THE EUROPEAN UNION / Brussels, 14 August 2012
GENERAL SECRETARIAT
Directorate-General F
Communication
Transparency
- Access to Documents/
Archives
RUE DE LA LOI, 175
B – 1048 BRUSSELS
Tel: (32 2) 281 67 10
Fax: (32 2) 281 63 61
E-MAIL:
/ Mr Andrew Rettman
e-mail:
ask+request-169-fe02370d
@asktheeu.org
Ref. 12/1173-ws/jj
Dear Mr Rettman,
Your request of 3 July 2012 for access to "any documents on the security situation in Georgia sent from member states to DG Relex and to the EU Council, or vice versa, in the one month in the run-up to the outbreak of the Georgia-Russia war in 2008 and to minutes of the Political and Security Committee meeting immediately after the outbreak of hostilities on 8 August 2008" has been registered by the "Access to Documents" unit. Thank you for your interest.
The General Secretariat of the Council has examined your request on the basis of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001[1] (hereafter the "Regulation") and the specific provisions concerning public access to Council documents set out in Annex II to the Council's Rules of Procedure[2] and has come to the following conclusion:
Preliminary note:
EU classified information is classified at one of the following levels, among others[3]:
"CONFIDENTIEL UE/EU CONFIDENTIAL": information and material the unauthorised disclosure of which could harm the essential interests of the European Union or of one or more of the Member States;
"RESTREINT UE/EU RESTRICTED": information and material the unauthorised disclosure of which could be disadvantageous to the interests of the European Union or of one or more of the Member States.
Concerning "any documents on the security situation in Georgia sent from member states to DG Relex and to the EU Council, or vice versa", the consultation of the relevant services of the General Secretariat of the Council has allowed to identify a number of documents:
The Eastern Europe and Central Asia Working Party (COEST) discussed the conflict resolution efforts in Georgia at its meeting on 24 July 2008. The discussion focussed on concrete proposals for an enhanced EU role in the conflict resolutions efforts in Georgia. An Outcome of Proceedings to the Political and Security Committee (PSC) was issued to the PSC on 25 July (document 12229/08) in view of its meeting on 29 July 2008.
Pursuant to Article 4(6) of the Regulation you may have partial access to document 12229/08. Access to the annex must be refused, as it contains detailed internal assessments and proposals, release of which would weaken the international position of the European Union and affect relations with third parties concerned, thereby jeopardising its efforts to assist in easing tensions that still exist in the area and in finding a solution to the underlying issue (Article 4(1)(a), third indent of the Regulation – protection of the public interest with regard to international relations).
Please note that this document has been issued in a single multilingual version, the released parts being in French only.
A joint EU Special Representative/Secretariat/Commission non-paper containing concrete proposals for an enhanced EU role in the conflict resolution efforts in Georgia (coreu message CFSP/SEC/1433/08 – EU RESTRICTED) was circulated on 16 July 2008 and presented to the PSC on 18 July 2008.
Access to this document must be refused for the same reasons as mentioned above concerning the annex to document 12229/08.
However, pursuant to Article 4(6) of the Regulation, you will find enclosed a partially accessible version of the document containing those parts which are not covered by this exception (CFSP/SEC/1433/08 COR 1). Please note that this document only exists in French.
Two reports on EU Troika demarches in July 2008 have also been identified as relevant:
- demarche by the local Presidency in Moscow on 15 July 2008 at the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (coreu message CFSP/PRES/PAR/0325/08 of 17 July 2008 – EU RESTRICTED)
- demarche by the local Presidency in Tbilissi on 17 July 2008 at the Georgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (coreu message CFSP/PRES/PAR/0329/08 of 17 July 2008 – EU RESTRICTED)
Furthermore, the EU Special Representative (EUSR) for the South Caucasus, Ambassador Peter Semneby, issued the following reports on Georgia in July 2008:
- visit by the EUSR for the South Caucasus Peter Semneby to Georgia on 8-10 July 2008 (coreu message CFSP/SEC/1434/08 of 17 July 2008 – EU RESTRICTED)
- visit by the EUSR for the South Caucasus Peter Semneby to Georgia on 14-18 July 2008 (coreu message CFSP/SEC/1460/08 of 22 July 2008 – EU RESTRICTED).
Again, release of the information and assessments contained in these four coreu messages would weaken the international position of the European Union and affect relations with third parties concerned, thereby jeopardising its efforts to assist in easing tensions that still exist in the area and in finding a solution to the underlying issue (Article 4(1)(a), third indent of the Regulation – protection of the public interest with regard to international relations).
As the exception to the principle of transparency applies to the content of the entire coreu messages CFSP/PRES/PAR/0325/08 and CFSP/PRES/PAR/0329/08, the General Secretariat is also unable to grant you partial access to them as provided for in Article 4(6) of the Regulation.
Concerning coreu messages CFSP/SEC/1434/08 and CFSP/SEC/1460/08 however, pursuant to Article 4(6) of the Regulation, you will find enclosed partially accessible versions of the documents containing those parts which are not covered by this exception.
Still concerning "any documents on the security situation in Georgia sent from member states to DG Relex and to the EU Council, or vice versa", the General Secretariat of the Council (GSC) has also consulted the European External Action Service (EEAS), as several relevant services which in 2008 were still part of the GSC, have now been transferred to the EEAS. The latter has identified the following:
- Georgia Monthly Bulletin of 7 July 2008 (EU CONFIDENTIAL), issued by the Situation Centre (SitCen),
- EU Watchlist of 16 July 2008 (EU CONFIDENTIAL), issued by the Intelligence Directorate (IntDir),
- Georgia Monthly Bulletin of 4 August 2008 (EU CONFIDENTIAL), issued by SitCen.
As for the documents identified by GSC services, release of the information and assessments contained in these three documents, which are based on informal cooperation with Member States, would weaken the international position of the European Union and affect relations with third parties concerned, thereby jeopardising its efforts to assist in easing tensions that still exist in the area and in finding a solution to the underlying issue (Article 4(1)(a), third indent of the Regulation – protection of the public interest with regard to international relations).
Concerning the "minutes of the Political and Security Committee meeting immediately after the outbreak of hostilities on 8 August 2008", please note that the PSC does not establish minutes of its proceedings. However, a short note, known as "relevé des conclusions" is drafted by the General Secretariat of the Council and sent to delegations after the meeting. The first meeting of the PSC after the outbreak of hostilities was on 12 August 2008. The "relevé des conclusions" for that meeting is contained in coreu message CFSP/SEC/1539/08 (EU RESTRICTED).
It has been declassified as CFSP/SEC/1539/08 COR1 and you may have access to it. This document only exists in French.
Statutory remedy notice
Pursuant to Article 7(2) of the Regulation, you may submit a confirmatory application requesting the Council to reconsider this position, within 15 working days of receiving this reply[4].
Yours sincerely,
For the General Secretariat
Jakob Thomsen
Enclosures
12/1173-ws/jj 1
[1] Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council regarding public access to European Parliament, Council and Commission documents – Official Journal L 145, 31.5.2001, p. 43.
[2] Council Decision No 2009/937/EU – Official Journal L 325, 11.12.2009, p. 35.
[3] Council Decision of 31 March 2011 on the security rules for protecting EU classified information (2011/292/EU) – Official Journal L 141, 27.5.2011, p.17.
[4] Should you decide to do so, then please indicate whether you permit the Council to make your confirmatory application fully public in the Council's Register of documents. If you do not reply or reply in the negative, then your application will be dealt with confidentially. Your reply will in no way prejudice your rights under Regulation (EC) No1049/2001.