all documents transmitted to the European Parliament, the European Commission and the Council of the EU pursuant to Art. 13 (9) Reg.2016/1624 and Art. 32 (11) Reg. 2019/1896. This request spefically includes, but is not limited to, the biannual reports released to the EP, the Commission and the Council. Please be informed that Frontex identified eight documents falling within the scope of your application. However, access to these documents must be refused pursuant to Article 4(1)(a) first indent of Regulation (EC) No 1049/20011 as their disclosure would undermine public security by revealing sensitive information on functioning of border management systems of Member States. Based on Article 3(1)(k) of the European Border and Coast Guard Regulation2. the vulnerability assessment, which forms part of a quality control mechanism to ensure the implementation of Union law in the area of border management, is one of the core elements of the European integrated border management and constitutes also one of the fundamental tasks within Frontex mandate.3 As such, the vulnerability assessment evaluates the capacity of the Member States to face upcoming challenges, including present and future threats and challenges at the external borders. Due to this holistic scope, disclosing “all documents transmitted to the European Parliament, the European Commission and the Council of the EU pursuant to Art. 13 (9) Reg. 2016/1624 and Art. 32 (11) Reg. 2019/1896" would reveal sensitive information on the capacities, including strengths and weaknesses of Member States in this regard. Through this information, criminal networks would be enabled to exploit vulnerabilities by adapting their methods accordingly. In consequence, the release of these documents containing information regarding the last four years, would undermine the protection of the public interest as regards public security. 1 Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 of 30 May 2001 regarding public access to European Parliament, Council and Commission documents (OJ L 145, 31.5.2001, p. 43). 2 Regulation (EU) 2019/1896 of 13 November 2019 on the European Border and Coast Guard (OJ L 295, 14.11.2019, p. 1). 3 Article 10(1)(c) of the Regulation on the European Border and Coast Guard. Frontex - European Border and Coast Guard Agency www.frontex.europa.eu | Pl. Europejski 6, 00-844 Warsaw, Poland | Tel. +48 22 205 95 00 | Fax +48 22 205 95 01

In addition, the information contained in these documents forms part of an ongoing decision-making process regarding current and future activities of Frontex and Member States and making these documents available outside forum of the stakeholders would undermine this process, which is conducted in a sphere of mutual trust of all participants. In addition, the information contained in the documents would also enable criminal networks to influence the outcome of the vulnerability assessment process. Also, these networks, together with other third parties would be put in a position to draw preliminary conclusions and thus to hamper ongoing and future decision-making processes in regard to the methodology and concrete conduct of vulnerability assessments. As no overriding public interest that is objective and general in nature and not indistinguishable from individual or private interests for the release of these documents is ascertainable in the present case, a release of the documents is thus further precluded based on Article 4(3) of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001. A partial release of the documents could not be undertaken, as their redaction would be disproportionate in relation to the parts that are eligible for disclosure, simultaneously undermining the principle of sound administration. More specifically, the administrative burden necessary to identify and redact the releasable elements would be disproportionate to the interest in the disclosure exercise itself, while the released documents would not convey any informative value due to their significantly reduced form. Consequently, a partial disclosure of the documents at issue must be refused owing to the particular circumstances of the present case. Pursuant to Article 7(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001, within 15 working days of the receipt of this letter, you may submit a confirmatory application to Frontex to reconsider its position. Based on Article 8 of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001, Frontex will reply to you within 15 working days from the registration of such application. You can submit your confirmatory application by post or electronically. Frontex - European Border and Coast Guard Agency www.frontex.europa.eu | Pl. Europejski 6, 00-844 Warsaw, Poland | Tel. +48 22 205 95 00 | Fax +48 22 205 95 01