Case T-158/19: Judgment of the General Court of 15 December 2021 — Breyer v REA (Access to documents — Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 — Horizon 2020 – the Framework Programme for Research and Innovation (2014-2020) — Regulation (EU) No 1290/2013 — Documents concerning the research project ‘iBorderCtrl: Intelligent Portable Border Control System’ — Exception relating to the protection of the commercial interests of a third party — Partial refusal to grant access — Overriding public interest)
Date: 2021-12-15
Institutions: General Court
Subjects: Framework Programme for Research and Development, access to EU information, border control, innovation, migration control, new technology, research and development, research project








C_2022095EN.01002402.xml










28.2.2022   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


C 95/24






Judgment of the General Court of 15 December 2021 — Breyer v REA
(Case T-158/19) (1)

(Access to documents - Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 - Horizon 2020 – the Framework Programme for Research and Innovation (2014-2020) - Regulation (EU) No 1290/2013 - Documents concerning the research project ‘iBorderCtrl: Intelligent Portable Border Control System’ - Exception relating to the protection of the commercial interests of a third party - Partial refusal to grant access - Overriding public interest)
(2022/C 95/32)
Language of the case: German

Parties


Applicant: Patrick Breyer (Kiel, Germany) (represented by: J. Breyer, lawyer)

Defendant: European Research Executive Agency (represented by: S. Payan-Lagrou and V. Canetti, acting as Agents, and by R. van der Hout and C. Wagner, lawyers)

Re:

Application under Article 263 TFEU seeking annulment of the decision of the REA of 17 January 2019 (ARES (2019) 266593) concerning partial access to documents.

Operative part of the judgment

The Court:






1.


Annuls the decision of the European Research Executive Agency (REA) of 17 January 2019 (ARES (2019) 266593), first, to the extent that the REA failed to give a decision in respect of Mr Patrick Breyer’s application for access to documents relating to the authorisation of the project iBorderCtrl and, second, to the extent that the REA refused full access to document D 1.3, partial access to documents D 1.1, D 1.2, D 2.1, D 2.2 and D 2.3 and more extensive access to documents D 3.1, D 7.3 and D 7.8, in so far as those documents contain information which is not covered by the exception referred to in Article 4(2), first indent, of 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;










2.


Dismisses the action as to the remainder;










3.


Orders Mr Breyer to bear his own costs relating to the lodging of his letter of 23 March 2021 and to pay the costs incurred by the REA relating to the lodging of its observations of 20 May 2021;










4.


Orders Mr Breyer to bear half of his own costs other than those relating to the lodging of his letter of 23 March 2021;










5.


Orders the REA to bear its own costs, with the exception of those relating to the lodging of its observations of 20 May 2021, and to pay half of the costs incurred by Mr Breyer other than those relating to the lodging of Mr Breyer’s letter of 23 March 2021.






(1)  OJ C 206, 17.6.2019.