[Ares(2019)3963480 - Reply - request for information - Transparency unit staffing and budget [#136217]](
https://webgate.ec.testa.eu/Ares/ext/...)
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Dear Ms Izuzquiza,
We refer to your email dated 03/05/2019 concerning ‘’Transparency unit staffing and budget’’.
As confirmed to you in our acknowledgement of receipt (Ares(2019)3777684 of 13 June 2019) the first two parts of your request are handled by the Directorate-General Research and Innovation as a request for information under the Code of Good Administrative Behaviour.
The remaining part of your request is handled as an access to documents request by the Secretariat-General of the European Commission under reference number GestDem 2019/3047.
Concerning your question on the number of staff and budget for the ‘transparency unit’ within Directorate-General Research and Innovation, please note that the Directorate-General does not have a transparency unit or a specific department dealing with access to documents request, as apparent from the organisation chart of the DG available on the website:
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https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/info/...](
https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/info/...)
For your information, within the DG it is the unit B.1 (Common Legal Support Service) that deals with requests for public access to documents held by the DG. A number of staff members within the unit are charged with coordinating the handling of the access to documents requests for the DG. These staff members who are dealing with access to document requests within the unit are also assigned various other types of legal tasks and therefore are working only part time on access to documents requests.
The working force handling access to documents requests can be counted as follows:
· 3 Contract Agents in function group FG IV working 50% of their working time each
· 1 permanent official in function group AST 3 working 50% of the working time
· 1 permanent official in function group AD 12 working 20% of the working time
Since there is no formal transparency/access to documents unit within the DG, there is no specific budget allocated for tasks related to handling of access to documents requests. The salaries of Commission permanent officials and contract staff are provided for in the Staff Regulations of Officials and the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants (REGULATION No 31 (EEC), 11 (EAEC)). The amounts of basic monthly salaries for each grade and step in function groups AD and AST are referred to in Article 66 of the Staff Regulations and the basic salaries for contract agents are referred to in Article 93 of the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants, available on the following link:
[
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/...](
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/...).
We hope that you will find this information useful.
Yours sincerely,
[RTD Access to documents]()
** ******
****
**European Commission**
DG Research & Innovation
Common Legal Support Service
ORBN
1049 Brussels/Belgium
<<E-Mail-Adresse>>
[From:]() ve_rtd.access documents (RTD) <
<Name und E-Mail-Adresse>>
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[Ares(2019)3777684 - Acknowledgment of receipt - request for information - Transparency unit staffing and budget [#136217]](
https://webgate.ec.testa.eu/Ares/ext/...)
*Sent by ve_rtd.access documents (RTD) <
<Name und E-Mail-Adresse>>. All responses have to be sent to this email address.*
*Envoyé par ve_rtd.access documents (RTD) <
<Name und E-Mail-Adresse>>. Toutes les réponses doivent être effectuées à cette adresse électronique.*
Dear Ms Izuzquiza,
We refer to you email of 3 May 2019 referring to Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2001 regarding public access to European Parliament, Council and Commission documents (Regulation 1049/2001) in which you are requesting certain documents concerning information on the number of staff in and budget for our 'Transparency Unit' as well as data on the handling of access to EU documents requests by 'this institution'.
As indicated in the e-mail sent to you by the Secretariat-General on 24 May 2019 (ref. Ares(2019)3418533) it is considered that the first two parts of your request only concern the unit coordinating the handling of access to documents requests within the relevant Directorate-General. For the part of your request concerning: "for the years 2017, 2018 and 2019: any and all documents containing data on the handling of access to EU documents requests by this institution [...] specifically for broken down data, per year, on the number of initial access to documents applications received, and the number of confirmatory applications received", your request will be registered as an access to documents request under Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 and will be handled by the Secretariat-General of the European Commission.
Following the e-mail sent to you by the Secretariat-General on 3 June 2019 (ref. Ares(2019)3576794), the first two parts of your request will be handled by the Directorate-General for Research and Innovation under the Code of Good Administrative Behaviour.
Following the above and in accordance with the Code of Good Administrative Behaviour, you shall receive a reply in 15 working days (by 25 June 2019).
Kind regards,
RTD Access to documents
European Commission
DG Research & Innovation
Common Legal Support Service
ORBN
1049 Brussels/Belgium
<<E-Mail-Adresse>>