Bonum Certa Men Certa

The Illusion of Transparency at the European Parliament/Commission (on Microsoft)

Money for mortgage



Summary: How does it feel to be left out of the public arena while Microsoft perverts it?

ACCORDING to The Register, after long and repeated procrastination Microsoft has finally responded to antitrust charges. For background:

The original complaint was made by Norwegian browser maker Opera. It accused Microsoft of leveraging its desktop monopoly to distribute the browser and of ignoring web standards. Because of its large market share web developers were encouraged to optimise their sites for IE - to the disadvantage of other browser makers which did follow web standards.


In another news report, it is made publicly known right now that transparency in the EU is seriously deficient. It's specifically about access to documents.

Being refused access to documents was "by far" the most common allegation made by citizens to the EU Ombudsman last year, revealed a report presented yesterday (27 April).


We have personal and very bitter experience with that, so we'll present the latest from last week. For the first part of the story, see this long post. It's about Microsoft attacking Free open source software through European panels. We are still waiting for the Commission to mail us the documents we asked for. It's taking weeks if not months already and it's a violation of the regulations.



OpenPGP: *Parts of the message have NOT been signed or encrypted*

Dear Mr Schestowitz,

We acknowledge receipt of your message.

Yours sincerely,

[anon]

-----Original Message----- From: Roy Schestowitz Sent: Wednesday, April 15, 2009 5:47 PM To [anon] Cc: s at schestowitz.com; [anon] (INFSO); [anon] (INFSO) Subject: Re: Gestdem 2009/1562 FW: Document access application purpusant to Article 6 EC/1049/2001 (A/617056)

********* *BEGIN ENCRYPTED or SIGNED PART* *********

"Draft input to all WG prepared by the Commission" means the documents the chairs of the working groups or participants received from the Commission to guide the work in a particular group.

-- Roy S. Schestowitz http://Schestowitz.com | GNU/Linux | PGP-Key: 0x74572E8E Freelance journalist at http://itmanagement.earthweb.com/

Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1

OpenPGP: *Parts of the message have NOT been signed or encrypted*

Dear Mr. Schestowitz,

Thank you for your e-mail of the 20th of March registered on 23rd of March applying for a copy of documents in accordance with Regulation (EC) N€° 1049/2001 regarding public access to European Parliament, Council and Commission documents.

Your application will be dealt with within the prescribed delays. You have requested access to the documents as follows:

"I hereby request electronic access to all documents related to the Towards the European Software Strategy process in the posession of the EU-Commission, in particular access to the following documents: * the list of participants in the industry expert group * the list of WGs, WGs sleaders and observing Commission officials * draft contributions of all industry Working groups on a the European Software Strategy * draft input to all WG prepared by the Commission * the participant list of the related meeting on January 20th in Brussels * all submissions from industry to the ESS consultation under the applicable provisions of regulation 1049/2001 which grant me a right of access to all documents mentioned above."

However, we are unable to identify the documents refereed to in the fourth item "draft input to all WG prepared by the Commission" and the sixth item "all submissions from industry to the ESS consultation". Please could you clarify your request so that we may continue to process it.

Yours sincerely,

[anon]

-----Original Message----- From: [anon] Sent: Tuesday, March 24, 2009 9:27 AM To INFSO /D Subject: Gestdem 2009/1562 FW: Document access application purpusant to Article 6 EC/1049/2001

Bonjour,

En tant que correspondant du réseau accès aux documents, je me permets de vous adresser la demande ci-dessous relative à l'accès au document suivant: "GESTDEM 2009/1562" all documents related to the Towards the European Software Strategy

Cette demande est introduite dans le cadre du règlement 1049/2001 qui impose un délai impératif de réponse endéans les 15 jours ouvrables soit le 20/04/2009.

Elle a été enregistrée dans ADONIS sous le N€° A/09/612974. Je vous saurais gré, par conséquent, de bien vouloir préparer un projet de réponse conformément aux procédures décrites dans le guide ci-dessous, et de l'enregistrer dans ADONIS en lien avec la fiche arrivée ainsi que de faire parvenir une copie du projet de réponse signé à la boîte fonctionnelle INFSO ADONIS

Pour de plus amples détails, vous pouvez consulter notre site reprenant le guide pour le personnel, à l'adresse: http://intra.infso.cec.eu.int/S1/dm_new/docs/special_issues/accesdoc/house_rules_dginfso_04_08.pdf

Je reste à votre entière disposition pour toute information complémentaire.

Bien à vous.

[anon]

-----Original Message----- From: [anon] (INFSO) Sent: Monday, March 23, 2009 5:19 PM To: INFSO ADONIS Subject: FW: Document access application purpusant to Article 6 EC/1049/2001

Please registrer in GESTDEM.

[anon]

-----Original Message----- From: Roy Schestowitz Sent: Friday, March 20, 2009 5:15 PM To [anon] (INFSO) Subject: Document access application purpusant to Article 6 EC/1049/2001

********* *BEGIN ENCRYPTED or SIGNED PART* *********

As a reply, please answer the following

1. If you intent that

> > The document you are referring to is not a European Commission document, but a document that are made by Zuck and many others from industry.

is a negative reply upon my 1049/2001 request of access to the document please consider the specific provisions of the regulation that guide your obligation in the formal processing of an application under 1049/2001. For instance you have the formal obligation to "inform the applicant of his or her right to make a confirmatory application in accordance with paragraph 2 of this Article." and the statement above is not in line with the formalities under 1049/2001.

If your statement was such a negative official reply, please regard this mail as a request for a confirmatory application under 1049/2001 for access to European Software Strategy documents. The origination of the document is irrelevant. You have to state reasons for access refusal. I inform you about the substance of Art 4.4 "As regards third-party documents, the institution shall consult the third party with a view to assessing whether an exception in paragraph 1 or 2 is applicable, unless it is clear that the document shall or shall not be disclosed."

If you regard it as just an informal preliminary communication please just process the following clarified primary application.

2. I hereby request electronic access to all documents related to the Towards the European Software Strategy process in the possession of the EU-Commission, in particular access to the following documents: * the list of participants in the industry expert group * the list of WGs, WGs leaders and observing Commission officials * draft contributions of all industry Working groups on a the European Software Strategy * draft input to all WG prepared by the Commission * the participant list of the related meeting on January 20^th in Brussels * all submissions from industry to the ESS consultation under the applicable provisions of regulation 1049/2001 which grant me a right of access to all documents mentioned above."

I appreciate your kind assistance. If you feel that you are unable to process my request yourself it is your obligation to forward it to the competent person in the Commission.

********** *END ENCRYPTED or SIGNED PART* **********



Still waiting. It has been over a month and it has been very time consuming. Why can't the document just be handed over immediately?

Comments

Recent Techrights' Posts

10 Days Ago Richard Stallman Gave a Long Interview in French (linuxfr.org)
English translation
Science, Not Fast Food/Junk Food
The commercial exploitation of users won't stop until users exercise full control over their software or - more broadly - their computing (including data)
[Video] Dr. Richard Stallman at Technické Univerzitě v Liberci
New/via libre-liberec.cz
Security is Desirable, But Not When the Term Security is Misused to Imply Centralisation of "Trust" (Whose?)
'Security' is not an excuse for vendor lock-in
 
Digital Sanitation Good Practices
leave behind Microsoftism
The Free Software Foundation, Which Has Appointed a 43-Year-Old President, is Looking to Add Another Board Member (or Treasurer)
expect the FSF to add more people
Richard Stallman Confirms Next Week's Talk at Technical University of Munich, We Urge EPO Staff to Attend
That's probably late enough for EPO staff to attend after work
Gemini Links 18/10/2025: Notifications and Geminaut
Links for the day
Many Red Hat People Are Leaving, But It'll Be Framed Publicly as Leaving IBM
Similarly, IBM layoffs (or "RAs" as they're called) include Red Hat layoffs
Expect More Waves of Microsoft Layoffs This Month (at Least Two Rounds Confirmed Already)
From what we can gather, assuming the recent rumours about XBox are true, there will be at least 3 waves of Microsoft layoffs this month alone
Security Issues in Cisco and Jenkins Passed Off as "Linux" Problems
Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt (FUD) tactics
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, October 17, 2025
IRC logs for Friday, October 17, 2025
Slopwatch: LinuxSecurity, Linux Journal (Slashdot Media), UbuntuPIT, and Google News (Noise)
egregious plagiarism
Links 17/10/2025: Better Answers Sought After Air Crashes, "China Fans Patriotic Sentiment as Trade War With U.S. Heats Up"
Links for the day
Links 17/10/2025: Fentanylware (CheeTok) Causing Problems, Japanese Government Blasts Slop
Links for the day
The Linux Foundation Seems to Have Turned Linux.com Not Only Into a Spamfarm But Also LLM Slopfarm
it's polluting the Web, even important domains like Linux.com, with spam and LLM slop
Links 17/10/2025: UK’s Largest Breach Penalty and Windows TCO Examples
Links for the day
Go Watch Video About Librephone, Get Microsoft Ads
Very ethical company...
Campaign of Defamation Against the People Who Built NixOS (and Are Now Pushed Out From Their Own Project)
We've already grown familiar with - and resistant to - such tactics
Links 17/10/2025: Nestlé Crisis, Canada Post Versus 'Gig Economy' [sic] and Vista 11 Breaks Itself
Links for the day
Tux Machines Has Helped Separate Opinions/Analysis From News
In September 2023 we decided to split things apart and not repeat links in both sites
Tux Machines Has Improved Navigation of GNU/Linux and BSD News
Some more 'wiring' work
What a World Would Look Like If Everyone Used Free Software Only
Freedom is what matters, not "Open".
The Media Helps Microsoft, Amazon and Others (GAFAM and Beyond) Lie About Mass Layoffs Amid Valuation Bubble
The media, instead of saying that there's an "AI bubble" crashing the economy might instead choose the narrative of "jobs replaced by AI"
Bad Tempered? You Might Have Just Given Away That You're Losing the Argument
Brett Wilson LLP is fully aware that it is being investigated
Richard Stallman (RMS) is a Target of Defamation Campaigns Because of His Views on Software (But Politics Are the Excuse for Defaming Him)
Here in this site we try to refrain from politics, except in Daily Links
End of Vista 10 and Rise of GNU/Linux as Client Side Operating System
It seems certain GNU/Linux will grow in popularity over time
Taking Stock of a Week's Worth of EPO Leaks
We remain committed to exposing EPO corruption as long as it keeps happening
Mathieu Parreaux claims FINMA knew since day one
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Calumny, Libel, Joerg Jaspert & debian-private untouchable cyberbullies
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, October 16, 2025
IRC logs for Thursday, October 16, 2025
Techrights Turns 19 in 3 Weeks
coverage of suppressed topics and protecting all sources/whistleblowers
International E-Waste Day Same Day as End of Vista 10
message from Akira Urushibata
The EPO's Central Staff Committee Presents Evidence That Staff Compensation Lowered While the Office Increases Income by Illegally Granting Invalid Patents
These people become millionaires by doing illegal things
Second or Third Wave of Microsoft Mass Layoffs in October 2025, This Time Portugal
Those are just the ones we know about, there may be several more
'Help Net Security' (helpnetsecurity.com) May Have Become a Slopfarm as Well
Zeljka Zorz, Editor-in-Chief at Help Net Security, was reported to us
Gemini Links 17/10/2025: Rant About Network Solutions, Strange Anomaly on Lagrange
Links for the day
EPO Staff Representation Lacks Social Dialogue With Relevant Management, Controversial and Sometimes Illegal Policies Implemented Without Necessary Input
"In this open letter, the CSC requests that the President submits an agenda item in the next available General Consultative Committee (GCC) meeting on setting up regular meetings between the CSC and the higher management of DG1."
Links 16/10/2025: Political Leftovers and Gemini Protocol Links
Links for the day
Lies Need to be Corrected
the Court never invited us
Slopwatch: Guardian Digital (linuxsecurity.com), Slashdot, Google News, and More
Maybe one day, once the bubble pops completely, Google News will just outright delist all slopfarms
Lufthansa Modern Slavery, Joerg Jaspert (ganneff) & Debian NSB Softwareentwicklung charade
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Links 16/10/2025: US Starting More Trade Wars With China, CIA War on Venezuela
Links for the day
SUSE Blog is Still LLM Slop, Marketing Manager at SUSE Cannot Write
Would you buy from a company or seek support from a company that cannot even write (or fakes writing)?
Pretend You're Not Dead: Microsoft Spent Almost Two Decades Rebranding Things as "Cloud, Then "AI", Now "XBox" and "Quantum"
"AI" bubble pops, Microsoft harping about "quantum" already
IBM Allegedly Found New Tricks for Silent Layoffs: LPI, Then MIS (Not PIP)
Remember that "Red Hat layoffs" won't be reported after the bluewashing
Links 16/10/2025: Red Lines and Feeding of Microsoft Trolls
Links for the day
MIT as a Propaganda Mill of GAFAM, Paid by GAFAM
"the news" today
Links 16/10/2025: Lies Euphemised as ‘Dueling Versions of Reality’ and Microsoft "Open" "Hey Hi" Resorts to Porn as No Business Model Was Found
Links for the day
The Local Staff Committee Munich (Representation of the EPO's Staff) Explains When Cluster of Pregnancies May Result in Reduced Pay
"...even one week of part-time working is sufficient to reduce the salary you perceive during the entirety of your maternity leave."
Another Black Eye for 'Secure Boot', Microsoft Media Tries to Blame "Linux"
It enables Microsoft to remotely control computers, even computers that don't run Windows and never had any Microsoft software installed
Slopwatch: UbuntuPIT, linuxsecurity.com, and Various Slopfarms in Google News Attacking "Linux"
A new survey of the Web said that the majority of the Web is now slop (that's being said in the news this week)
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, October 15, 2025
IRC logs for Wednesday, October 15, 2025
Links 16/10/2025: Increased Use of Social Control Media Surveillance in US, French Rage Over Pensions
Links for the day