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all documents related to the Working Agreement (WA) which the Agency intends to conclude with
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Guineans Abroad of the Republic of Guinea.

This request entails:

1) minutes, agenda’s and related documents of any official meetings of the Management Board
and other meetings between Frontex and the Commission, EU Member States representatives or
representatives of the Republic of Guinea where the WA was a topic of discussion.

2) copy of any communication (emails or letters) between Frontex and the Commission, EU Member
States representatives or representatives of the Republic of Guinea where the WA is the main
topic

3) copy of the opinion of the Fundamental Rights Officer vis a vis the WA, and all other
communication between Frontex and the FRO (emails or letters) where the WA is mentioned.

4) Should the WA include actions conducted on the territory of Guinea or other third countries, a
copy of the model status agreement, as obliged by article 76 (1) of Regulation 1896/2019 (EU) is
hereby also requested.

With regard to your points 1 to 3, kindly be informed that 55 documents were identified, four of which
are herewith attached. The non-disclosed parts of two of the documents contain personal data, such as
names of individuals and/or characteristic features which could lead to the identification of individuals.
Their disclosure would undermine the protection of privacy and the integrity of the individual, in
particular in accordance with European Union legislation regarding the protection of personal data and
therefore have to be precluded pursuant to Article 4(1)(b) of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001.

' In accordance with Article 7(3) 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)

BE

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

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Access to parts of the other two documents as well to the entirety of the 51 remaining documents has
to be refused as their disclosure would undermine the protection of the public interest as regards
international relations as laid down in Article 4(1)(a) third indent of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001.
Effective cooperation with third countries is crucial for Frontex and therefore, the unilateral disclosure
of these documents must be refused as such would jeopardise the mutual trust of all parties, an essential
prerequisite for establishing international relations and ensuring the effectiveness of ongoing
negotiations in this regard. Moreover, the formulation of negotiating positions involves a number of
tactical considerations of all negotiators involved - including Frontex. Consequently, the disclosure of
the identified documents relating to the draft WA with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Guineans
Abroad of the Republic of Guinea would negatively effect the ability of Frontex and other parties to
establish a meaningful cooperation or engagement with this country and other partners with which
Frontex is currently or in the future negotiating cooperation agreements. In this regard, it is not possible
to provide further information as to further justifications impeding the disclosure of the documents

without revealing their contents and thereby depriving this exception of its very purpose.

In addition, disclosing other parts of the two documents and the entirety of the further 51 documents
would seriously undermine internal decision-making processes regarding current and future activities of
Frontex and Member States. The ongoing discussions taking place between Frontex and the Guinean
authorities under Frontex’s auspices, and including other stakeholders, require special protection.
Namely, disclosing the requested documents would reveal negotiation positions of the stakeholders,
which would erode the mutual trust among all participants. Such information would enable third parties
to draw preliminary conclusions and thus hamper ongoing and future negotiations with this and other
partners. 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, these documents cannot be released based also on Article 4(3) of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001.

A partial release of the 51 identified documents could not be undertaken, as their redaction would be
disproportional 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 materials would be disproportionate to the public interest in the disclosure
exercise itself, while the released documents would not convey any informative value due to their
significantly reduced form. Consequently, the partial disclosure of the documents at issue must be

refused owing to the particular circumstances of the present case.
Please not that Frontex does not hold any documents relating to point 4.

Kindly be reminded that the copyright of the document/s rests with Frontex and making this/these
work/s, available to third parties in this or another form without prior authorisation of Frontex is
prohibited. Please also note that Frontex does not assume liability stemming from the use of the

document/s.

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

ee se ee

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

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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.

EEE.

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

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