Outline
