EUROPEAN COMMISSION DIRECTORATE-GENERAL FOR EDUCATION, YOUTH, SPORT AND CULTURE The Director-General Brussels, EAC.B4 Mr SEMSROTT Arne c/o Open Knowledge Foundation Deutschland e.V. Singerstraße 109 10179 Berlin Deutschland By e-mail only: █████████████████████████ Subject: Your application for access todocuments – GestDem 2021/3126 Dear Mr. Semsrott, I refer to your request for access to documents introduced pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 regarding public access to European Parliament, Council and Commission documents (hereinafter ‘Regulation 1049/2001’) via             email on 12/05/2020 and registered on the same date under the above          -mentioned reference number.I also refer to our email dated 08/06/2021 (our referenceAres(2021)3746204              ) whereby we informed you that the time limit for handling your application was extended by 15 working days pursuant to Article 7(3) of Regulation 1049/2001            and to our last email of 28/06 whereby we have apologized for the late reply (our reference       Ares(2021)4202111). 1. SCOPEOF YOUR APPLICATION In your application, you request access to all         ‘ documents that deal with therman     Ge Desiderius Erasmus Foundation, in particular the similarity of names to the Erasmus programme’ . 2. DOCUMENTS FALLING WITHIN THE SCOPEOF YOUR REQUESTS The documents identified as falling within the scope           of your requestare 54 and they are listedin the table underAnnex 1. Commission européenne/Europese Commissie, 1049 Bruxelles/Brussel, BELGIQUE/BELGIË - Tel. +32 22991111

3.    ASSESSMENT UNDER REGULATION 1049/2001 Having examined the documents identified under the provisions of Regulation 1049/2001, I have arrived at the conclusion that, three documents can be partially disclosed and disclosure is refused for the other 51 documents. Since the documents 52 and 53 originate from third parties, the originators of the documents have been consulted. a) Partial access With regard to the documents 52, 53 and 54 listed below, a complete disclosure is prevented by the exception concerning the protection of privacy and the integrity of the individual outlined in Article 4(1)(b) of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001, because they contain the following personal data: -   the names/initials and contact information of Commission staff members not pertaining to the senior management; -   other information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person. Article 9(1)(b) of the Data Protection Regulation does not allow the transmission of these personal data, except if you prove that it is necessary to have the data transmitted to you for a specific purpose in the public interest and where there is no reason to assume that the legitimate interests of the data subject might be prejudiced. In your request, you do not express any particular interest to have access to these personal data nor do you put forward any arguments to establish the necessity to have the data transmitted for a specific purpose in the public interest. Consequently, I conclude that, pursuant to Article 4(1)(b) of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001, access cannot be granted to the personal data contained in the requested documents, 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. Moreover, a complete disclosure of these three documents is prevented by the exception concerning the protection of the institution's decision-making process as outlined in Article 4(3) of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001. 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 if disclosure of the document would seriously undermine the institution's decision-making process, unless there is an overriding public interest in disclosure. Disclosure of these parts would undermine the protection of the Commission’s internal space to think, as they contain opinions for internal use and are part of preliminary consultations. Putting this information in the public domain would affect the Commission staff possibility to freely express their opinion. Therefore, the exception laid down in Article 4(3) of Regulation 1049/2001 (protection of ongoing decision-making process) applies to these parts. You may reuse public documents, which have been produced by the European Commission or by public and private entities on its behalf based on the Commission Decision on the reuse of Commission documents. You may reuse the documents disclosed free of charge and for non-commercial and commercial purposes provided that the source is acknowledged and that you do not distort the original meaning or message 2

of the document/documents. Please note that the Commission does not assume liability stemming from the reuse. b) Refused access I regret to inform you that access cannot be granted for Documents 1-51 on the basis of the exception laid down in Article 4(2), third indent of Regulation 1049/2001 (protection of documents relating to inspections, investigations and audits). Article 4(2), third indent of Regulation 1049/2001 provides that the 'institutions shall refuse access to a document where disclosure would undermine the protection of […] the purpose of inspections, investigations and audits'. The documents 1-51 relate to the pre-litigation phase of a possible infringement procedure and some of them concern the revocation proceedings before the EUIPO. In the Judgment of the General Court of 13 November 2015 in joined cases T-424/14 and T- 425/14, ClientEarth v Commission, the Court of Justice has acknowledged the existence of general presumptions that access to documents is to be refused in five particular situations. One of them is when the identified documents relate to an infringement 1 procedure during the pre-litigation stage of that procedure. Finally, I would like to draw your attention to a large number of documents relating to the ongoing Erasmus trade mark revocation proceedings before the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) which are already public and available at EUIPO’s website. The EUIPO’s database contains all the submissions by the parties, as well as all the notifications to the parties, which were exchanged in the course of the ongoing revocation proceedings (from 30 September 2019 onwards). You can get access to these documents after registering via the following link: https://euipo.europa.eu/eSearch/#details/trademarks/W01004846. 4.    PARTIAL ACCESS I have considered whether partial access could be granted to the documents 1-51, in accordance with Article 4(6) of Regulation 1049/2001. However, it follows from the assessment made above that the documents 1-51 are manifestly and entirely covered by the exception laid down in Article 4(2), third indent of Regulation 1049/2001. It must also be underlined that the Court of Justice confirmed that a presumption of non- 2 disclosure excludes the possibility to grant partial access to the file . 5.    OVERRIDING PUBLIC INTEREST IN DISCLOSURE The exceptions laid down under Articles 4(2) and 4(3) of Regulation 1049/2001 apply, unless there is an overriding public interest in the disclosure of the documents. Such an interest must firstly, be a public interest and, secondly, outweigh the harm caused by disclosure. 1 Judgment of 14 November 2013 in LPN and Finland v Commission, C-514/11 P and C-605/11 P, ECR, EU:C:2013:738, paragraph 65 2 Judgment of 25 March 2015, Sea Handling v Commission, T-456/13, EU:T:2015:185, paragraph 93 3

In your application, you do not put forward any reasoning pointing to an overriding public interest in disclosing the documents requested. I have examined whether there could be an overriding public interest in the disclosure of the identified documents, but we have not been able to identify such an interest. 6.    CONFIRMATORY APPLICATION In accordance with Article 7(2) of Regulation 1049/2001, you are entitled to make a confirmatory application requesting the Commission to review this position. Such a confirmatory application should be addressed within 15 working days upon receipt of this letter to the Secretariat-General of the Commission at the following address: European Commission Secretariat-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 Please note that, due to the Covid-19 outbreak, the European Commission has put in place extraordinary measures. Part of these measures include the requirement for all non-critical staff to telework, as from 16 March 2020 and until further notice. Therefore, I am sending this letter by email only and I kindly ask you to acknowledge receipt of it within five working days. Yours sincerely, (e-Signed) Themis CHRISTOPHIDOU Enclosures:       Annex 1 – List of identified documents 4

Annex 1 – List of relevant documents Doc.    REGISTRATION NUMBER     TITLE Nr. Complaint from Member of DE Bundestag, Mr Kai Gehring, to President Juncker and Cmmr Navracsics concerning decision of the 1.  Ares(2015)1612637 party "Alternative für Deutschland" to create a political foundation called "Erasmus-Stiftung" - similar to EU exchange programme Markenschutz Erasmus+ und AfD-Gründung einer „Erasmus“-Stiftung 2.  Ares(2015)2758551 (GEHRING Kai) Reply Markenschutz Erasmus+ und AfD-Gründung einer „Erasmus“- 3.  Ares(2015)3241920 Stiftung (GEHRING Kai) Use of the name Erasmus by the foundation of the German political 4.  Ares(2015)1962911 party Alternative für Deutschland 5.  Ares(2018)2021227       FW: Erasmus Marke 6.  Ares(2018)2352528       Desiderius Erasmus Stiftung RE: AfD names their party-affiliated foundation "Desiderius-Erasmus- 7.  Ares(2021)3803957 Stiftung" RE: AfD names their party-affiliated foundation "Desiderius-Erasmus- 8.  Ares(2021)3812701 Stiftung" RE: AfD names their party-affiliated foundation "Desiderius-Erasmus- 9.  Ares(2021)3803929 Stiftung" 10. Ares(2019)1512300       Use of the name Erasmus by AfD 11. Ares(2021)3812748       RE: Ares(2019)1512300 - Use of the name Erasmus by AfD 12. Ares(2021)3803883       RE: Action against the use of the name "Erasmus" Use of the name Erasmus by AfD and Petra Kelly Foundation - our 13. Ares(2021)3803855 reference pvt#EC-IPR00014073 Use of the name Erasmus by AfD and Petra Kelly Foundation - our 14. Ares(2021)3759756 reference pvt#EC-IPR00014073 5

Use of the name Erasmus by AfD and Petra Kelly Foundation - your 15. Ares(2021)3759812 reference pvt#EC-IPR00014073 Use of the name Erasmus by AfD and Petra Kelly Foundation - your 16. Ares(2021)3803822 reference pvt#EC-IPR00014073 Use of the name Erasmus by AfD and Petra Kelly Foundation - your 17. Ares(2021)3760176 reference pvt#EC-IPR00014073 FW: Use of the name Erasmus by AfD and Petra Kelly Foundation - 18. Ares(2021)3802475 your reference pvt#EC-IPR00014073 FW: Use of the name Erasmus by AfD and Petra Kelly Foundation - 19. Ares(2021)3801690 your reference pvt#EC-IPR00014073 [FFW-DOCS.FID5834939] RE: Use of the name Erasmus by AfD and Petra Kelly Foundation - 20. Ares(2021)3802367 your reference pvt#EC-IPR00014073 [FFW-DOCS.FID5834939] Re: Use of the name Erasmus by AfD and Petra Kelly Foundation - 21. Ares(2021)3801585 your reference pvt#EC-IPR00014073 Powers of Attorney for cease and desist letters to Desiderius Erasmus 22. Ares(2019)5723435 Stiftung (AfD) and to Petra Kelly Stiftung concerning use and registration of Erasmus RE: Use of the name Erasmus by AfD and Petra Kelly Foundation - 23. Ares(2019)5753635 your reference pvt#EC-IPR00014073 [FFW-DOCS.FID5834939] Ares(2019)5753635 - Use of the name Erasmus by AfD and Petra 24. Ares(2021)3760285 Kelly Foundation - your reference pvt#EC-IPR00014073 [FFW- DOCS.FID5834939] Re: RE: Ares(2019)5753635 - Use of the name Erasmus by AfD and 25. Ares(2021)3760479 Petra Kelly Foundation - your reference pvt#EC-IPR00014073 [FFW- DOCS.FID5835009] RE: RE: Ares(2019)5753635 - Use of the name Erasmus by AfD and 26. Ares(2021)3871628 Petra Kelly Foundation - your reference pvt#EC-IPR00014073 [FFW- DOCS.FID5835009] #EC-IPR00014356 ERASMUS: application for revocation admissible. 27. Ares(2021)3871962 Deadline for evidence of use 15/12/2019 28. Ares(2021)3872015 RE: Ares(2019)5753635 - Use of the name Erasmus by AfD and Petra Kelly Foundation - your reference pvt#EC-IPR00014073 [FFW- 6

DOCS.FID5835009] RE: Ares(2019)5753635 - Use of the name Erasmus by AfD and Petra 29. Ares(2019)6615775 Kelly Foundation - your reference pvt#EC-IPR00014073 [FFW- DOCS.FID5835009] RE: Ares(2019)6615775 - Ares(2019)5753635 - Use of the name 30. Ares(2021)3908376 Erasmus by AfD - your reference pvt#EC-IPR00014073 [FFW- DOCS.FID5834939] RE: Ares(2019)6615775 - Ares(2019)5753635 - Use of the name 31. Ares(2021)3872454 Erasmus by AfD - your reference pvt#EC-IPR00014073 [FFW- DOCS.FID5834939] Re: Ares(2019)6615775 - Ares(2019)5753635 - Use of the name 32. Ares(2021)3878353 Erasmus by AfD - your reference pvt#EC-IPR00014073 [FFW- DOCS.FID5834939] FW: Ares(2019)6615775 - Ares(2019)5753635 - Use of the name 33. Ares(2021)3872709 Erasmus by AfD - your reference pvt#EC-IPR00014073 [FFW- DOCS.FID5834939] RE: Ares(2019)6615775 - Ares(2019)5753635 - Use of the name 34. Ares(2021)3812311 Erasmus by AfD - your reference pvt#EC-IPR00014073 [FFW- DOCS.FID5834939] Ares(2019)6615775 - Ares(2019)5753635 - Use of the name Erasmus 35. Ares(2021)3908628 by AfD - your reference pvt#EC-IPR00014073 [FFW- DOCS.FID5834939] Ares(2019)6615775 - Ares(2019)5753635 - Use of the name Erasmus 36. Ares(2021)3812213 by AfD - your reference pvt#EC-IPR00014073 [FFW- DOCS.FID5834939] RE: European Union - ERASMUS - Revocation action - Ddl : 15/12 - 37. Ares(2019)7342159 TCA2500319EU00 RE: European Union - ERASMUS - Revocation action - Ddl : 38. Ares(2020)589210 15/02/2020 - TCA2500319EU00 Revocation action against the Erasmus trade mark registration - 39. Ares(2020)625777 collecting evidence of use Revocation action against the Erasmus trade mark registration - 40. Ares(2020)805559 declaration by the Director General of DG EAC 7

RE: Cancellation action against ERASMUS tm in the EU - 41. Ares(2020)963411 TCA2500319EU00 42. Ares(2020)967358                         Revocation action against the Erasmus trade mark registration Wortmarke "Desiderius Erasmus" - Registernummer DPMA: 43. Ares(2020)4241193 30201810350 RE: Ares(2019)5753635 - Use of the name Erasmus by Petra Kelly 44. Ares(2020)4499480                        Foundation - your reference pvt#EC-IPR00014073 [FFW- DOCS.FID5835009] [Re] Wortmarke "Desiderius Erasmus" - Registernummer DPMA: 45. Ares(2020)4529065 302018210350 RE: Cancellation action against ERASMUS tm in the EU - 46. Ares(2020)7506478 TCA2500319EU00 - Ddl : 24/12/2020 (extended until 04/01) 47. Ares(2021)1134195                        Revocation action against EU TM ERASMUS RE: Ares(2021)1134195 - Revocation action against EU TM 48. Ares(2021)3804005 ERASMUS EU trade mark registration under attack in revocation action before 49. Ares(2021)1986961 EUIPO Action for revocation of the ERASMUS trade mark – state of play for 50. Ares(2021)2794267 information 51. Ares(2019)7072490                        Erasmus trade mark - action for revocation – List and evidence 52. Ares(2021)4190335                        Anfrage WDR/NDR Investigativ - Desiderius-Erasmus-Foundation 53. Ares(2021)4190455                        Erasmus hijacking planned 54. Ares(2021)4190289                        Heads-up on using "ERASMUS" by the AfD 8 Electronically signed on 15/07/2021 10:48 (UTC+02) in accordance with article 11 of Commission Decision C(2020) 4482