Data on migrant returns

The request was partially successful.

Dear European Border and Coast Guard Agency,

Under the right of access to documents in the EU treaties, as developed in Regulation 1049/2001, I am requesting documents which contain the following information:

-The total number of return operations conducted or supervised by Frontex in 2017 and 2018, per year and per month, and the total number of migrants returned in 2017 and 2018, per year and per month;

-For each return operation conducted or supervised by Frontex, data on:
-which countries participated in the operation
-whether it is a national or joint, assisted voluntary, or readmission operation
-date and destination
-total number of migrants returned and, if possible, information on their gender, age, and country of origin
-total costs and percentages covered by Member States and Frontex
-information on the flight (number of monitors, observers and staff on board)

-Any agreement (which kind, with which country, date) Frontex has to return migrants to third countries.

Please do not hesistate to contact me should you have any doubt or question related to my request.

Please also note that I have sent you a scan of my ID-card in a separate email.

Thank you in advance.

Yours faithfully,

Martina Tombini
Access Info Europe

PAD, European Border and Coast Guard Agency

Dear Ms Tombini,

We acknowledge receipt of your application for public access to Frontex documents. Before we are able to register your application, please provide further specifics regarding
"-For each return operation conducted or supervised by Frontex, data on:
-which countries participated in the operation -whether it is a national or joint, assisted voluntary, or readmission operation -date and destination -total number of migrants returned and, if possible, information on their gender, age, and country of origin -total costs and percentages covered by Member States and Frontex -information on the flight (number of monitors, observers and staff on board)"- the scope of this application is too vague and does not enable us to retrieve the documents. Please provide further specifics.
"Any agreement (which kind, with which country, date) Frontex has to return migrants to third countries." - i.e. which kind of agreements you refer to and to indicate the timeframe

Kindly clarify these points by 6 August 2019, 1700 WAW time to enable us to process your application.

Yours sincerely,

Transparency Office

Frontex - European Border and Coast Guard Agency

www.frontex.europa.eu
Plac Europejski 6, 00-844 Warsaw, Poland · Tel: +48 22 205 9500 · Fax: +48 22 205 9501
DISCLAIMER: This e-mail message, including any attachments, cannot be construed as automatically constituting any form of commitment by Frontex, unless its contents clearly indicate otherwise. It is intended solely for the use of the addressee(s). Any unauthorised disclosure, use or dissemination, either in whole or in part, is prohibited. If you have received this message in error, please notify the sender immediately via e-mail and delete the e-mail from your system.

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PAD, European Border and Coast Guard Agency

Dear Ms Tomibini,

As your application is not sufficiently precise to process it, please be informed that your application could not be registered and is thus closed.

Yours sincerely,

Transparency Office

Frontex - European Border and Coast Guard Agency

www.frontex.europa.eu
Plac Europejski 6, 00-844 Warsaw, Poland · Tel: +48 22 205 9500 · Fax: +48 22 205 9501
DISCLAIMER: This e-mail message, including any attachments, cannot be construed as automatically constituting any form of commitment by Frontex, unless its contents clearly indicate otherwise. It is intended solely for the use of the addressee(s). Any unauthorised disclosure, use or dissemination, either in whole or in part, is prohibited. If you have received this message in error, please notify the sender immediately via e-mail and delete the e-mail from your system.

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Dear European Border and Coast Guard Agency,

Thank you for your messages and my apologies for not having replied sooner.

I would appreciate if you could reopen my access to documents request, since I am still very much interested in getting the information I was looking for. You can obviously start recounting the 15 working days you have to reply from this day.

With regard to the clarifications I was asked for, please note that I am looking for documents (in each format, but most likely spreadsheets) in which the following information on each return operation conducted by Frontex in 2017 and 2018 is included:

-which countries participated in the operation (in case of joint operations);
-whether it is a national or joint, assisted voluntary, or readmission operation (if it is an operation organised by one Member State or more, and if the migrants either voluntarily decided to leave the country or were forced to leave);
-when each operation was conducted and where it was headed (date and destination);
-total number of migrants returned for each operation and, if possible, some statistics on their gender, age and country of origin;
-the cost of each return operation, and how much of this cost was paid for by Frontex and how much by Member States;
-if possible, information on the number of monitors, observers and staff on board of each return flight.

I do understand that my request might seem a bit extensive. If you do not hold some of this information, I would be most grateful if you could provide me with the information you do have.

Please note that similar requests have already been sent in the past, to which you replied by sending excel sheets and electronic files. You can find an example here: https://www.asktheeu.org/en/request/nro_....

Concerning my request on the agreements Frontex has with third countries, I would like to receive a list of ALL the agreements the agency has, no timeframe specified. Please note that I am not referring to any kind of agreement, only the ones that involve the return of migrants from Europe to third countries.

Hope my request is clearer now, but please do not hesitate to contact me again should you have further questions. I will try to get back to you as soon as possible.

Yours faithfully,

Martina Tombini
Access Info Europe

PAD, European Border and Coast Guard Agency

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Dear Ms Tombini,

 

Thank you for your interest in Frontex activities. We hereby acknowledge
the receipt thereof.

 

However, please be informed that your application is not sufficiently
precise to enable us to identify the documents you are applying for. In
this regard, please specify the precise meaning of the following terms in
your application:

 

‘’readmission operations’’ (extracted from: whether it is a national or
joint, assisted voluntary, or readmission operation) and ‘’staff’’
(extracted from: information on the number of monitors, observers and
staff on board of each return flight)

 

Furthermore, your request pertains to a considerable amount of documents
and we would suggest to consider your application as 2 individual
applications to be processed successively. The first application will
process your request related to return operations and the second your
request related to agreements between Frontex and third countries
involving return to migrants from Europe to third countries.

 

Please note that the applicable timelines will commence once your
application has been sufficiently clarified.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

Transparency Office

[1][email address

Frontex - European Border and Coast Guard Agency · Plac Europejski 6,
00-844 Warsaw, Poland · Tel: +48 22 205 9500 · Fax: +48 22 205 9501 ·
[2]www.frontex.europa.eu

DISCLAIMER: This e-mail message, including any attachments, cannot be
construed as automatically constituting any form of commitment by Frontex,
unless its contents clearly indicate otherwise. It is intended solely for
the use of the addressee(s). Any unauthorised disclosure, use or
dissemination, either in whole or in part, is prohibited. If you have
received this message in error, please notify the sender immediately via
e-mail and delete the e-mail from your system.

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. http://frontex.europa.eu/

Dear European Border and Coast Guard Agency,

Many thanks for your message. Please do proceed with considering my request as two individual applications.

As per the first request, just ignore the terms "readmission" and "staff". I am only interested to have a spreadsheet (if you have any) with the following elements included for each return operation operated in 2017 and 2018:
-Destination
-Date of departure
-Organising Member State
-Participating States
-Monitors/observers on board
-Total number of 3rd country nationals returned
-Type of operation
-Total paid
-Costs paid by each Member State and Frontex

You can find an example of a similar request here: https://www.asktheeu.org/en/request/retu....

Hope my request makes sense now but please do not hesitate to come back to me should you have other doubts.

Yours faithfully,

Martina Tombini
Access Info Europe

PAD, European Border and Coast Guard Agency

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Dear Ms. Tombini,

 

Thank you for your email. We confirm that your application is sufficiently
precise to be processed. We further confirm the consensus reached to
separate it into two individual applications to be considered back to back
under the framework of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 .  Kindly confirm that
you agree with the below approach to enable us to start processing:

 

1. Application 1

 

A spreadsheet with the chartered return operations (forced and voluntary)
coordinated by Frontex in 2017 and 2018 from EU countries to non-EU
countries, specifying:

 

-Destination

-Date of departure

-Organising Member State

-Participating States

-Monitors/observers on board

-Total number of 3rd country nationals returned -Type of operation -Total
paid -Costs paid by each Member State and Frontex

 

2. Application 2

 

A list of all the agreements the agency has, related to the return of
migrants from Europe to third countries (no timeframe specified).

 

We will inform you about the registration of the second application
accordingly.

 

Please be informed that until we are able to establish a commonly
acceptable fair solution, the applicable deadlines are suspended.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

Transparency Office

[1][email address]

Frontex - European Border and Coast Guard Agency · Plac Europejski 6,
00-844 Warsaw, Poland · Tel: +48 22 205 9500 · Fax: +48 22 205 9501 ·
[2]www.frontex.europa.eu

DISCLAIMER: This e-mail message, including any attachments, cannot be
construed as automatically constituting any form of commitment by Frontex,
unless its contents clearly indicate otherwise. It is intended solely for
the use of the addressee(s). Any unauthorised disclosure, use or
dissemination, either in whole or in part, is prohibited. If you have
received this message in error, please notify the sender immediately via
e-mail and delete the e-mail from your system.

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. http://frontex.europa.eu/

Dear European Border and Coast Guard Agency,

I agree with the approach you presented. Please proceed with processing my request at your earliest convenience.

Yours faithfully,

Martina Tombini
Access Info Europe

PAD, European Border and Coast Guard Agency

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Dear Ms Tombini,

 

We hereby register your application for public access to:

 

A spreadsheet with the chartered return operations (forced and voluntary)
coordinated by Frontex in 2017 and 2018 from EU countries to non-EU
countries, specifying:

 

-Destination

-Date of departure

-Organising Member State

-Participating States

-Monitors/observers on board

-Total number of 3rd country nationals returned -Type of operation -Total
paid -Costs paid by each Member State and Frontex

 

Your application for this document falls under the regime of 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. We will now forward your email to the responsible
Unit and get back to you with an answer within 15 working days.

 

In the meantime, should you have any questions regarding your request or
public access to documents process, do not hesitate to contact us.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

Transparency Office

[1][email address]

Frontex - European Border and Coast Guard Agency · Plac Europejski 6,
00-844 Warsaw, Poland · Tel: +48 22 205 9500 · Fax: +48 22 205 9501 ·
[2]www.frontex.europa.eu

DISCLAIMER: This e-mail message, including any attachments, cannot be
construed as automatically constituting any form of commitment by Frontex,
unless its contents clearly indicate otherwise. It is intended solely for
the use of the addressee(s). Any unauthorised disclosure, use or
dissemination, either in whole or in part, is prohibited. If you have
received this message in error, please notify the sender immediately via
e-mail and delete the e-mail from your system.

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. http://frontex.europa.eu/

PAD, European Border and Coast Guard Agency

4 Attachments

Dear Ms Tombini,

 

Please find enclosed our response to your application for access to
documents. Please note that due to the number and size of the files, the
documents will be sent in two consecutive batches. Please find batch
number 1 herewith attached.

 

Yours sincerely, 

 

Transparency Office

[1][email address]

 

 

Frontex - European Border and Coast Guard Agency · Plac Europejski 6,
00-844 Warsaw, Poland · Tel: +48 22 205 9500 · Fax: +48 22 205 9501 ·
[2]www.frontex.europa.eu

DISCLAIMER: This e-mail message, including any attachments, cannot be
construed as automatically constituting any form of commitment by Frontex,
unless its contents clearly indicate otherwise. It is intended solely for
the use of the addressee(s). Any unauthorised disclosure, use or
dissemination, either in whole or in part, is prohibited. If you have
received this message in error, please notify the sender immediately via
e-mail and delete the e-mail from your system.

From: PAD
Sent: 05 September 2019 15:57
To: '[FOI #7162 email]'
<[FOI #7162 email]>
Cc: PAD <[email address]>
Subject: PAD (CMS-2019-00008-0643): Data on migrant returns

 

Dear Ms Tombini,

 

We hereby register your application for public access to:

 

A spreadsheet with the chartered return operations (forced and voluntary)
coordinated by Frontex in 2017 and 2018 from EU countries to non-EU
countries, specifying:

 

-Destination

-Date of departure

-Organising Member State

-Participating States

-Monitors/observers on board

-Total number of 3rd country nationals returned -Type of operation -Total
paid -Costs paid by each Member State and Frontex

 

Your application for this document falls under the regime of 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. We will now forward your email to the responsible
Unit and get back to you with an answer within 15 working days.

 

In the meantime, should you have any questions regarding your request or
public access to documents process, do not hesitate to contact us.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

Transparency Office

[3][email address]

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. http://frontex.europa.eu/
3. mailto:[email address]

PAD, European Border and Coast Guard Agency

2 Attachments

Dear Ms Tombini,

 

As per our previous email, please find batch number 2 herewith attached.

 

Yours sincerely,  

 

Transparency Office

[1][email address]

 

Frontex - European Border and Coast Guard Agency · Plac Europejski 6,
00-844 Warsaw, Poland · Tel: +48 22 205 9500 · Fax: +48 22 205 9501 ·
[2]www.frontex.europa.eu

DISCLAIMER: This e-mail message, including any attachments, cannot be
construed as automatically constituting any form of commitment by Frontex,
unless its contents clearly indicate otherwise. It is intended solely for
the use of the addressee(s). Any unauthorised disclosure, use or
dissemination, either in whole or in part, is prohibited. If you have
received this message in error, please notify the sender immediately via
e-mail and delete the e-mail from your system.

From: PAD
Sent: 20 September 2019 16:24
To: '[FOI #7162 email]'
<[FOI #7162 email]>
Cc: PAD <[email address]>
Subject: RE: PAD (CMS-2019-00008-0643): Data on migrant returns

 

Dear Ms Tombini,

 

Please find enclosed our response to your application for access to
documents. Please note that due to the number and size of the files, the
documents will be sent in two consecutive batches. Please find batch
number 1 herewith attached.

 

Yours sincerely, 

 

Transparency Office

[3][email address]

 

 

From: PAD
Sent: 05 September 2019 15:57
To: '[FOI #7162 email]'
<[4][FOI #7162 email]>
Cc: PAD <[5][email address]>
Subject: PAD (CMS-2019-00008-0643): Data on migrant returns

 

Dear Ms Tombini,

 

We hereby register your application for public access to:

 

A spreadsheet with the chartered return operations (forced and voluntary)
coordinated by Frontex in 2017 and 2018 from EU countries to non-EU
countries, specifying:

 

-Destination

-Date of departure

-Organising Member State

-Participating States

-Monitors/observers on board

-Total number of 3rd country nationals returned -Type of operation -Total
paid -Costs paid by each Member State and Frontex

 

Your application for this document falls under the regime of 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. We will now forward your email to the responsible
Unit and get back to you with an answer within 15 working days.

 

In the meantime, should you have any questions regarding your request or
public access to documents process, do not hesitate to contact us.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

Transparency Office

[6][email address]

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. http://frontex.europa.eu/
3. mailto:[email address]
4. mailto:[FOI #7162 email]
5. mailto:[email address]
6. mailto:[email address]

Dear European Border and Coast Guard Agency,

Thank you very much for providing the information.

For ease of use, I would highly appreciate if you could send me the spreadsheets in a machine-readable format, as per article 10.3 of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 regarding public access to European Parliament, Council and Commission documents.

Many thanks in advance.

Yours faithfully,

Martina Tombini
Access Info Europe

PAD, European Border and Coast Guard Agency

Dear Ms Tombini,

As required by Article 10(3) of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001, we have made the documents available in an "existing version", i.e. the version resulting from the extraction and necessary redaction, which resulted in the form and format made available to you.

Yours sincerely,

Transparency Office

Frontex - European Border and Coast Guard Agency

www.frontex.europa.eu
Plac Europejski 6, 00-844 Warsaw, Poland · Tel: +48 22 205 9500 · Fax: +48 22 205 9501
DISCLAIMER: This e-mail message, including any attachments, cannot be construed as automatically constituting any form of commitment by Frontex, unless its contents clearly indicate otherwise. It is intended solely for the use of the addressee(s). Any unauthorised disclosure, use or dissemination, either in whole or in part, is prohibited. If you have received this message in error, please notify the sender immediately via e-mail and delete the e-mail from your system.

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Dear European Border and Coast Guard Agency,

Please pass this on to the person who reviews confirmatory applications.

I am filing the following confirmatory application with regards to my access to documents request 'Data on migrant returns' as you are refusing me the requested information in my preferred format.

The full reading of Article 10.3 indeed states:
3. Documents shall be supplied in an existing version and format (including electronically or in an alternative format such as Braille, large print or tape) with full regard to the applicant's preference.

In refusing to share the information I requested in a machine readable format, you are not taking into regard my preference as an applicant and you are therefore not complying fully with Article 10.3 of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 regarding public access to European Parliament, Council and Commission documents. This way, not only can I not process this information correctly, but you are clearly infringing my right of access to documents.

A full history of my request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.asktheeu.org/en/request/data....

I kindly ask you to reconsider your position and to provide me with a machine readable version of the document.

Yours faithfully,

Martina Tombini
Access Info Europe

PAD, European Border and Coast Guard Agency

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Dear Ms Tombini,

 

Thank you for your interest in Frontex activities.

 

As your confirmatory application (CMS-2019-00010-0252) falls under the
regime of 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, we will now commence the processing of
your application and will reply within 15 working days.

 

Please do not hesitate to contact us with any question you may have.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

Transparency Office

[1][email address]

Frontex - European Border and Coast Guard Agency · Plac Europejski 6,
00-844 Warsaw, Poland · Tel: +48 22 205 9500 · Fax: +48 22 205 9501 ·
[2]www.frontex.europa.eu

DISCLAIMER: This e-mail message, including any attachments, cannot be
construed as automatically constituting any form of commitment by Frontex,
unless its contents clearly indicate otherwise. It is intended solely for
the use of the addressee(s). Any unauthorised disclosure, use or
dissemination, either in whole or in part, is prohibited. If you have
received this message in error, please notify the sender immediately via
e-mail and delete the e-mail from your system.

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. http://frontex.europa.eu/

Dear European Border and Coast Guard Agency,

Please note that, according to Article 7 of Regulation 1049/2001: "An application for access to a document shall be handled promptly".

You took 12 working days just to acknowledge receipt of my application. Therefore I expect my confirmatory to be handled at your earliest convenience.

Yours faithfully,

Martina Tombini
Access Info Europe

PAD, European Border and Coast Guard Agency

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Dear Ms Tombini

 

Please find enclosed our response to your confirmatory application for
access to documents.

 

Yours sincerely, 

 

Transparency Office

[1][email address]

 

 

Frontex - European Border and Coast Guard Agency · Plac Europejski 6,
00-844 Warsaw, Poland · Tel: +48 22 205 9500 · Fax: +48 22 205 9501 ·
[2]www.frontex.europa.eu

DISCLAIMER: This e-mail message, including any attachments, cannot be
construed as automatically constituting any form of commitment by Frontex,
unless its contents clearly indicate otherwise. It is intended solely for
the use of the addressee(s). Any unauthorised disclosure, use or
dissemination, either in whole or in part, is prohibited. If you have
received this message in error, please notify the sender immediately via
e-mail and delete the e-mail from your system.

From: PAD
Sent: Wednesday 23 October 2019 13:48
To: [FOI #7162 email]
Cc: PAD <[email address]>
Subject: PAD (CMS-2019-00010-0252) Internal review of access to documents
request - Data on migrant returns

 

Dear Ms Tombini,

 

Thank you for your interest in Frontex activities.

 

As your confirmatory application (CMS-2019-00010-0252) falls under the
regime of 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, we will now commence the processing of
your application and will reply within 15 working days.

 

Please do not hesitate to contact us with any question you may have.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

Transparency Office

[3][email address]

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. http://frontex.europa.eu/
3. mailto:[email address]