Dear International Partnerships,

Under the right of access to documents in the EU treaties, as developed in Regulation 1049/2001, I am requesting the following documents on the topic of the Memorandum of Understanding with Rwanda on Sustainable Raw Materials Value Chains, from the first of January 2020 until now:

1. all correspondence (including, but not limited to, emails, letters, and/or telephone call notes) including attachments, the list of meetings with detailed minutes and any other reports of such meetings, all documents prepared for the purpose of these meetings and issued after these meetings, and documents exchanged during the course of these meetings between officials and representatives of DG International Partnerships and other EU Commission DG’s, EU Commissioners, the Secretary General, EU member states, Members of the European Parliament and their representatives
2. all correspondence (including, but not limited to, emails, letters, and/or telephone call notes) including attachments, the list of meetings with detailed minutes and any other reports of such meetings, all documents prepared for the purpose of these meetings and issued after these meetings, and documents exchanged during the course of these meetings between officials and representatives of DG International Partnerships and the private sector, including but not limited to the companies in the annex, including but not limited to car manufacturers, electronics industry, smelters, importers, industry associations, public affairs corporations, and their representatives
3. all correspondence (including, but not limited to, emails, letters, and/or telephone call notes) including attachments, the list of meetings with detailed minutes and any other reports of such meetings, all documents prepared for the purpose of these meetings and issued after these meetings, and documents exchanged during the course of these meetings between officials and representatives of DG International Partnerships and officials or representatives of the government of Rwanda, and officials or representatives of the government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Should my requests be denied wholly or partially, please explain the denial or all deletions referring to specific exemptions in the regulation. Also I expect the partial release of documents, in case 
of partial exemption according to article 4.6.



Do not hesitate to get back to me should you need any further information which could facilitate your research.

Thank you for your assistance.

Kind regards,
Tim Luimes
Investigative journalist
Postbus 6090, 3503PB UTRECHT
+31683162668
[email address]

ANNEX

Volkswagen
Stellantis
Renault
BMW
Toyota
Tesla
DAF
Ford
Ferrari
Honda
Hyundai
Iveco
Jaguar Land Rover
Mercedes-Benz Group
Apple
Samsung
Amazon
ASML
TSMC
Xiaomi
Google
Meta
Sony
Toshiba
Texas Instruments
Siemens
Philips
Panasonic
Microsoft
LG
Intel
AMD
Nvidia
Airbus
ACEA (European Automobile Manufacturers Association)
Business Europe
Digital Europe
ERTRAC (European Road Transport Research Advisory Council)
CEPS
WirtschafsVereinigung Metalle
Euromining
Eurometaux
ACEI
Eurelectric
Orgalim
Cefic
AmCham
Volvo Group
Automotive Industry Action Group (AIAG)
Tantalum-Niobium International Study Center (T.I.C.)
EUCAR (European Council for automotive R&D)
CDPF (Cercle des Délégués Permanents Français)
European partnership for responsible minerals
Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative
Responsible Minerals Initiative
HS Starck
Epcos AG
Parsnic Ltd
Almonty Industries
Colt Resources
Blackheath Resources
Plansee Group
Wolfram Bergbau
Hutten AG (Sandvik)
Allgemeine Gold und Silberscheideanstalt
Chimet
Heimerle + Meule
Schone Edelmetaal
Umicore
8853 S.p.A.
Agosi AG
Albino Mountinho Lda.
Allgemeine Gold-und Silberscheideanstalt A.G.
Argor-Heraeus S.A.
Aurubis AG
Aurubis Beerse
Aurubis Berango
Boliden Ronnskar
C. Hafner GmbH + Co. KG
Cendres + M?taux SA
Chimet S.p.A.
CRM Synergies
DEGUSSA
Degussa Sonne / Mond Goldhandel GmbH
Fenix Metals
H.C. Starck Smelting GmbH & Co. KG
H.C. Starck Tantalum and Niobium GmbH
H.C. Starck Tungsten GmbH
Heimerle + Meule GmbH
Heraeus Germany GmbH Co. KG
Heraeus Precious Metals GmbH & Co. KG
Industrial Refining Company
Italpreziosi
K.A. Rasmussen
KGHM Polska Miedz S.A.
Kombinat Gorniczo Hutniczy Miedz Polska Miedz S.A.
L'Orfebre S.A.
Metallo Belgium N.V.
Metallo Spain S.L.U.
Metallurgie Hoboken Overpelt
Metalor Switzerland
Metalor Technologies S.A.
MKS PAMP SA
Norddeutsche Affinererie AG
Ogussa Osterreichische Gold- und Silber-Scheideanstalt GmbH
PAMP S.A.
Produits Artistiques de Métaux
PX Precinox S.A.
Remondis Argentia B.V.
REMONDIS PMR B.V.
SAAMP
Safimet S.p.A
SEMPSA Joyeria Plateria S.A.
Sempsa JP (Cookson Sempsa)
T.C.A S.p.A
TANIOBIS GmbH
TANIOBIS Smelting GmbH & Co. KG
Tony Goetz NV
Umicore Precious Metals Refining Hoboken
Umicore S.A. Business Unit Precious Metals Refining
Valcambi S.A.
WBH
WBH,Wolfram [Austria]
WEEEREFINING
WIELAND Edelmetalle GmbH
Wolfram Bergbau und Hutten AG
African Gold Refinery
Gasabo Gold Refinery Ltd
Hulterworth Smelter
Luna Smelter, Ltd.
MALAMET SMELTING SDN. BHD.
Malaysia Smelting Corporation (MSC)
Mining Minerals Resources SARL
Modeltech Sdn Bhd
Modeltech Sdn Bhd
MSC
PowerX Ltd.
Woodcross Smelting Company Limited

Dear [email address],
Thank you for your response to my request with reference number EASE 2025/1114.
I understand the need for narrowing down the scope of the request and am willing to participate in this.
As for the objective of this request: I am an investigative journalist and would like to use this information in my reporting. My specific interest in these documents is related to the current conflict in eastern DRC.
After taking a look at the index you provided, I have narrowed down the documents I would like to have access to as follows: 1, 2, 3, 4, 22, 23, 24, 25. Together this constitutes 7 documents totalling 83 pages, which is slightly more than the 75 you suggested. I would very much appreciate if the 83 pages could be made public.
Thank you in advance.
Yours sincerely,

Tim Luimes

Dear [email address],

Would you please be able to update me on this request? By law, under all circumstances, you should have responded with documents by now.

Yours sincerely,

Tim Luimes

Dear International Partnerships,

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 'Rwanda Memorandum of Understanding'.

I have requested documents in February 2025, after which the time limit was extended to the beginning of April. A selection of documents was made in April, but it's currently two months later and I have yet to receive any documents.

This means that the response to my request is long overdue. By law, under all circumstances, International Partnerships should have responded with documents by now. I am dissatisfied with the lack of access to documents and am requesting an internal review.

A full history of my request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.asktheeu.org/request/rwanda_...

Yours faithfully,

Tim Luimes