The Secret State of EU Transparency Reforms
16 of 27 Member States refuse to provide information on EU transparency negotiations
Brussels/Madrid, Monday 21 March 2011: European citizens can’t find out from either Brussels or from national governments which countries are lobbying against EU transparency, according to a report launched by the NGO Access Info Europe this week.
The report is launched just before an expected ruling by the European Court of Justice on 22 March in the case of Access Info Europe vs. the Council. The pro-transparency organization is challenging the Council’s concealment of Member State positions on the reform of the EU’s access to documents rules.
After submitting access to information requests in all 27 Member States, Access Info Europe reports that only 11 countries provided any information about either their positions and/or the process of the reform of Regulation 1049/2001. Two of these, the Netherlands and the UK, only provided information following appeals.
Of the 16 countries which did not provide any information, six countries formally refused while six countries referred back to the Council despite the Council’s assertion that it was up to each Member State to provide this information, and four did not respond at all (administrative silence).
|
Information Received |
No Information Received |
|||
|
Partial release of documents |
Position |
Referral to Council |
Refusal to release information |
No response |
|
Denmark Finland Sweden Lithuania Netherlands
+ Council |
Austria Estonia Latvia Malta Poland UK |
Greece Hungary Ireland Romania Slovakia Luxembourg |
Belgium Czech Republic France Germany Slovenia Spain |
Bulgaria Cyprus Italy Portugal |
|
Total 5 countries |
Total 6 countries |
Total 6 countries |
Total 6 countries |
Total 4 countries |
To download a copy of the report, click here 
To read the press release click on your preferred format 
