The work of the European Border and Coast Guard Agency is characterized by an overall lack of transparency and absence of proper accountability mechanisms, which confer a controversial character to its operations. As a precondition for assessing its liability for human rights violations, the Agency’s transparency (or lack thereof) is receiving due attention by scholarship. The present post focuses on the structural weakness created by the extension of Regulation 1049/2001 on access to documents to the Agency, rather than on the implementation by the Agency of its obligations. The authors argue that Regulation 1049/2001 does not suit the particular nature of the European Border and Coast Guard Agency.