Date: Monday, 19 January 2026

Physical location

Brussels, EC ROOM L107 019/A001

Present

European Commission:

• Secretariat-General: Commission staff (SG.E1; SG.A2 and SG.A3)
• DG Human Resources: Commission staff (PMO and HR.F5)

European Ombudsman:

• Tanja Ehnert Inquiries Coordinator
• Koen Roovers Inquiries Officer
• Michaela Gehring Inquiries Officer
• Tobias Fluck Inquiries Trainee

Purpose of the meeting

The purpose of the meeting was for the Ombudsman inquiry team to better understand how the Commission dealt with the complainant’s request for public access to documents relating to a mission of the Commission’s Coordinator on combatting antisemitism and fostering Jewish life (“the Coordinator”) to Israel.

Introduction and procedural information

The Ombudsman inquiry team introduced themselves, thanked the Commission representatives for meeting with them and set out the purpose of the meeting. They outlined the legal framework that applies to meetings held by the Ombudsman, in particular that the Ombudsman would not disclose any information identified by the Commission as confidential to third parties, without the Commission’s prior consent.^[1]

The inquiry team explained that they would draw up a draft report on the meeting to be sent to the Commission for an accuracy check. The meeting report would then be finalised and shared with the complainant for comments.

Information exchanged

The Commission representatives confirmed that the mission took place from 26 to 30 May 2025 and that all incurred costs were covered by the Commission, in line with the rules.

The Commission representatives highlighted that the mandate of the Coordinator also has an external policy component. In this context, the Commission representatives referred to the EU Strategy on Combating Antisemitism and Fostering Jewish Life[2], which “seeks to place the EU firmly in the lead of the global fight against antisemitism, complementing measures within the EU with international efforts along all the three pillars” and sees “Israel as a key partner for the European Union, including in the global fight against antisemitism.” The Coordinator therefore engages in the global fight against antisemitism in all its forms as defined by the definition of antisemitism by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance.

Upon the inquiry team’s request, the Commission representatives said that, in the confirmatory decision, the Commission had referred to articles about the Coordinator amounting to disinformation, written by the complainant. Following the meeting, they shared a sample of relevant articles with the inquiry team.

Concerning the handling of the public access to documents request, the Commission representatives reiterated that, in accordance with the current administrative practice, the Commission, in principle, processes requests related to an identified natural person, and individually identifies documents, if the natural persons concerned by the requests are Members of the Commission, Commission staff forming part of senior management or a public figure acting in a public capacity. The Commission’s Coordinator on combatting antisemitism and fostering Jewish life is not part of the staff forming part of senior management of the Commission.

The Commission representatives further reiterated that the Commission also processes requests related to an identified natural person and discloses personal data if the conditions for the transmission of the personal data according to Article 9(1)(b) of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 are fulfilled. The Commission representatives explained that, in the present case, the conditions of Article 9(1)(b) of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 were not fulfilled, as the Coordinator is not in a senior management function.

Conclusion

The inquiry team thanked the Commission representatives for their time and for the explanations provided.

 

Brussels, 20/01/2026

Koen Roovers                                                                                                                                    Tanja Ehnert   

Inquiries Officer                                                                                                                                  Inquiries Coordinator

 

 

 

[1] Article 4.8 of the European Ombudsman’s Implementing Provisions.

[2] See for more information: https://commission.europa.eu/strategy-and-policy/policies/justice-and-fundamental-rights/combatting-discrimination/racism-and-xenophobia/combating-antisemitism/eu-strategy-combating-antisemitism-and-fostering-jewish-life-2021-2030_en.