Vestager and tech, AI
Dear Competition,
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:
- Meeting between Vestager and Microsoft's President Brad Smith on 4 June 2024
- Meeting between Vestager and OpenAI OpCo, LLC on 12 January 2024
- Meeting with Vestager and Apple on January 12 2024
Meeting with Vestager and Google on January 12 2024
-
Of those meetings I am requesting the following documents:
-All minutes, agendas, summary, memos and any other reports of these meetings, issued both in preparation and after the meetings took place.
- All correspondence including attachments (including, but not limited to any emails, correspondence, telephone call notes, or texts) and followups, between any Directorates General/the cabinet, Commissioner Vestager and the company or any intermediaries representing its interests.
- All correspondence including attachments (i.e. any emails, correspondence, telephone call notes, or texts) and followups, between any Directorate Generals, the cabinet and Commissioner Vestager about those meetings, issued both prior and after.
- All documents prepared for the meetings and exchanged in the course of the meetings between both parties.
Yours faithfully,
Christina GENNET
Dear Sir or Madam,
We are writing to you concerning your request for access to documents sent
on 18/07/2024 and registered on 19/07/2024 under case number 2024/3895.
Since you have not indicated your postal address, we are not able to start
handling your request. The 15 working days to reply to your request will
start running only when you send us your postal address.
You can send your postal address by replying to this e-mail. If we do not
receive your reply we may close this case.
Please note that you can submit a request for access to Commission
documents via the portal [1]'Request a Commission document', which does
not require you to indicate your postal address.
Why do we need your personal postal address?
Since 1 April 2014, the submission of a postal address became a mandatory
feature when submitting an application for access to Commission documents
via an e-mail. We would like to explain why we need your postal address in
order to register and handle your application for access to documents when
submitted via e-mail:
• Firstly, to obtain legal certainty as regards the date you received
the European Commission reply to your application for public access to
documents. Article 297 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the
European Union (TFEU) states that 'decisions which specify to whom
they are addressed, shall be notified to those to whom they are
addressed and shall take effect upon such notification.' In line with
this provision, if the Commission does not grant full access to the
requested documents, it notifies the reply to the applicant via
registered mail with acknowledgement of receipt or via delivery
service. This requires an indication of a valid postal address by the
applicant;
• Secondly, to apply correctly the [2]Data Protection Regulation (EU)
2018/1725. Knowing whether the applicant is an EU resident (or not) is
necessary for deciding which conditions shall apply for the
transmissions of personal data to applicants for access to documents.
These conditions are not the same for recipients established in the
Union and for recipients in third countries. As the vast majority of
the documents requested contain personal data, the Commission cannot
ensure the correct application of the data protection rules in the
absence of a postal address;
• Thirdly, to apply correctly [3]Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001. Article
4(1)(b) of that Regulation refers to the protection of the privacy and
integrity of the individual and has to be applied in line with the
Data Protection Regulation;
• Fourthly, to protect the interest of other citizens and safeguard the
principle of good administration. The Commission has to treat all
citizens equally by ensuring that the legal framework for public
access to documents is respected. For example, it has to verify
whether Article 6(3) of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 is being evaded
by introducing several requests under different identities. Indeed, in
its Ryanair judgment ([4]EU:T:2010:511), the General Court confirmed
that Article 6(3) of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 cannot be evaded by
splitting an application into several, seemingly separate, parts. In
addition, the Commission has to make sure that the legal framework is
respected and the right of access to documents is not abused by making
requests under an invented identity.
The considerations above show that the request for and the consequent
processing of the applicant's postal address is not only appropriate, but
also strictly necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the
public interest within the meaning of Article 5(1)(a) of Data Protection
Regulation, namely providing a smooth and effective access to documents.
Yours faithfully,
Directorate-General for Competition - Access to Documents
European Commission
References
Visible links
1. https://www.ec.europa.eu/transparency/do...
2. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/...
3. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/...
4. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/...
Dear Sir or Madam,
We hereby acknowledge the receipt of your request for access to documents
sent on 18/07/2024 and registered on 22/07/2024 under the case number
2024/3895.
We will handle your request within 15 working days as of the date of
registration. The time-limit expires on 12/08/2024. 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,
Directorate-General for Competition - Access to Documents
European Commission
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 19/07/2024 under case number 2024/3895.
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 12/08/2024.
• the application concerns documents held by different Services, which
must be consulted.
Therefore, in line with Article 7(3) 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 03/09/2024.
We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.
Kind regards,
COMP ACCESS TO DOCUMENTS
References
Visible links
1. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/...
Dear Competition, I trust you are well.
The deadline on this request has now passed - I wonder if there is any update?
Yours faithfully,
Christina GENNET
Hello,
The deadline was extended until 03/09/2024, as it is mentioned below.
Best regards,
COMP ACCESS TO DOCUMENTS
Dear Sir or Madam,
We refer to your request for access to documents registered under the
reference number 2024/4368.
Unfortunately, we are not able to send the reply to your application
within the given time limit, which expires today.
You will receive the reply to your application as soon as possible.
We apologize for this delay and for any inconvenience this may cause.
Yours faithfully,
DG CONNECT Access to Documents Team
European Commission
Rue de la Loi 51
B-1049 Brussels/Belgium
Dear Competition,
Thanks for the note. Can you give a rough timeframe for when these documents will be available and what the issue is? I would note that I have made more substantial document requests that have been successful in less time. Is there an issue with companies' consent for disclosure?
Yours faithfully,
Edith Hancock
Dear Madam,
We refer to your e-mail dated 19/07/2024 in which you make a request for
access to documents, registered on 19/07/2024 under the above mentioned
reference number.
Please find attached a scan of the reply to your request for access to
documents, signed by the Director General.
You are kindly requested to reply to the present email acknowledging
receipt thereof.
Please note that the documents for which (partial) access has been granted
are also attached to the present e-mail (see attachments).
Yours faithfully,
Petya SHEYTANOVA
Unit and Case Secretary
European Commission
DG COMP
Unit C-1 Antitrust: Electronic Communications
MADO 28/40
B-1049 Brussels/Belgium
+32 2 296 41 25
[1][email address]
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
Hello,
Please find attached a message concerning your request for access to
Commission documents registered under the above case number 2024/4368.
Please acknowledge the receipt of this message by return email.
Kind regards,
DG CONNECT Access to documents Team
Dear Sir or Madam,
We hereby acknowledge the receipt of your request for access to documents
sent on 15/11/2024 and registered on 15/11/2024 under the case number
2024/6101.
We will handle your request within 15 working days as of the date of
registration. The time-limit expires on 06/12/2024. 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 applicant,
Please find attached a message concerning your request for access to
Commission documents registered under the above case number 2024/6101.
Please acknowledge the receipt of this message by return email.
Kind regards,
SG D EASE Team