Dear European Ombudsman,

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:

I request access to all documents (including complaints, correspondence, inquiry reports, recommendations, and related notes) from 1 January 2021 to the present, concerning:
– Complaints about the European Commission’s transparency in relation to contacts with the tobacco industry, particularly regarding harm reduction products such as e-cigarettes, heated tobacco, and nicotine pouches.
– Inquiries or recommendations by the Ombudsman concerning the Commission’s handling of public access to documents in this policy area.
– Any investigations into lobbying practices by tobacco companies or their representatives towards EU institutions in relation to harm reduction.

I would like the search to cover the period from 1 January 2021 to the present.

If parts of the requested documents are covered by exceptions under Regulation 1049/2001, I kindly ask for partial access to be granted to the remaining parts. I am also open to receiving the documents in electronic format.

Thank you for your consideration of this request.

Yours faithfully,

Irene van den Berg
Linker Rottekade 292, unit 1.7
3034 CV Rotterdam
The Netherlands

Dear Ms Salonen,

Thank you for your message and for the reference to the Ombudsman’s search tool. I have reviewed the published inquiries, and I would like to narrow my request as follows:

I request access to any non-public documents (correspondence, internal notes, briefings or recommendations) held by the European Ombudsman related to inquiries or complaints concerning the European Commission’s contacts with the tobacco industry (including BAT, PMI, JTI or Imperial Brands) and transparency obligations under Article 5.3 of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC).

In particular, I would appreciate access to documents linked to:
– Ombudsman inquiries concerning transparency of meetings between the European Commission and tobacco industry representatives (e.g. related to DG SANTE, DG TAXUD, DG GROW, or the Secretariat-General);
– Any internal correspondence or analyses discussing how such complaints were assessed or closed.

The time frame of interest remains 1 January 2021 to the present, and I am happy to receive the documents in electronic format.

If this scope is still considered too broad, I would appreciate it if you could identify which of the Ombudsman’s inquiries in this field include documents that are not yet publicly available so that I can refine the request further.

Thank you very much for your assistance.

Kind regards,
Irene van den Berg