FRONTSX

- any contracts/deals/agreements/statements signed between Luxembourg and Frontex in the
years 2019-2021.

Operations where officers from Luxembourg were involved and documents of how many
officers have been deployed, during which year and what the officers were used for, contracts
for deployment, information on which the competent authorities are and how operations have
been funded, any reviews or end of mission reports if available

- Details/Reports on missions and operations in collaboration with Luxembourg Air
Rescue/Luxembourg Air Ambulance SA funding, number of staff deployed and missions
thereof, nature of assistance, etc 2019-21

Documents and reports explaining the nature of operations, including information on how
operations have been funded, which the competent authorities were and, if subcontractors
were used, information on subcontractors.

- Details/reports of missions and activities in which the helicopter MD92 LX-HSR GWAS has
been used since its provision to Frontex in 2017

Documents and reports explaining the nature of operations, including information on how
operations have been funded, which the competent authorities were and, if subcontractors
were used, information on subcontractors.

- The following grants
e 2020/78 FDU
2020/ 126 FDU
2020/ 187 FDU
2020/256 FDU
2019/32 FDU
2019/84 FDU
2019/216 FDU
2019/302 FDU

’ In accordance with Article 7(3) of 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).

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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

FRONTSX

For the grants above: Explanations of the projects, who the beneficiaries were and how
much was awarded, end of contract report, documents on what equipment was involved
and for what purpose, during which missions and the staff involved, including end of
mission reports, human rights complaints of any mission where officers deployed from
Luxembourg have participated"

Concerning indent one of your application, please find the documents attached. Please note that some
limited parts of these documents have been redacted with detailed justifications next to them.
Furthermore, please note that redactions have been made to the European Centre for Returns (ECRet)
grant agreements and documents related to that agreement pursuant to Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No
1049/2001 as they 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; and

- detailed information regarding the modus operandi of law enforcement officials performing
return and return-related activities. Disclosing such information would expose the working
methods used in ongoing and future operations, putting at risk the efforts made by the
European Union and its Member States to return third-country nationals who are subject to
national return decisions. This would endanger the public order as well as Member States’
security and, concretely, jeopardise the orderly conduct of return flights as well pose a hazard
to the safety of aircraft, passengers and crew. In this light, the disclosure of such information
would undermine the protection of the public interest as regards public security as laid down
in Article 4(1)(a) first indent of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001. Access to the redacted parts
therefore must bedeclined .

Please also note that Frontex has identified six documents pertaining to one ECRet grant agreementthat
cannot be released as they contain detailed and sensitive operational information with regard to ongoing
return-related activities. Disclosing such information would expose the working methods used in ongoing
and future operations, putting at risk the efforts made by the European Union and its Member States to
return third-country nationals who are subject to national return decisions. This would jeopardise the
orderly conduct of Frontex and Member States’ return operations as well as pose a hazard to the safety
of passengers, including returnees, crew and aircraft. In this light, the disclosure of such information
would undermine the protection of the public interest as regards public security as laid down in Article
4(1)(a) first indent of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 and therefore must be refused in their entirety.

Furthermore, four documents have been identified regarding the deployment of human resources.
Access to these documents has to be declined in their entirety as they contain:

- personal data, as explained above;

- number and profiles of officers deployed in the operational area. Disclosing such information
would be tantamount to disclosing the weaknesses and strengths of Frontex operations and
pose a risk to their effectiveness. As a result, the course of ongoing and future similar
operations would be hampered, ultimately defeating their purpose to counter and prevent
cross-border crime and unauthorised border crossings. Consequently, the disclosure of such
information would undermine the protection of the public interest as regards public security
as laid down in Article 4(1)(a) first indent of Regulation (EC) 1049/2001;

- details of an operational area. As ongoing operations tend to cover similar operational areas
as the operations conducted in preceding years, disclosing details of previous operational areas
would be tantamount to disclosing the current state of play. This would provide smuggling and
other criminal networks with intelligence, enabling them to change their modus operandi,
which would ultimately put the lives of migrants in danger. Consequently, the course of ongoing
and future operations of similar nature would be hampered by depriving the operations of any
strategy and element of surprise, ultimately defeating their purpose to counter and prevent
cross-border crime and unauthorised border crossings. In this light, the disclosure of documents
containing such information would undermine the protection of the public interest as regards

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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

FRONTEX

public security within the meaning of Article 4(1)(a) first indent of Regulation (EC) No
1049/2001.

In addition to the above, please be informed that Frontex has identified nine further documents
pertaining to indent one of your request. These documents contain detailed and sensitive information
concerning ongoing operations. Releasing this information would benefit criminal networks, enabling
them to change their modus operandi and consequently result in hampering the course of ongoing and
future similar operations, which would put the lives of migrants in danger. This would ultimately
obstruct the purpose of such operations: to counter and prevent cross-border crime and unauthorised
border crossings. Consequently, the disclosure of the documents would undermine the protection of the
public interest as regards public security. Therefore, access to these documents must be refused in
their entirety pursuant to Article 4(1)(a) first indent of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001.

Frontex has also identified three operational plans including annexes, six documents in total. These
documents pertain to ongoing operations and for the same reasons as explained above, cannot be
released.

A partial release of the documents could not be undertaken, as the redacting 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 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 declined owing to the
particular circumstances of the present case.

In regard to indents two and three of your application, please note that Frontex has identified
approximately 820 technical mission reports. Please note the information in these documents pertains
to sensitive operational information that cannot be dislosed. In particular, these documents contain
information on technical equipment deployed in the operational area by Frontex and Member States.
Disclosing such information would be tantamount to disclosing the exact type and capabilities of the
equipment and would enable third parties, e.g. by combining this information with other sources, to
draw conclusions regarding usual positions and movement patterns. This would open way for abuse, as
numbers and types of equipment used in previous operations are indicative of similar numbers and types
for succeeding years. Releasing such information would thus benefit criminal networks, enabling them
to change their modus operandi and, consequently, result in hampering the course of ongoing and future
operations of a similar nature. This would ultimately obstruct the purpose of such operations: to counter
and prevent cross-border crime and unauthorised border crossings. In this light, the disclosure of
information regarding the technical equipment deployed would undermine the protection of the public
interest as regards public security within the meaning of Article 4(1)(a) first indent of Regulation (EC)
No 1049/2001. A partial release of the documents could not be undertaken, as the redacting 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 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
declined owing to the particular circumstances of the present case.

In regard to indent four of your application, please find the documents attached. Please note that some
limited parts of these documents have been redacted as they contain detailed information regarding:

- personal data, as explained above;

- technical equipment deployed in the operational area by Frontex and Member States, as
exaplained above;

- reporting tools and methods used by law enforcement officials to conduct border control tasks
and counter criminal activities. Its disclosure would jeopardise the implementation of ongoing
and future operations, and thus facilitate irregular migration and trafficking in human beings
as the effectiveness of law enforcement measures would be significantly reduced. As disclosing
this information would undermine the protection of the public interest as regards public

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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

FRONT=X

security, this part is not disclosed pursuant to Article 4(1)(a) first indent of Regulation (EC) No
1049/2001.

Please note that Frontex has identified seven further documents in relation to the grants referred to in
your indent four that cannot be released. These documents (final operational reports) contain sensitive
operational information obtained in cooperation with a Member State of the European Union regarding
the effectiveness of border security measures. The disclosure of such information would reveal existing
vulnerabilities which, once public, could be explored by criminal networks involved in migrant
smuggling, trafficking in human beings and thus undermine the protection of the public interest as
regards public security as laid down in Article 4(1)(a) first indent of Regulation.

Kindly be reminded that the copyright of the documents rests with Frontex and making these works
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 documents.

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