Document nppNyLLkwMwpX8mydqYJgkKga

EUROPEAN COMMISSION DIRECTORATE-GENERAL ENVIRONMENT The Director-General Ref. Ares(2020)5665186 - 20/10/2020 By email: ask+request-8368-04ccd256@asktheeu.org Brussels, ENV.B.2 Vicky Cann CEO Rue d'Edimbourg 26 Bruxelles 1050 Dear Ms Cann, Subject: Your application for access to documents: Ref GestDem No 2020/4363 We refer to your e-mail dated 16/07/2020, in which you make a request for access to documents registered under the above-mentioned reference number, and to our holding reply Ref. Ares(2020)4155110 - 07/08/2020. You requested access to the following: "...a list of all lobby meetings (including face to face, phone calls, conference calls etc) held since 29 January 2020 where the Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability was discussed. The list should include the names of the individuals and organisations participating; the date; the agenda; and any minutes / notes produced. I would additionally like to receive any emails or other correspondence from lobby groups related to the Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability received or sent since 29 January 2020." In your request you ask for a "list of all lobby meetings" where the Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability was discussed. You also ask for specific data that "the list should include", inter alia, the agenda and any minutes/notes produced. I note that in your request you refer to Regulation 1049/2001 regarding public access to European Parliament, Council and Commission documents. We inform you that the Commission does not compose such lists on a given file or policy issue and, therefore, does not hold any documents that would correspond to the description given in the request. The right of access to documents applies only to existing documents in the possession of the institution, in line with Article 10(3) of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001, and, in accordance with the case law of the EU Courts, the Commission is under no obligation to create a new document, even if that document were based on information already appearing in existing documents held by it. Therefore, if you wish to receive access to a document concerning a specific meeting, we kindly invite you to introduce a new request. Commission europenne/Europese Commissie, 1049 Bruxelles/Brussel, BELGIQUE/BELGI - Tel. +32 22991111 Office: BU-5 04/007 - Tel. direct line: +32 229-64968 With regard to your request for "any emails or other correspondence from lobby groups related to the Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability(...)", please see in the Annex to this letter a list of the documents that are in the scope of your request. Having examined these documents under the provisions of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 regarding public access to European Parliament, Council and Commission documents, we have come to the following conclusions: 1. Full disclosure The documents referred to under numbers 1a, 2a, 5a, 5b, 6a, 8a, 8b, 8c, 8d, 8e, 8f, 9a, 9b, 9c, 13a, 13b, 13c, 13d, 13e, 13f, 13g, and 15b in the attached Annex are disclosed in their entirety. 2. Partial disclosure The documents referred to under numbers 1, 2, 3, 3a, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 12a, 13, 14, 15, 15a, and 16 in the attached Annex contain personal data, which have been redacted. 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 European Union legislation regarding the protection of personal data. The applicable legislation in this field is 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 (`Regulation 2018/1725'). Indeed, 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 data1. Please also note in this respect that the names, signatures, functions, telephone numbers and/or initials pertaining to staff members of an institution are to be considered personal data2. In its judgment in Case C-28/08 P (Bavarian Lager)3, the Court of Justice ruled that when a request is made for access to documents containing personal data, the Data Protection Regulation becomes fully applicable4. 1 Judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union of 20 December 2017 in Case C-434/16, Peter Nowak v Data Protection Commissioner, request for a preliminary ruling, paragraphs 33-35, ECLI:EU:C:2017:994. 2 Judgment of the General Court of 19 September 2018 in case T-39/17, Port de Brest v Commission, paragraphs 43-44, ECLI:EU:T:2018:560. 3 Judgment of 29 June 2010 in Case C-28/08 P, European Commission v The Bavarian Lager Co. Ltd, ECLI:EU:C:2010:378, paragraph 59. 4 Whereas this judgment specifically related to 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 data, the 2 Pursuant to Article 9(1)(b) of Regulation 2018/1725, `personal data shall only be transmitted to recipients established in the Union other than Union institutions and bodies if `[t]he recipient establishes that it is necessary to have the data transmitted for a specific purpose in the public interest and the controller, where there is any reason to assume that the data subject's legitimate interests might be prejudiced, establishes that it is proportionate to transmit the personal data for that specific purpose after having demonstrably weighed the various competing interests'. Only if these conditions are fulfilled and the processing constitutes lawful processing in accordance with the requirements of Article 5 of Regulation 2018/1725, can the transmission of personal data occur. According to Article 9(1)(b) of Regulation 2018/1725, the European Commission has to examine the further conditions for a lawful processing of personal data only if the first condition is fulfilled, namely if the recipient has established that it is necessary to have the data transmitted for a specific purpose in the public interest. It is only in this case that the European Commission has to examine whether there is a reason to assume that the data subject's legitimate interests might be prejudiced and, in the affirmative, establish the proportionality of the transmission of the personal data for that specific purpose after having demonstrably weighed the various competing interests. In your request, you do not put forward any arguments to establish the necessity to have the data transmitted for a specific purpose in the public interest. Therefore, the European Commission does not have to examine whether there is a reason to assume that the data subject's legitimate interests might be prejudiced. Notwithstanding the above, please note that there are reasons to assume that the legitimate interests of the data subjects concerned would be prejudiced by disclosure of the personal data reflected in the documents, as there is a real and non-hypothetical risk that such public disclosure would harm their privacy and subject them to unsolicited external contacts. Consequently, I conclude that, pursuant to Article 4(1)(b) of Regulation (EC) No 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. As to the handwritten signatures contained in some of the documents, which are biometric data, there is a risk that their disclosure would prejudice the legitimate interests of the persons concerned. Furthermore, in addition to personal data, the documents referred to under numbers 5, 6, and 9 in the attached Annex contain information protected by Article 4(2) first indent of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001. For this reason, the relevant parts of the abovementioned documents cannot be disclosed and have been redacted, as such disclosure would undermine the protection of commercial interests of a natural or legal person. principles set out therein are also applicable under the new data protection regime established by Regulation 2018/1725. 3 The exceptions laid down in Article 4(2) of Regulation 1049/2001 apply unless there is an overriding public interest in disclosure of the documents. In your request you do not put forward any arguments demonstrating the existence of an overriding public interest in disclosure. Similarly, we have not identified any public interest that would override the interests protected by Article 4(2) of Regulation 1049/2001. 3. Special remarks Please also note that those documents included in the attached Annex which originate 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. 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 on the matters already mentioned. 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, Document Management & Access to Documents (SG.C.1) BERL 7/076 B-1049 Bruxelles or by email to: sg-acc-doc@ec.europa.eu Yours faithfully, (e-signed) Florika Fink-Hooijer 4 Electronically signed on 19/10/2020 15:02 (UTC+02) in accordance with article 11 of Commission Decision C(2020) 4482