DG Trade contacts with industry lobbyists about EU-US trade negotiations - a Freedom of Information request to Trade (original) (raw)

Dear Raluca Moldovan, DG TRADE,

thank you for your email of 25 April (enclosed at the end of this message), You argue that our application "concerns a very large number of documents" and propose that we "could narrow down the scope of your request, so as to reduce it to a more manageable amount of documents (for example would you want the correspondence/meeting reports with certain companies or associations?)". We are surprised by your response, as our request was actually very focused both in terms of topic, actors and time: correspondence/meeting reports with industry on the EU-US FTA talks, between January 2012 and today.

Unless it turns out that there have been hundreds of meetings and a corresponding amount of correspondence, we are not convinced that this is a request of the kind to which Article 6(3) applies ("an application relating to a very long document or to very large number of documents").

For now, we would like to maintain our request without narrowing it down. We are very concerned that our request - on an issue of major public interest - could suffer unjustified delay. To clarify this matter, we believe that it would be appropriate for the Commission to put together a full list of all meetings falling under our request. Similarly, we would appreciate receiving a list of all correspondence falling under our request.

If the number of documents (meeting reports and correspondence) is indeed "very large", then we would like to receive a precise timeline for when the documents will be released. We can accept if for instance meeting reports are prioritised and released faster than correspondence, but (based on previous experiences) we fear that without a precise timeline there will be unreasonable delays. Such a timeline also allows us to file confirmatory applications if unreasonable delays occur.

Yours sincerely,

Olivier Hoedeman
Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO)

Subject: FW: Your access to documents request Gestdem 2013/2132
Date: Thu, 25 Apr 2013 12:23:40 +0000
From: <[email address]>
To: <[email address]>
CC: <[email address]>

Dear Mr Hoedeman

We have tried to contact you on the AskTheEU emai address but I see the server is down and the email keeps coming back to us. We refer to your le-mail dated 19/04/2013 in which you make a request for access to documents, registered the same day under the above mentioned reference number.

Your application concerns a very large number of documents, which need to be assessed individually. Such a detailed analysis cannot be carried out within the normal time limits set out in Article 7 of Regulation 1049/2001.The handling of your request also involves the assessment of documents originating from third parties. The analysis of these documents, together with the need to consult the third parties concerned in accordance with Article 4(4) 4(5) of Regulation 1049/2001, cannot be expected to be completed within the normal time limits set out in Article 7 of Regulation 1049/2001.

However, the Regulation also provides for a possibility to confer with applicants in order to find a fair solution when an application concerns a very large number of documents. Article 6(3) provides that "in the event of an application relating to a very long document or to very large number of documents, the institution concerned may confer with the applicant informally, with a view to finding a fair solution".

Based on this provision, we would kindly ask you whether you could narrow down the scope of your request, so as to reduce it to a more manageable amount of documents (for example would you want the correspondence/meeting reports with certain companies or associations?). If that is not possible and if you maintain your request for access to all documents concerned by your application, we propose to handle your application in successive stages. If you accept this proposal, you could indicate an order of priority, which we will follow as much as possible in handling your application. You will receive, at regular intervals, batches of documents which have been cleared for release or a reasoned reply explaining why some documents cannot be disclosed.

Thank you in advance for your understanding.

Kind regards,

Raluca MOLDOVAN
Access to Documents

European Commission
DG TRADE
Unit A3 - Information, communication and civil society