Request for access to documents – contacts between DG SANTE and Anheuser-Busch InBev regarding alcohol and health
Dear Health and Food Safety,
Pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 regarding public access to European Parliament, Council and Commission documents, I would like to request access to all documents — including correspondence (letters, emails), meeting minutes, briefings, agendas and any other records — related to contacts between officials or representatives of the Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety (DG SANTE) and representatives of Anheuser-Busch InBev.
The scope of the request is limited to documents concerning alcohol and health, and covers the period from 1 January 2019 to the present.
I am an investigative journalist, and this request is part of a broader research project into public health policy and industry influence in the European Union. If possible, I would appreciate receiving the documents in electronic format. If parts of the documents are confidential, I kindly ask for partial access to the non-confidential sections, in accordance with Article 4 of the Regulation.
Please confirm receipt of this request. I look forward to your response within the time limits established by the Regulation.
Yours sincerely,
Irene van den Berg
Investigative journalist
Overhoeksplein 2
1031 KS Amsterdam
Dear Sir or Madam,
We hereby acknowledge the receipt of your request for access to documents
sent on 18/07/2025 and registered on 18/07/2025 under the case number
2025/3641.
We will handle your request within 15 working days as of the date of
registration. The time-limit expires on 08/08/2025. 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 Health and Food Safety - Access to Documents
European Commission
References
Visible links
1. https://ec.europa.eu/info/principles-and...
Dear Ms Van Den Berg,
We are writing concerning your request for access to Commission documents
registered on 18 July 2025 under case number EASE 2025/3641.
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 today 8 August 2025.
The application concerns different Services which have been 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 1 September 2025.
We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.
Kind regards,
SANTE ACCESS TO DOCUMENTS
References
Visible links
1. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/...
Dear Health and Food Safety,
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 'Request for access to documents – contacts between DG SANTE and Anheuser-Busch InBev regarding alcohol and health'.
The response to my request has been delayed. By law the authority should normally have responded promptly and by August 19, 2025
A full history of my request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.asktheeu.org/request/request...
Yours faithfully,
Irene van den Berg
Dear Ms van den Berg,
Thank you very much for your email submitting a confirmatory application for lack of initial reply to your access to documents request EASE 2025/3641 (contacts between DG SANTE and Anheuser-Busch InBev regarding alcohol and health).
The deadline to send our reply is 1st September 2025, therefore your confirmatory application cannot be accepted at this stage.
Please find attached a copy of our deadline extension sent to you on 8 August 2025.
You will receive our reply to EASE 2025/3641 in due course.
With kind regards,
SANTE ACCESS TO DOCUMENTS