Madrid, 4 May 2020- Leading transparency and anti-corruption organisations from across Europe have today released a set of ten recommendations on how governments can ensure transparency of emergency procurement carried out during the coronavirus pandemic.
Madrid, 27 April 2020- 31 Spanish civil society organisations, all members of the Coalición Pro Acceso, have called on the Spanish Government to guarantee the right of access to information. This comes after the suspension of all administrative deadlines under the state of emergency, which was declared on 14 March due to the coronavirus. In a letter addressed to Carolina Darias, the Minister of Territorial Policy and Public Function, the organisations denounce the negative effects that the pandemic is having on transparency and on access to information in Spain, a fundamental right that must be protected especially during a crisis,
Maldita.es| 24/04/2020 In Spanish - El ministro del Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, afirmaba este domingo en rueda de prensa que "el Portal de Transparencia, la transparencia, la información pública, es una de las prioridades, por no decir la primera prioridad, de este Gobierno después de terminar y acabar con el virus". Read more...
Madrid, 21 April 2020 – Access Info today welcomed the announcement by the Council of the European Union that it will continue to process requests for documents, doing its best to adhere to the 15 working day timeframe, during the ongoing coronavirus crisis. A message from the Secretariat General’s Transparency team reads: The General Secretariat of the Council continues to support the political work, with some key services having to be present. Thanks to digital technology, the majority of staff remains fully operational. For the Transparency team, this means that we continue to deal with all requests for access to
Newtral | 20/04/2020 Spanish- El 14 de marzo se suspendieron los plazos para responder a las solicitudes de información a excepción de las que tenían que ver con el estado de alarma, pero cuatro días más tarde se modificó el texto y ahora la Administración no está obligada a responder. Leer más...
Madrid, 17 April 2020 – Access Info today welcomed the news that Montenegro’s Ministry of Public Administration has decided to halt the public consultation on the controversial reform of the Law on Free Access to Information following a national and international outcry. Access Info was one of the organisations that jointed the campaign led by Montenegrin transparency specialists MANS calling for the consultation to be postponed, at least for the duration of the coronavirus lockdown, with people confined to their homes and parliamentary sessions are suspended. “The right to information is particularly important during this pandemic, and it is literally
Madrid, 16 April 2020 – Access Info Europe today joined 80 MEPs and civil society organisations in calling on the European Union to address restrictions on the rule of law and human rights, including freedom of expression and information, being introduced via coronavirus pandemic emergency measures. In an open letter sent to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and EU Council President Charles Michel, the signatories warn of the misuse of the coronavirus crisis to silence dissent, limit freedom of expression, marginalise civil society, and erode democratic values. The letter also calls on the EU to ensure that the
Madrid, 8 April 2020 – Access Info Europe today called on the European Commission to collect and publish more data on gender equality, after finding low levels of gender data publication across Europe and revealing that the EU’s Statistical Office Eurostat has excluded various gender-related indicators as not relevant. In letters sent to Helena Dalli, EU Commissioner for Equality, and Paolo Gentiloni, EU Commissioner for Economy in charge of Eurostat and coordination of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Access Info noted that little over half (57%) of the SDG gender-related indicators are published in the European region, as shown
Madrid, 6 April 2020– Access Info Europe today joined leading transparency and anti-corruption organisations in calling on all public authorities to ensure and strengthen whistleblower protection during the state of emergency caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
Madrid, 1 April 2020 – Access Info today joined 41 Montenegrin NGOs and 28 journalists in calling on the government of Montenegro to halt moves to weaken the Law on Free Access to Information in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. In a letter of concern sent to Montenegro’s Ministry of Public Administration, Access Info called on it to postpone a public consultation on reforms to the Law on Free Access to Information that is taking place this week with a deadline of 4 April. This public consultation comes just at a time when people are confined to their homes,