TADEUS DAC related
Dear Taxation and Customs Union,
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:
any document related to these two points of the 2024 TADEUS outcomes statement:
1) (...) we acknowledge the importance and relevance of monitoring tax
gaps. We endorsed the findings and the recommendations of the project group and
agree continuing our joint work on tax gaps emphasising the importance of the work
on e-commerce.
2) We acknowledge there is room for better using DAC (Directive on Administrative
Cooperation in Direct Taxation) data by Member States’ tax administrations as
identified in the final report of the dedicated project group.
Yours faithfully,
elodie lamer
Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal 104/108
1012 SG Amsterdam
The Netherlands
Dear Sir or Madam,
We hereby acknowledge the receipt of your request for access to documents
sent on 17/09/2025 and registered on 18/09/2025 under the case number
2025/4737.
We will handle your request within 15 working days as of the date of
registration. The time-limit expires on 09/10/2025. 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 Taxation and Customs Union - Access to Documents
European Commission
References
Visible links
1. https://ec.europa.eu/info/principles-and...
Dear Madam,
Thank you for your request of 17/09/2025. We hereby acknowledge receipt of
your application for access to documents, which was registered on
18/09/2025 under reference number EASE 2025/4737.
In accordance with Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 regarding public access to
European Parliament, Council and Commission documents, your application
will be handled within 15 working days. The time limit will expire on
9/10/2025. In case this time limit needs to be extended, you will be
informed in due course.
You have lodged your application via a private third-party website, which
has no link with any institution of the European Union. Therefore, the
European Commission cannot be held accountable for any technical issues or
problems linked to the use of this system.
Please note that the private third party running the Ask the EU website is
responsible and accountable for the processing of your personal data via
that website, and not the Commission. For further information on your
rights, please refer to the third party’s privacy policy.
We understand that the third party running the AsktheEU.org website
usually publishes the content of applicants’ correspondence with the
Commission on that website. This includes the personal data that you may
have communicated to the Commission (e.g. your private postal address).
Similarly, the third party publishes on that website any reply that the
Commission will send to the e-mail address of the applicants generated by
the AsktheEU.org website.
If you do not wish that your correspondence with the Commission is
published on a private third-party website such as AsktheEU.org, you can
provide us with an alternative, private e-mail address for further
correspondence. In that case, the Commission will send all future
electronic correspondence addressed to you only to that private address,
and it will use only that private address to reply to your request. You
should still remain responsible to inform the private third-party website
about this change of how you wish to communicate with, and receive a reply
from, the Commission.
For information on how we process your personal data visit our page
[1]Privacy statement – access to documents.
Yours faithfully,
TAXUD Access to Documents Team
References
Visible links
1. https://ec.europa.eu/info/principles-and...
Hello,
We are writing concerning your request for access to Commission documents
registered on 18/09/2025 under case number 2025/4737.
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 on 09/10/2025.
An extended time limit for more in-depth investigations is needed in order
to complete our assessment on the possibility for the public disclosure of
the documents requested.
Therefore, in line with Article 7(3) of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001, we
need to extend this time limit by 15 additional working days. The new time
limit expires on 30/10/2025.
We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.
Kind regards,
TAXUD Access to documents
Hello,
Please find attached a message concerning your request for access to
Commission documents registered under the above case number 2025/4737.
We would be grateful if you could please acknowledge the receipt of this
message by return email.
Thank you in advance!
Kind regards,
TAXUD Access to Documents
Dear Taxation and Customs Union,
Dear Sir or Madam,
I am submitting this confirmatory application pursuant to Article 7(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001, following the decision of DG TAXUD dated 27 October 2025, which granted partial access to documents falling under my request registered on 18 September 2025, but denied access to Document 2 (“Improving the use of DAC data – final report project group”).
The refusal was based on Article 4(1)(a), fourth indent, and Article 4(2), third indent, of Regulation 1049/2001. I respectfully ask the Commission to review its decision for the following reasons:
1. Overriding public interest
The proper use of DAC (Directive on Administrative Cooperation) data is of significant public interest, directly linked to EU citizens’ confidence in tax fairness, transparency, and the effectiveness of cross-border cooperation in fighting tax fraud and evasion. Public debate requires access to at least part of the findings and recommendations of the project group. The Commission’s assessment that “no overriding public interest” exists was cursory and disproportionate.
2. Duty to consider partial access
The institution concluded that partial access was “not possible” because the entire document was allegedly covered by exceptions. However, case law of the Court of Justice (e.g. Sweden v Commission, C-64/05 P) makes clear that institutions must carry out a concrete and individual examination of the content and release non-sensitive sections. Even if some operational details must remain confidential, higher-level analysis, conclusions or recommendations could clearly be disclosed.
3. Foreseeability of harm
The Commission invokes risks to the protection of financial/economic policy and to inspections/investigations, but it has not demonstrated concretely how disclosure would cause specific foreseeable harm. According to settled case law (e.g. Access Info Europe v Council, C-280/11 P), risks must be “reasonably foreseeable and not purely hypothetical.” A general assertion that disclosure might reveal loopholes is insufficient.
4. Passage of time
The requested document is from 2024. With the passage of time, sensitivity of operational details diminishes. Without evidence that disclosure in 2025 would still undermine ongoing strategies, the blanket refusal lacks proportionality.
Request
For these reasons, I respectfully request that the Commission:
Reassess the refusal to grant access to Document 2.
At a minimum, release those parts of the report (such as executive summaries, conclusions or recommendations) that can be disclosed without harming ongoing enforcement.
Recognise the overriding public interest in transparency concerning EU tax cooperation and the implementation of DAC rules.
I thank you in advance for your consideration and look forward to your reply.
Yours faithfully,
Yours faithfully,
elodie lamer
Dear Sir or Madam,
We hereby acknowledge the receipt of your confirmatory request for case
2025/4737, sent on 28/10/2025 and registered on 28/10/2025.
We will handle your confirmatory request within 15 working days as of the
date of registration. The time-limit expires on 18/11/2025. 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 Taxation and Customs Union,
Hello, You missed the deadline but a whole lot on this one.
Yours faithfully,
elodie lamer