For the period between January 2017 and January 2021, documents i.e.any reports from monitoring bodies or human rights observers on board the flights.concerning Frontex's involvement with the coordination of flights from the EU to North African countries i.e. Egypt, Morocco, Libya, Algeria, Sudan and Tunisia. Please be informed that Frontex identified 38 documents, access to which has to be refused, as they contain: -    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, jeopardize 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 1049/20012 and therefore must be refused. -    personal data, such as names of individuals and/or characteristic features which could lead to the identification of individuals. The disclosure of these parts 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 it has to be precluded pursuant to Article 4(1)(b) of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001. 1 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). 2 Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2001 regarding public access to European Parliament, Council and Commission documents (OJ L 145, 31.5.2001, p. 43). 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

A partial release of these 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 elements would be disproportional 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. 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 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