Ref. Ares(2020)573218 - 30/01/2020
EUROPEAN COMMISSION
DIRECTORATE-GENERAL FOR INTERNAL MARKET, INDUSTRY, ENTREPRENEURSHIP
AND SMES
Acting Director-General
Brussels
GROW.E.1/JK/gc
grow.ddg2.e.1(2020) 578437
By registered letter with
acknowledgment of receipt Mr Olivier Hoedeman
Corporate Europe Observatory
Rue d'Edimbourg 26
B-1050 Brussels
Advance copy by email:
ask+request-7554-
xxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxx.xxx
Subject: Request for access to documents – GESTDEM No. 2020/0072
Dear Mr Hoedeman,
Thank you for your e-mail of 7.01.2020 which was registered on the same day, requesting access
to documents under Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 regarding public access to European
Parliament, Council and Commission documents (OJ L145, 31 May 2001, page 43 and
following).
1.
SCOPE OF YOUR REQUEST
Your e-mail requested access to documents as follows:
“- all minutes and other reports of meetings between the European Commission's DG GROW
and lobbyists (and other industry representatives) in which the notification procedure for
services in the internal market was discussed (including authorisation schemes and other
requirements related to services and the Services Directive).
- all correspondence (including emails) between the European Commission's DG GROW and
lobbyists (and other industry representatives) in which the notification procedure for services in
the internal market was discussed (including authorisation schemes and other requirements
related to services and the Services Directive).
The request is limited to the period starting October 1st 2018 and onwards.
This is a follow-up to our previous request with reference number GestDem 2018/5357
(registered on 10/10/2018).”
Commission européenne/Europese Commissie, 1049 Bruxelles/Brussel, BELGIQUE/BELGIË - Tel. +32 22991111
Office:BREY – 10/124
2.
DESCRIPTION OF DOCUMENTS IDENTIFIED
We have identified seven documents that match the scope of your request. The list of these
documents is in the annex.
Among those 7 documents, 4 documents relate to the position of stakeholders on the notification
procedure for services.
3 documents relate to meetings (in broader sense) held between the DG Internal Market, Industry,
Entrepreneurship and SMEs and organisations representing stakeholders. Please note that the
content of the reports of meetings with the third parties were drafted by the Commission; therefore
they represent the Commission’s interpretation of what was discussed in the meetings and were not
verified by the third parties.
3.
FULL DISCLOSURE OF 5 DOCUMENTS
We would like to inform you that five of identified documents are fully disclosed1.
Please note that the documents received from third parties are disclosed for information only and
cannot be re-used without the agreement of the originators, who hold a copyright on them. They do
not reflect the position of the Commission and cannot be quoted as such.
The documents to which you have requested access contain personal data. Some documents contain
also information which is out of the scope of the access to documents request and therefore will not
be disclosed.
Pursuant to Article 4(1)(b) of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001, access to a document has to be refused
if its 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 (EC) No 45/2001 of the European Parliament and
of the Council of 18 December 2000 on the protection of individuals with regard to the
processing of personal data by the Community institutions and bodies and on the free movement
of such data2.
When access is requested to documents containing personal data, Regulation (EC) No 45/2001
becomes fully applicable3.
According to Article 8(b) of this Regulation, personal data shall only be transferred to recipients if
they establish the necessity of having the data transferred to them and if there is no reason to assume
that the legitimate rights of the persons concerned might be prejudiced.
We consider that, with the information available, the necessity of disclosing the aforementioned
personal data to you has not been established and that it cannot be assumed that such disclosure
would not prejudice the legitimate rights of the persons concerned. Therefore, we are disclosing the
documents requested expunged from this personal data.
In case you would disagree with the assessment that the expunged data are personal data which can
only be disclosed if such disclosure is legitimate under the rules of personal data protection, you are
entitled, in accordance with Article 7(2) of Regulation 1049/2001, to make a confirmatory
application requesting the Commission to review this position.
1 Except for redaction of personal data. Please see reference below.
2 Official Journal L 8 of 12.1.2001, p. 1
3 Judgment of the Court of Justice of the EU of 29 June 2010 in case 28/08 P, Commission/The
Bavarian Lager Co. Ltd, ECR 2010 I-06055.
2
4.
PARTIAL DISCLOSURE OF 2 DOCUMENTS
The DG Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs has identified two documents to
which access cannot be fully granted, as disclosure is prevented by the exception laid down in
Article 4(3) (Access to a document, drawn up by an institution for internal use or received by an
institution, which relates to a matter where the decision has not been taken by the institution,
shall be refused). Full disclosure of those documents would undermine the decision-making
process of the Commission, as it would reveal contents which are directly related to the on-going
legislative process between EU institutions.
According to Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001, an exception to the right of access must be waived
if there is an overriding public interest in disclosing the document concerned, which outweighs
the interest protected by the exception to the right of access. In this case the Commission has
reached the conclusion that there appears to be no overriding public interest in their disclosure in
the sense of the Regulation.
The possibility of granting partial access in accordance with Article 4(6) of Regulation (EC) No
1049/2001 has also been examined. However, this is not considered possible since the document
in question is covered in its entirety by the above-mentioned exception.
In accordance with Article 7(2) of Regulation 1049/2001, you are entitled to make a confirmatory
application requesting the Commission to review its position.
Such a confirmatory application should be addressed within 15 working days upon receipt of this
letter to the Secretary-General of the Commission at the following address:
European Commission
Secretary-General
Transparency unit SG-B-4
BERL 5/327
B-1049 Bruxelles
or by email to:
xxxxxxxxxx@xx.xxxxxx.xx
Yours sincerely,
(e-signed)
Gwenole COZIGOU
Annexes: Documents register
Disclosed documents
3
4
Electronically signed on 29/01/2020 17:12 (UTC+01) in accordance with article 4.2 (Validity of electronic documents) of Commission Decision 2004/563
Document Outline
