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About Helen Darbishire

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So far Helen Darbishire has created 1914 blog entries.
10 Jun 2020

EU urged to end SLAPPs: Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation

2020-06-10T19:01:09+02:00

Madrid, 9 June 2020 – Access Info Europe today joined 119 NGOs from across Europe in calling on the European Union to protect freedom of expression and information by acting to end the use of gag lawsuits to harass and silence investigative journalists and public interest defenders. In an open letter, the organisations expressed their concern about SLAPPs (Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation), which are brought by powerful actors intending to intimidate and prevent watchdogs such as journalists, activists, trades unions, media, and civil society organisations, from holding them accountable. The organisations warned about the harmful effects of this type

EU urged to end SLAPPs: Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation2020-06-10T19:01:09+02:00
3 Jun 2020

Researching Government Contracts for COVID-19 Spending

2020-06-03T16:24:40+02:00

Global Investigative Journalism Network | 03/06/2020 As countries rapidly spend billions of dollars to fight the coronavirus pandemic, digging into government contracts is taking on a new urgency. The crisis poses new challenges. Officials are using emergency purchasing procedures, creating barriers to public disclosure, and slowing down their handling of requests under freedom of information laws. Read more...  

Researching Government Contracts for COVID-19 Spending2020-06-03T16:24:40+02:00
1 Jun 2020

AsktheEU Pro, the all-in-one FOI toolkit for professional journalists and researchers

2020-08-11T10:56:26+02:00

Madrid, 1 June 2020 - Pro-transparency human rights organisation Access Info Europe is glad to launch AsktheEU Pro, an improved version of the AsktheEU.org account designed to upgrade journalists and researchers’ experience when requesting access to documents from the EU bodies and institutions. The new advanced functionalities of the platform include the possibility for Pro users to keep requests and responses private for 3, 6 or 12 months’ periods, which can be extended for an unlimited number of times. Access Info believes that this will help journalists and researchers wishing to keep their stories or investigations confidential before they are

AsktheEU Pro, the all-in-one FOI toolkit for professional journalists and researchers2020-08-11T10:56:26+02:00
27 May 2020

Access Info supports principles on right of access to information during health crisis by Alianza Regional

2020-06-04T17:34:33+02:00

Madrid, 27 May 2020- Access Info Europe and 17 NGOs from Latin America today called on governments in the region to guarantee the right of access to informaton during the Covid-19 pandemic, to prioritise the disclosure of emergency-related information and to ensure that information reaches the most vulnerable populations.  The proposal also highlights the negative consequences of the absence of policies on transparency and access to information. These include the authorities’ lack of coordination as well as limited performance of the agencies guaranteeing bodies for the full exercise of the right of access to information, which the text defines as

Access Info supports principles on right of access to information during health crisis by Alianza Regional2020-06-04T17:34:33+02:00
22 May 2020

Participation: Citizens need Information! YOU4EU-Citizen Participation 2.0 project

2020-05-22T09:07:24+02:00

Madrid, 22 May 2020 – Citizens across Europe need better access to information to participate in decision-making processes at European, national, and local level. This is one of the main findings by Access Info Europe and partners of the “YOU4EU” project, which has been completed following two years of research and campaigning on civic participation.  An extensive study carried out by Access Info (Spain), Belgrade Open School (Serbia), GONG (Croatia), Institute Alternative (Montenegro) and PiNA (Slovenia) also found that policy-makers are failing to communicate adequately with citizens, even though the public is  keen to learn about their governments and institutions,

Participation: Citizens need Information! YOU4EU-Citizen Participation 2.0 project2020-05-22T09:07:24+02:00
17 May 2020

¿Un comité de expertos transparente? Lo que sabemos y lo que deberíamos saber

2020-07-08T15:25:36+02:00

Newtral | 17/05/2020 In Spanish- Seguimos sin conocer quiénes son los expertos que decide el cambio de fase, a pesar de que la Ley de Seguridad lo exigiría. Aunque en otros países también hay carencias y polémica, la comparación no deja a España en muy buen lugar: falta transparencia en la gestión de la crisis del coronavirus. Read more...

¿Un comité de expertos transparente? Lo que sabemos y lo que deberíamos saber2020-07-08T15:25:36+02:00
9 May 2020

Citizens Take Over Europe

2021-03-04T13:29:58+01:00

Date: 09/05/2020 Helen Darbishire, Executive Director of Access Info Europe, participated in the online discussion The European Constitution as the foundation of the European Democracy and a citizens based European polity. Why do we need a European Constitution (EC)  and how might we start a European Constitution making process (ECMP)?, as part of the Citizens Take Over Europe initiative. This citizen participation action starting on the 9th of May, aims to sending out a message of hope and togetherness, and to stand up for democracy. Among the participants: Ulrike Liebert (Bremen), Leonie Martin (Young European Federalists),  Daniel Freund (Member of European

Citizens Take Over Europe2021-03-04T13:29:58+01:00
8 May 2020

Spain: Access Info requests names of members of technical committee advising government on unwinding the lockdown

2021-04-01T14:29:38+02:00

Madrid, 8 May 2020- Access Info today presented two information requests to the Spanish government about the management of the Covid-19 pandemic. In the first request, Access Info asked for the names and professional profiles of the members of the Technical Team that is advising the government on the region-by-region winding down of Spain’s very tight lockdown. In a second request, Access Info has asked for access to all the minutes of meetings and reports from the Scientific Committee that has been advising the government on managing the pandemic since March 2020. The government yesterday refused to provide these names to

Spain: Access Info requests names of members of technical committee advising government on unwinding the lockdown2021-04-01T14:29:38+02:00
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