Policy documents on the right to documents

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 a copy of all documents related to your policies and practices on the processing of exercising their right of access to EU documents (as set out in the treaties, TFEU Article 15, and elaborated in Regulation 1049/2001).

I am in particular interested in documents that:
- give guidance to Frontex officials on the processing of requests
- relate to the procedure for requesting IDs
- consider questions of data processing related to requests and requesters IDs
- guide Frontex officials on your copyright policy and how to explain it to requesters

I would prefer to receive these documents in a digital, machine-readable, format.

I am sending my ID now with the relevant reference to this request.

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you require any clarification on this request.

Yours sincerely,

Helen

HELEN DARBISHIRE
Access Info Europe

PAD, European Border and Coast Guard Agency

1 Attachment

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Dear Ms Darbishire,

 

We have received your application and ID and your application Is hereby
registered

 

As your application falls under the regime of Regulation (EC) No
1049/2001, we will now forward your email to the responsible units and
will reply to you within 15 working days.

 

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.

-----Original Message-----
From: Helen Darbishire [[3]mailto:[FOI #7392 email]]
Sent: Friday 18 October 2019 18:27
To: Frontex <[4][FRONTEX request email]>
Subject: access to documents request - Policy documents on the right to
documents

 

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 a copy of all documents related to
your policies and practices on the processing of exercising their right of
access to EU documents (as set out in the treaties, TFEU Article 15, and
elaborated in Regulation 1049/2001).

 

I am in particular interested in documents that:

- give guidance to Frontex officials on the processing of requests

- relate to the procedure for requesting IDs

- consider questions of data processing related to requests and requesters
IDs

- guide Frontex officials on your copyright policy and how to explain it
to requesters

 

I would prefer to receive these documents in a digital, machine-readable,
format.

 

I am sending my ID now with the relevant reference to this request.

 

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you require any clarification on
this request.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

Helen

 

HELEN DARBISHIRE

Access Info Europe

 

-------------------------------------------------------------------

 

This is a request for access to information under Article 15 of the TFEU
and, where applicable, Regulation 1049/2001 which has been sent via the
AsktheEU.org website.

 

Please kindly use this email address for all replies to this request:
[5][FOI #7392 email]

 

If [6][FRONTEX request email] is the wrong address for information
requests to European Border and Coast Guard Agency, please tell the
AsktheEU.org team on email [7][email address]

 

This message and all replies from European Border and Coast Guard Agency
will be published on the AsktheEU.org website. For more information see
our dedicated page for EU public officials at
[8]https://www.asktheeu.org/en/help/officers

 

 

 

-------------------------------------------------------------------

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. http://frontex.europa.eu/
3. mailto:[FOI #7392 email]
4. mailto:[FRONTEX request email]
5. mailto:[FOI #7392 email]
6. mailto:[FRONTEX request email]
7. mailto:[AsktheEU.org contact email]
8. https://www.asktheeu.org/en/help/officers

hide quoted sections

Dear Frontex Transparency Unit,

Thank you. I look forward to the reply.

Yours sincerely,

Helen Darbishire
Access Info Europe

PAD, European Border and Coast Guard Agency

5 Attachments

Dear Ms Darbishire

Please find enclosed our response to your application for access to Frontex documents. Batch 1/2

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.
-----Original Message-----
From: Helen Darbishire [mailto:[FOI #7392 email]]
Sent: Wednesday 23 October 2019 09:56
To: PAD <[email address]>
Subject: Re: PAD (CMS-2019-00010-0887): PAD Policy documents

Dear Frontex Transparency Unit,

Thank you. I look forward to the reply.

Yours sincerely,

Helen Darbishire
Access Info Europe

-----Original Message-----

Dear Ms Darbishire,

We have received your application and ID and your application Is hereby registered

As your application falls under the regime of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001, we will now forward your email to the responsible units and will reply to you within 15 working days.

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.

-------------------------------------------------------------------
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FOI #7392 email]

This message and all replies from European Border and Coast Guard Agency will be published on the AsktheEU.org website. For more information see our dedicated page for EU public officials at https://www.asktheeu.org/en/help/officers

-------------------------------------------------------------------

hide quoted sections

PAD, European Border and Coast Guard Agency

1 Attachment

Dear Ms Darbishire

Please find enclosed our response to your application for access to Frontex documents. Batch 2/2

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.
-----Original Message-----
From: Helen Darbishire [mailto:[FOI #7392 email]]
Sent: Wednesday 23 October 2019 09:56
To: PAD <[email address]>
Subject: Re: PAD (CMS-2019-00010-0887): PAD Policy documents

Dear Frontex Transparency Unit,

Thank you. I look forward to the reply.

Yours sincerely,

Helen Darbishire
Access Info Europe

-----Original Message-----

Dear Ms Darbishire,

We have received your application and ID and your application Is hereby registered

As your application falls under the regime of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001, we will now forward your email to the responsible units and will reply to you within 15 working days.

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.

-------------------------------------------------------------------
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FOI #7392 email]

This message and all replies from European Border and Coast Guard Agency will be published on the AsktheEU.org website. For more information see our dedicated page for EU public officials at https://www.asktheeu.org/en/help/officers

-------------------------------------------------------------------

hide quoted sections

Dear Frontex,

Thank you for your response of 15 November 2019 to my request of 18 October 2019, submitted via AsktheEU.org.
The exchange is available here: https://www.asktheeu.org/en/request/poli...

This is a confirmatory application based on two aspects of your response to that request:
1. The fact that information was not provided to me in the format that I requested.
2. To verify whether you have indeed provided me with all the relevant documents.
Please kindly pass this on to the person who reviews confirmatory applications.

To recall, my request sought the following:
[A]ll documents related to your policies and practices on the processing of exercising their right of access to EU documents (as set out in the treaties, TFEU Article 15, and elaborated in Regulation 1049/2001).
I am in particular interested in documents that:
- give guidance to Frontex officials on the processing of requests
- relate to the procedure for requesting IDs
- consider questions of data processing related to requests and requesters IDs
- guide Frontex officials on your copyright policy and how to explain it to requesters
I stated clearly that I would prefer to receive these documents in a digital, machine-readable, format.

In your responses (two messages sent to AsktheEU.org) you provided me with:

Document #1 - A copy of the Frontex Management Board Decision No 25/2016 of 21 September 2016 adopting practical arrangements regarding public access to the documents held by the European Agency for the Management of Operational Cooperation at the External Borders of the Member States of the European Union (the “Agency”). This was provided in a scanned, non-machine-readable format.

Document #2 - In two PDFs the training materials provided at the ERA Seminar on Access to Documents in the EU and beyond, held in Brussels on 20-21 November 2019. These are in a scanned, non-machine-readable format.

Document #3 - A copy of the Decision of the Executive Director no R-ED-2017-62 on the Frontex Copyright Policy of 17/08/2017. This was provided in a scanned, non-machine-readable format.

I thank you for these documents. I ask that you consider this confirmatory on the following grounds:

1. Frontex should have provided me with the documents in a machine-readable format.

In my request, I specifically asked for the documents in a “digital, machine-readable, format” and yet you have not complied with this request, nor provided a justification as to why you have not done so.
The Regulation that establishes Frontex requires that “Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council should apply to the Agency. The Agency should be as transparent as possible …”

Regulation 1049/2001 specifically states, at Article 10(3) that “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.

The Frontex Management Board Decision, in Article 9 on Forms of Access, requires, at Article 9(5) that “Documents are supplied in an existing version or format.”

The European Treaties establish that “[g]eneral principles and limits on grounds of public or private interest governing this right of access to documents shall be determined by the European Parliament and the Council, by means of regulations, acting in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure” and that the legal provision in which this has been done is Regulation 1049/2001.

Frontex may not, therefore, impose any limitation on the right of access beyond those permitted by Regulation 1049/2001. Hence Article 9(3) of the Frontex Management Board Decision has to be read in the light of Regulation 1049/2001 and requires that the applicant’s preferences be taken into account.

Hence, you could and should have provided me with access to these documents in a machine readable version. This is particularly the case for Document #1, the Management Board Decision itself, which is in fact available in a machine-readable format on the Frontex website: https://frontex.europa.eu/about-frontex/....

I believe that the ERA training documents are also available in a machine-readable format, and I would imagine that document #3, the Frontex Copyright Policy is also available in that format.

I therefore ask that you review your response to my request and that you provide me with these document in a machine-readable version.

2. Other relevant documents have not been provided

By this confirmatory, I ask that you review whether all documents that fall under the scope of the request have been provided.

It is somewhat surprising to me that there are no other documents whatsoever relating to your access to documents policy, nor any internal guidance on how to process requests. I was looking for any documents relating to, for example, the formats in which you provide information, or how you deal with the policy of applying copyright. This could include documents such as, for example, emails clarifying the policy, or notes of meetings. I therefore would kindly ask that you double-check for the existience of other relevant documents.

With respect to my request for documents that consider questions of data processing related to requests and requesters IDs, it seems that there exists a document entitled Frontex interpretation of Article 5(3) of the Management Board Decision in light of Article 4(1)(c) of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 on the processing of personal data and the ‘data minimisation’ principle. I would be grateful to receive this document – in machine-readable format – and any other relevant documents relating to your internal discussions on the question of requesting IDs from requesters.

Overall, I kindly request that you carry out a full check of all the relevant documents that might fall under the scope of my request.

Should you have any questions or clarifications about this confirmatory application, I would be delighted to respond to them. You can reach me here or by my phone number which you have in the mail by which I submitted my ID.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours faithfully,

Helen Darbishire
Access Info Europe

PAD, European Border and Coast Guard Agency

Dear Ms Darbishire

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
[email address]

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.
-----Original Message-----
From: Helen Darbishire [mailto:[FOI #7392 email]]
Sent: Friday 29 November 2019 01:15
To: Frontex <[FRONTEX request email]>
Subject: Internal review of access to documents request - Policy documents on the right to documents

Dear Frontex,

Thank you for your response of 15 November 2019 to my request of 18 October 2019, submitted via AsktheEU.org.
The exchange is available here: https://www.asktheeu.org/en/request/poli...

This is a confirmatory application based on two aspects of your response to that request:
1.The fact that information was not provided to me in the format that I requested.
2.To verify whether you have indeed provided me with all the relevant documents.
Please kindly pass this on to the person who reviews confirmatory applications.

To recall, my request sought the following:
[A]ll documents related to your policies and practices on the processing of exercising their right of access to EU documents (as set out in the treaties, TFEU Article 15, and elaborated in Regulation 1049/2001).
I am in particular interested in documents that:
- give guidance to Frontex officials on the processing of requests
- relate to the procedure for requesting IDs
- consider questions of data processing related to requests and requesters IDs
- guide Frontex officials on your copyright policy and how to explain it to requesters I stated clearly that I would prefer to receive these documents in a digital, machine-readable, format.

In your responses (two messages sent to AsktheEU.org) you provided me with:

Document #1 - A copy of the Frontex Management Board Decision No 25/2016 of 21 September 2016 adopting practical arrangements regarding public access to the documents held by the European Agency for the Management of Operational Cooperation at the External Borders of the Member States of the European Union (the “Agency”). This was provided in a scanned, non-machine-readable format.

Document #2 - In two PDFs the training materials provided at the ERA Seminar on Access to Documents in the EU and beyond, held in Brussels on 20-21 November 2019. These are in a scanned, non-machine-readable format.

Document #3 - A copy of the Decision of the Executive Director no R-ED-2017-62 on the Frontex Copyright Policy of 17/08/2017. This was provided in a scanned, non-machine-readable format.

I thank you for these documents. I ask that you consider this confirmatory on the following grounds:

1.Frontex should have provided me with the documents in a machine-readable format.

In my request, I specifically asked for the documents in a “digital, machine-readable, format” and yet you have not complied with this request, nor provided a justification as to why you have not done so.
The Regulation that establishes Frontex requires that “Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council should apply to the Agency. The Agency should be as transparent as possible …”

Regulation 1049/2001 specifically states, at Article 10(3) that “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.

The Frontex Management Board Decision, in Article 9 on Forms of Access, requires, at Article 9(5) that “Documents are supplied in an existing version or format.”

The European Treaties establish that “[g]eneral principles and limits on grounds of public or private interest governing this right of access to documents shall be determined by the European Parliament and the Council, by means of regulations, acting in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure” and that the legal provision in which this has been done is Regulation 1049/2001.

Frontex may not, therefore, impose any limitation on the right of access beyond those permitted by Regulation 1049/2001. Hence Article 9(3) of the Frontex Management Board Decision has to be read in the light of Regulation 1049/2001 and requires that the applicant’s preferences be taken into account.

Hence, you could and should have provided me with access to these documents in a machine readable version. This is particularly the case for Document #1, the Management Board Decision itself, which is in fact available in a machine-readable format on the Frontex website: https://frontex.europa.eu/about-frontex/....

I believe that the ERA training documents are also available in a machine-readable format, and I would imagine that document #3, the Frontex Copyright Policy is also available in that format.

I therefore ask that you review your response to my request and that you provide me with these document in a machine-readable version.

2.Other relevant documents have not been provided

By this confirmatory, I ask that you review whether all documents that fall under the scope of the request have been provided.

It is somewhat surprising to me that there are no other documents whatsoever relating to your access to documents policy, nor any internal guidance on how to process requests. I was looking for any documents relating to, for example, the formats in which you provide information, or how you deal with the policy of applying copyright. This could include documents such as, for example, emails clarifying the policy, or notes of meetings. I therefore would kindly ask that you double-check for the existience of other relevant documents.

With respect to my request for documents that consider questions of data processing related to requests and requesters IDs, it seems that there exists a document entitled Frontex interpretation of Article 5(3) of the Management Board Decision in light of Article 4(1)(c) of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 on the processing of personal data and the ‘data minimisation’ principle. I would be grateful to receive this document – in machine-readable format – and any other relevant documents relating to your internal discussions on the question of requesting IDs from requesters.

Overall, I kindly request that you carry out a full check of all the relevant documents that might fall under the scope of my request.

Should you have any questions or clarifications about this confirmatory application, I would be delighted to respond to them. You can reach me here or by my phone number which you have in the mail by which I submitted my ID.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours faithfully,

Helen Darbishire
Access Info Europe

-------------------------------------------------------------------
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FOI #7392 email]

This message and all replies from European Border and Coast Guard Agency will be published on the AsktheEU.org website. For more information see our dedicated page for EU public officials at https://www.asktheeu.org/en/help/officers

-------------------------------------------------------------------

hide quoted sections

PAD, European Border and Coast Guard Agency

1 Attachment

Dear Ms Darbishire,

Please find attached the reply to your confirmatory application to be delivered in two batches. This is batch 1

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.
-----Original Message-----
From: PAD
Sent: Tuesday 3 December 2019 20:46
To: [FOI #7392 email]
Cc: PAD <[email address]>
Subject: PAD (CMS-2019-00011-1260): Policy documents-Confirmatory Application

Dear Ms Darbishire

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
[email address]

-----Original Message-----
From: Helen Darbishire [mailto:[FOI #7392 email]]
Sent: Friday 29 November 2019 01:15
To: Frontex <[FRONTEX request email]>
Subject: Internal review of access to documents request - Policy documents on the right to documents

Dear Frontex,

Thank you for your response of 15 November 2019 to my request of 18 October 2019, submitted via AsktheEU.org.
The exchange is available here: https://www.asktheeu.org/en/request/poli...

This is a confirmatory application based on two aspects of your response to that request:
1.The fact that information was not provided to me in the format that I requested.
2.To verify whether you have indeed provided me with all the relevant documents.
Please kindly pass this on to the person who reviews confirmatory applications.

To recall, my request sought the following:
[A]ll documents related to your policies and practices on the processing of exercising their right of access to EU documents (as set out in the treaties, TFEU Article 15, and elaborated in Regulation 1049/2001).
I am in particular interested in documents that:
- give guidance to Frontex officials on the processing of requests
- relate to the procedure for requesting IDs
- consider questions of data processing related to requests and requesters IDs
- guide Frontex officials on your copyright policy and how to explain it to requesters I stated clearly that I would prefer to receive these documents in a digital, machine-readable, format.

In your responses (two messages sent to AsktheEU.org) you provided me with:

Document #1 - A copy of the Frontex Management Board Decision No 25/2016 of 21 September 2016 adopting practical arrangements regarding public access to the documents held by the European Agency for the Management of Operational Cooperation at the External Borders of the Member States of the European Union (the “Agency”). This was provided in a scanned, non-machine-readable format.

Document #2 - In two PDFs the training materials provided at the ERA Seminar on Access to Documents in the EU and beyond, held in Brussels on 20-21 November 2019. These are in a scanned, non-machine-readable format.

Document #3 - A copy of the Decision of the Executive Director no R-ED-2017-62 on the Frontex Copyright Policy of 17/08/2017. This was provided in a scanned, non-machine-readable format.

I thank you for these documents. I ask that you consider this confirmatory on the following grounds:

1.Frontex should have provided me with the documents in a machine-readable format.

In my request, I specifically asked for the documents in a “digital, machine-readable, format” and yet you have not complied with this request, nor provided a justification as to why you have not done so.
The Regulation that establishes Frontex requires that “Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council should apply to the Agency. The Agency should be as transparent as possible …”

Regulation 1049/2001 specifically states, at Article 10(3) that “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.

The Frontex Management Board Decision, in Article 9 on Forms of Access, requires, at Article 9(5) that “Documents are supplied in an existing version or format.”

The European Treaties establish that “[g]eneral principles and limits on grounds of public or private interest governing this right of access to documents shall be determined by the European Parliament and the Council, by means of regulations, acting in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure” and that the legal provision in which this has been done is Regulation 1049/2001.

Frontex may not, therefore, impose any limitation on the right of access beyond those permitted by Regulation 1049/2001. Hence Article 9(3) of the Frontex Management Board Decision has to be read in the light of Regulation 1049/2001 and requires that the applicant’s preferences be taken into account.

Hence, you could and should have provided me with access to these documents in a machine readable version. This is particularly the case for Document #1, the Management Board Decision itself, which is in fact available in a machine-readable format on the Frontex website: https://frontex.europa.eu/about-frontex/....

I believe that the ERA training documents are also available in a machine-readable format, and I would imagine that document #3, the Frontex Copyright Policy is also available in that format.

I therefore ask that you review your response to my request and that you provide me with these document in a machine-readable version.

2.Other relevant documents have not been provided

By this confirmatory, I ask that you review whether all documents that fall under the scope of the request have been provided.

It is somewhat surprising to me that there are no other documents whatsoever relating to your access to documents policy, nor any internal guidance on how to process requests. I was looking for any documents relating to, for example, the formats in which you provide information, or how you deal with the policy of applying copyright. This could include documents such as, for example, emails clarifying the policy, or notes of meetings. I therefore would kindly ask that you double-check for the existience of other relevant documents.

With respect to my request for documents that consider questions of data processing related to requests and requesters IDs, it seems that there exists a document entitled Frontex interpretation of Article 5(3) of the Management Board Decision in light of Article 4(1)(c) of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 on the processing of personal data and the ‘data minimisation’ principle. I would be grateful to receive this document – in machine-readable format – and any other relevant documents relating to your internal discussions on the question of requesting IDs from requesters.

Overall, I kindly request that you carry out a full check of all the relevant documents that might fall under the scope of my request.

Should you have any questions or clarifications about this confirmatory application, I would be delighted to respond to them. You can reach me here or by my phone number which you have in the mail by which I submitted my ID.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours faithfully,

Helen Darbishire
Access Info Europe

-------------------------------------------------------------------
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FOI #7392 email]

This message and all replies from European Border and Coast Guard Agency will be published on the AsktheEU.org website. For more information see our dedicated page for EU public officials at https://www.asktheeu.org/en/help/officers

-------------------------------------------------------------------

hide quoted sections

PAD, European Border and Coast Guard Agency

1 Attachment

Dear Ms Darbishire,

Please find attached the reply to your confirmatory application to be delivered in two batches. This is batch 2.

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.
-----Original Message-----
From: PAD
Sent: Tuesday 3 December 2019 20:46
To: [FOI #7392 email]
Cc: PAD <[email address]>
Subject: PAD (CMS-2019-00011-1260): Policy documents-Confirmatory Application

Dear Ms Darbishire

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
[email address]

-----Original Message-----
From: Helen Darbishire [mailto:[FOI #7392 email]]
Sent: Friday 29 November 2019 01:15
To: Frontex <[FRONTEX request email]>
Subject: Internal review of access to documents request - Policy documents on the right to documents

Dear Frontex,

Thank you for your response of 15 November 2019 to my request of 18 October 2019, submitted via AsktheEU.org.
The exchange is available here: https://www.asktheeu.org/en/request/poli...

This is a confirmatory application based on two aspects of your response to that request:
1.The fact that information was not provided to me in the format that I requested.
2.To verify whether you have indeed provided me with all the relevant documents.
Please kindly pass this on to the person who reviews confirmatory applications.

To recall, my request sought the following:
[A]ll documents related to your policies and practices on the processing of exercising their right of access to EU documents (as set out in the treaties, TFEU Article 15, and elaborated in Regulation 1049/2001).
I am in particular interested in documents that:
- give guidance to Frontex officials on the processing of requests
- relate to the procedure for requesting IDs
- consider questions of data processing related to requests and requesters IDs
- guide Frontex officials on your copyright policy and how to explain it to requesters I stated clearly that I would prefer to receive these documents in a digital, machine-readable, format.

In your responses (two messages sent to AsktheEU.org) you provided me with:

Document #1 - A copy of the Frontex Management Board Decision No 25/2016 of 21 September 2016 adopting practical arrangements regarding public access to the documents held by the European Agency for the Management of Operational Cooperation at the External Borders of the Member States of the European Union (the “Agency”). This was provided in a scanned, non-machine-readable format.

Document #2 - In two PDFs the training materials provided at the ERA Seminar on Access to Documents in the EU and beyond, held in Brussels on 20-21 November 2019. These are in a scanned, non-machine-readable format.

Document #3 - A copy of the Decision of the Executive Director no R-ED-2017-62 on the Frontex Copyright Policy of 17/08/2017. This was provided in a scanned, non-machine-readable format.

I thank you for these documents. I ask that you consider this confirmatory on the following grounds:

1.Frontex should have provided me with the documents in a machine-readable format.

In my request, I specifically asked for the documents in a “digital, machine-readable, format” and yet you have not complied with this request, nor provided a justification as to why you have not done so.
The Regulation that establishes Frontex requires that “Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council should apply to the Agency. The Agency should be as transparent as possible …”

Regulation 1049/2001 specifically states, at Article 10(3) that “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.

The Frontex Management Board Decision, in Article 9 on Forms of Access, requires, at Article 9(5) that “Documents are supplied in an existing version or format.”

The European Treaties establish that “[g]eneral principles and limits on grounds of public or private interest governing this right of access to documents shall be determined by the European Parliament and the Council, by means of regulations, acting in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure” and that the legal provision in which this has been done is Regulation 1049/2001.

Frontex may not, therefore, impose any limitation on the right of access beyond those permitted by Regulation 1049/2001. Hence Article 9(3) of the Frontex Management Board Decision has to be read in the light of Regulation 1049/2001 and requires that the applicant’s preferences be taken into account.

Hence, you could and should have provided me with access to these documents in a machine readable version. This is particularly the case for Document #1, the Management Board Decision itself, which is in fact available in a machine-readable format on the Frontex website: https://frontex.europa.eu/about-frontex/....

I believe that the ERA training documents are also available in a machine-readable format, and I would imagine that document #3, the Frontex Copyright Policy is also available in that format.

I therefore ask that you review your response to my request and that you provide me with these document in a machine-readable version.

2.Other relevant documents have not been provided

By this confirmatory, I ask that you review whether all documents that fall under the scope of the request have been provided.

It is somewhat surprising to me that there are no other documents whatsoever relating to your access to documents policy, nor any internal guidance on how to process requests. I was looking for any documents relating to, for example, the formats in which you provide information, or how you deal with the policy of applying copyright. This could include documents such as, for example, emails clarifying the policy, or notes of meetings. I therefore would kindly ask that you double-check for the existience of other relevant documents.

With respect to my request for documents that consider questions of data processing related to requests and requesters IDs, it seems that there exists a document entitled Frontex interpretation of Article 5(3) of the Management Board Decision in light of Article 4(1)(c) of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 on the processing of personal data and the ‘data minimisation’ principle. I would be grateful to receive this document – in machine-readable format – and any other relevant documents relating to your internal discussions on the question of requesting IDs from requesters.

Overall, I kindly request that you carry out a full check of all the relevant documents that might fall under the scope of my request.

Should you have any questions or clarifications about this confirmatory application, I would be delighted to respond to them. You can reach me here or by my phone number which you have in the mail by which I submitted my ID.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours faithfully,

Helen Darbishire
Access Info Europe

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Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FOI #7392 email]

This message and all replies from European Border and Coast Guard Agency will be published on the AsktheEU.org website. For more information see our dedicated page for EU public officials at https://www.asktheeu.org/en/help/officers

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