RRF High-Level roundtable
Dear Madam, Sir
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 - including but not limited to minutes, (hand-written) notes, audio recordings, verbatim reports, operational conclusions, lines to take, briefings, e-mails, letters, and presentations - related to the High-Level Roundtable on Recovery and Resilience Facility organised by the Cabinet of President von der Leyen and hosted by I.D.E.A. in February 2024 (if I am not mistaken 14 February 2024).
Please note I prefer to receive the documents in digital format, not by physical mail.
Sincerely,
Peter Teffer
Follow the Money
Overtoom 197
1054 HT Amsterdam
The Netherlands
Dear Sir or Madam,
We hereby acknowledge the receipt of your request for access to documents
sent on 22/03/2024 and registered on 22/03/2024 under the case number
2024/1637.
We will handle your request within 15 working days as of the date of
registration. The time-limit expires on 17/04/2024. 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 Madam, Sir,
I refer to my request for access to documents registered on 22 March 2024 under case number 2024/1637.
The time-limit has expired on 17/04/2024, but I have not received a reply - nor a notification of an extension of the time limit, which is required in advance and with detailed reasons.
I therefore assume that the reply is on its way without delay.
Sincerely
Peter Teffer
Dear Sir,
Thank you for your email.
Please find attached a letter sent to you on 17/04/2024 concerning your access to documents request 2024/1637.
Kind regards,
Access to documents team - cr
SG.C.1
Transparency
Dear Sir,
We refer to your request for access to Commission documents registered on
22 March 2024 under case number 2024/1637.
Your application is currently being handled. However, we will not be in a
position to complete the handling of your application within the time
limit of 15 working days, which expires today, 17 April 2024.
An extended time limit is needed due to the need of internal consultations
in the processing of your request.
Therefore, we have to extend the time limit by 15 working days in
accordance with Article 7(3) of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 regarding
public access to documents. The new time limit expires on 6 May 2024.
Yours faithfully,
SG RECOVER ATD Team
Dear Sir,
Please find attached a reply to your request for access to documents
registered under the EASE 2024/1637 reference number.
Best regards,
SG RECOVER ATD Team
Dear Madam, Sir,
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 about the RRF High-Level roundtable (Ref. EASE 2024/1637).
The Commission claims that if documents 4, 7 and 8 are published, this would undermine the protection of “[…] the financial, monetary or economic policy” of the EU or of specific Member States.
Its only argument supporting that claim is that "the disclosure of such views and discussions would lead to unjustified speculations on the economic and financial policy of specific Member States or the EU which may have a negative impact on it". The Commission does not give any other arguments, let alone non-hypothetical arguments.
This is very similar to how the Commission has prevented disclosure of other documents related to the Recovery and Resilience Facility. Two such decisions were investigated by the European Ombudsman in 2022 and have led to "Decision on how the European Commission dealt with two requests for public access to documents concerning the Swedish and Danish Recovery and Resilience Plans (case 925/2022/LDS)".
In that Ombudsman decision, the Ombudsman said the "risk of those policies [i.e. the financial, monetary or economic policy of the Union or a Member State] being undermined must not, however, be merely hypothetical and a refusal to disclose documents must be appropriately reasoned".
The Ombudsman also stated: "While it is clear that the documents relating to the two RRPs by their very nature concerned economic and financial matters, it is not clear how their disclosure would undermine financial, monetary or economic policies. It is also hard to draw the conclusion that the disclosure of the documents would undermine the financial, monetary or economic policy of the Union. The arguments presented by the Commission remain vague and general in nature, making it difficult to distinguish them from any other event that could potentially affect the economy of the two Member States or the Union."
I believe if the handling of my request was the subject of an investigation by the Ombudsman, she would draw the same conclusion, and also argue that the Commission's decision was vague and general in nature.
I also would like to point out on 1 December 2022, the Ombudsman said: "The Ombudsman has urged the Commission to treat access to document requests concerning EU recovery funds with greater consistency and to better explain its reasoning if it decides not release the asked-for information. [..] She asked the Commission to take this into account when dealing with future access requests related to the recovery funds, noting the importance of the public being able to follow how the funds are being used and whether promised milestones have been met." https://www.ombudsman.europa.eu/en/news-...
I would like the Commission to review the decision with the Ombudsman's above-cited comments and suggestions in mind.
Finally, I also would like to point out that while I am not interested in personal data such as phone numbers or email addresses, I find it unconvincing the Commission expected the names of speakers at the round table cannot be published because doing so would undermin the "privacy and the integrity of the individual". Several speakers have said publicly they participated in the roundtable.
Sincerely
Peter Teffer
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
2024/1637, sent on 03/06/2024 and registered on 03/06/2024.
We will handle your confirmatory request within 15 working days as of the
date of registration. The time-limit expires on 24/06/2024. 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
Dear Mr Teffer,
We are writing concerning your confirmatory request for access to
Commission documents for case 2024/1637 registered on 3 June 2024.
We are currently working on your confirmatory request. However, we have
not yet been able to gather all the elements necessary to carry out a full
analysis of your request. Due to the need to conduct internal
consultations, we will not be able to send you the reply within the
prescribed time limit expiring on 24 June 2024.
Therefore, in line with Article 8(2) 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 15 July 2024.
We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.
Kind regards,
SG C.1 - Access to documents team
References
Visible links
1. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/...
Dear Madam, Sir,
I write to you in relation to my confirmatory request for case 2024/1637. After a complaint to the European Ombudsman, this institution has now informed me that the European Commission has said it has replied to my request on 19 May 2025. I have never received that reply. Please resend this without any delay.
Sincerely
Peter Teffer
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/...
[1]RE: access to documents request - RRF High-Level roundtable -
Ares(2025)4947619 (Please use this link only if you are an Ares user –
Svp, utilisez ce lien exclusivement si vous êtes un(e) utilisateur d’Ares)
Dear Mr TEFFER,
Please find attached the electronic version of European Commission
Decision C(2025)3283 as adopted by the European Commission on 19/05/2025
concerning the request 2024/1637.
In accordance with the Terms and Conditions of this portal, please note
that this decision is being formally notified pursuant to article 297 TFEU
through this electronic platform only.
Could you please confirm receipt of the attached documents by return
e-mail?
Yours sincerely,
European Commission
Access to Documents - SG A2 - cr
Dear Madam, Sir,
With regard to request 2024/1637, I confirm I received the decision and the documents - 313 working days after I had filed my initial request, and 266 working days since I had filed my confirmatory application.
More than an entire year has passed since filing my confirmatory application and receiving the three pages of documents which in the end could be released with a simple redaction of personal data.
Peter
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/...