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In the present case, the Commission stated the following in the contested decision: ‘3. Protection of the purpose of investigations Article 4(2)(a), third indent, of Regulation No 1049/2001 provides that “[t]he institutions shall refuse access to a document where disclosure would undermine the protection of: … the purpose of inspections, investigations and audits”. The documents concerned by your requests are two letters which the Commission addressed to the German authorities in order to request their opinion in the context of EU Pilot case 2070/11/SNCO and the German reply to the request. This EU Pilot case is preliminary to the possible opening of the formal phase of an infringement procedure under Article 258 TFEU. … In the documents concerned by your requests, the explanations given by the Commission and the questions asked as well as the reply provided by the German Government reveal the main issues at stake in ... EU Pilot case 2070/11/SNCO. In these circumstances, early disclosure of the documents you request will certainly adversely affect the dialogue between the German authorities and the Commission which is still ongoing. In order for the Commission to be able to carry out its tasks and to settle this dispute, preferably without having to refer it to the Court of Justice, there has to be a climate of mutual trust between the Commission and the Member State concerned, throughout the different stages of the procedure until the case has been definitively closed. … 4. Partial access [The Commission has] also examined the possibility of granting partial access to the requested documents, in accordance with Article 4(6) of Regulation No 1049/2001. However, partial access is not possible given the fact that the documents concerned are, at this stage of the EU Pilot proceedings, entirely covered by the exception under Article 4(2), third indent, of Regulation No 1049/2001. In particular, no element of the three documents concerned by your requests can be disclosed without revealing at least part of the issues at stake in the aforementioned EU Pilot procedure and, therefore, undermining the climate of mutual trust with the German authorities. 5. Overriding public interest in disclosure ... putting an end to a possible infringement of EU law, such as the one dealt with in the EU Pilot case concerned, is a matter of public interest, in particular if the facts at stake are particularly serious, as you assert. It is precisely for that reason that the Commission is conducting this investigation. However it is the Commission’s experience, as confirmed by the Courts, that the public interest in clarifying the issues at stake and, if applicable, in reaching conformity of that Member State is better served by maintaining the atmosphere of mutual trust between the Commission and the Member State concerned. This is also true in cases where alleged infringements may have very serious effects, including on the health of citizens. Particularly in such serious cases, it is vital to find a rapid, effective solution to the problem, if the Commission assessment concludes to the existence of an infringement. It is [the Commission’s] view that this rapid solution can best be found by maintaining the atmosphere of mutual trust between the Commission and the Member State concerned ...’