Ref. Ares(2022)8937369 - 22/12/2022
EUROPEAN COMMISSION
DIRECTORATE-GENERAL FOR TRADE

Directorate C – Africa, Caribbean and Pacific, Asia (II), Trade and Sustainable Development, Green Deal
  South and South East Asia, Australia, New Zealand
Brussels
TRADE.C.2/(2022)9655302
Mr Maximilian Henning
Eendrachtskade 12-35
9726 CW Groningen
THE NETHERLANDS
By email only – with request for
explicit acknowledgment of receipt
by email reply:
ask+request-12071-
xxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxx.xxx
Subject:
Your application for access to documents – EASE 2022/6621
Dear Mr. Henning,
I  refer  to  your  email  application  dated  28 October 2022,  registered  on  31 October 2022
(upon the provision of your postal adress) under the above mentioned reference number,
in  which  you  make  a  request  for  access  to  documents  under  Regulation  (EC)
No 1049/20011 (‘Regulation 1049/2001’).
1.
SCOPE OF YOUR REQUEST
You are requesting access to:
‘all  minutes,  agendas,  summaries,  notes  or  memos  issued  before  or  after;  documents
prepared  for,  issued  in  preparation  for,  or  exchanged  during;  as  well  as  all
correspondence including attachments by either of the meeting parties related to:
- the 20.09.2021 meeting with Vodafone;
- the 20.10.2021 meeting with the European Semiconductor Industry Association (ESIA);
- the 18.11.2021 meeting with Orgalim;
- the 25.07.2022 meeting with Tata Consultancy;
- the 21.09.2022 meeting with DigitalEurope Market Access Working Group’.


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 (Official Journal
OJ L 145, 31.5.2001, p. 43).
Commission européenne/Europese Commissie, 1049 Bruxelles/Brussel, BELGIQUE/BELGIË – Tel. +32 22991111

We have identified a total of 8 documents as falling under the scope of your application:
-
Individual reports on the meetings with Vodafone (document 1), ESIA (document 2),
Orgalim  (document 6),  Tata  Consultancy  (document 7)  and  DigitalEurope
(document 8);
-
Three annexes attached to the report with ESIA (documents 3, 4 and 5).
2.
ASSESSMENT AND CONCLUSIONS UNDER REGULATION 1049/2001
Having  examined  the  requested  documents  under  the  applicable  legal  framework,  I  am
pleased to grant you full access to document 3, and almost full access to all remaining
identified  documents,  with  only  names  and  other  personal  data  redacted  in
documents  1,  2  and  4 to 8.  Hence,  the  main  content  of  documents 1,  2  and  4 to 8  is
accessible. Copies of the documents (documents 1, 2 and 4 to 8 in their redacted version)
are enclosed to the present reply.
2.1.
APPLICABLE EXCEPTION REGARDING DOCUMENTS 1, 2 AND 4 TO 8:
PROTECTION OF PRIVACY AND THE INTEGRITY OF THE INDIVIDUAL, IN
ACCORDANCE WITH ARTICLE 4(1)(B) OF REGULATION 1049/2001
2.1.1.  ‘Personal data’
We  disclose  document 1  partially,  as  certain  personal  data  therein  must  be  redacted  in
accordance with Article 4(1)(b) of Regulation 1049/2001, namely:
–
the  names/initials  and  contact  information  of  Commission  staff  members  not
pertaining to the senior management;
–
the names/initials and/or contact details of other natural persons;
–
handwritten signatures/abbreviated signatures of natural persons;
–
other information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person.
To  this  regard  Article 4(1)(b)  of  Regulation 1049/2001  provides  that  ‘[t]he  institutions
shall  refuse access  to  a document  where disclosure would  undermine the protection of:
[…]  privacy  and  the  integrity  of  the  individual,  in  particular  in  accordance  with
Community legislation regarding the protection of personal data’.
The  applicable  legislation  in  this  field  is  Regulation  (EU)  No 2018/17252  (hereafter
‘Regulation 2018/1725’ or ‘Data Protection Regulation’).
Article 3(1) of Regulation 2018/1725 provides that personal data ‘means any information
relating  to  an  identified  or  identifiable  natural  person  […]’.  The  Court  of  Justice  has
specified that any information, which by reason of its content, purpose or effect, is linked to
a particular person is to be considered as personal data.3 Please note in this respect that the

2   Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2018 on the
protection of natural persons  with regard to the processing of personal data by the Union institutions,
bodies,  offices  and  agencies  and  on  the  free  movement  of  such  data,  and  repealing  Regulation  (EC)
No 45/2001 and Decision No 1247/2002/EC, OJ L 295, 21.11.2018, p. 39.
3  Judgment  in  Peter  Novak  v  Data  Protection  Commissioner,  case  C-434/16,  points 33-35,
ECLI:EU:T:2018:560.
2

names,  signatures,  functions,  email  addresses,  telephone  numbers  etc.,  and/or  initials
pertaining to staff members of an institution are to be considered personal data4, as well
as  those  of  individuals  belonging  to  third  parties.  As  already  indicated  above,  both
documents contain such personal information.
2.1.2.  Question of ‘transfer’ of personal data and conclusion
Article 9(1)(b) of Regulation 2018/1725 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
arguments to establish the necessity to have the data transmitted for a specific purpose in the
public interest.
Consequently, I conclude that, pursuant to Article 4(1)(b) of Regulation 1049/2001, access
cannot be granted to the personal data, 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.
2.2.
DISCLAIMER(S)
You may reuse public documents, which have been produced by the European Commission
or  by  public  and  private  entities  on  its  behalf,  based  on  Commission
Decision 2011/833/EU  of  12 December 2011  on  the  re-use  of  Commission  documents5.
You  may  reuse  the  documents  disclosed  free  of  charge  for  non-commercial  and
commercial  purposes,  provided  that  the  source  is  acknowledged,  and  that  you  do  not
distort  the  original  meaning  or  message  of  the  documents.  Please  note  that  the
Commission does not assume any liability stemming from the reuse.
Furthermore,  please  note  that  documents  containing  content  of  third  party  origin,  i.e.
either  documents  originating  from  third  parties  or  documents  containing  parts  of  third
party  origin  (in  the  present  case  documents 3,  4  and  5),  are  disclosed  to  you  based  on
Regulation 1049/2001. However, disclosure of such contents or documents of third party
origin  is  without  prejudice  to  the  rules  on  intellectual  property,  which  may  limit  your
right  to  reproduce  or  exploit  the  released  documents  without  the  agreement  of  the
originator,  who  may  hold  an  intellectual  property  right  on  them.  The  European
Commission  does  not  assume  any  responsibility  from  the  reuse  of  those  documents  or
parts of documents.


4  Judgment in Port de Brest v Commission, case T-39/17, points 43-44, ECLI:EU:T:2018:560.
5
OJ L 330, 14.12.2011, p. 39.
3

3.  POSSIBILITY OF A CONFIRMATORY APPLICATION
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 Secretariat-General of the Commission, either by
  email to xxxxxxxxxx@xx.xxxxxx.xx, or
  letter to the following address:
European Commission
Secretariat-General
‘Transparency, Document Management & Access to Documents’ (unit SG C.1)
BERL 7/76
Rue de la Loi 200/Wetstraat 200
1049 Brussels
BELGIUM.
Yours sincerely,
[Electronically signed]
Christophe KIENER
Head of Unit
Enclosures (8):  01 – Minutes of the meeting with Vodafone (redacted)
02 – Minutes of the meeting with ESIA (redacted)
03 – First annex to the minutes of the meeting with ESIA
04 – Second annex to the minutes of the meeting with ESIA (redacted)
05 – Third annex to the minutes of the meeting with ESIA (redacted)
06 – Minutes of the meeting with Orgalim (redacted)
07 – Minutes of the meeting with Tata Consultancy (redacted)
08 – Minutes of the meeting with DigitalEurope (redacted)
4
Electronically signed on 22/12/2022 14:39 (UTC+01) in accordance with Article 11 of Commission Decision (EU) 2021/2121

Document Outline