Cuatro | 29/11/2015 Spanish – El 10 de diciembre se cumple el primer año de la ley de transparencia. Por ahora ha habido 3.300 solicitudes de información a las administraciones. Son muy pocas, comparadas por ejemplo con Reino Unido, que recibe unas 50.000 al año. ¿Por qué? Las ONGs denuncian que preguntar es difícil en España. El Consejo de Transparencia lo reconoce. Read more...
Madrid, 27 November 2015 – In another important decision from Spain’s Transparency Council, Access Info Europe has been granted access to Spanish government progress reports on Open Government Partnership (OGP) commitments. The Transparency Council’s decision rejects arguments by the Ministry of the Presidency that these documents, which were used as part of the decision-making process, are “internal documents.” In August 2015, Access Info’s director Helen Darbishire asked for copies of OGP-related documents in order to get an insight into what the government is doing in implementing the action plan. This request was necessary because, unlike in other OGP countries, there
Compromiso Empresarial | 24/11/2015 Spanish – Durante los tres días que duró este encuentro de más de 2.000 personas, el Distrito Federal mexicano se llenó de ideas, proyectos y planes para los próximos cuatro años con el fin de implementar los planes de acción para abrir los gobiernos de sus miembros a la sociedad. Read more...
Madrid, 23 November 2015 – Access Info Europe has warned that any move by the UK government to amend the FOI law by expanding blanket exceptions to decision-making transparency or by extending a political veto over disclosure, would be an attack on international standards. These concerns were set out in a submission to the government-appointed FOI Commission, which has been criticised for being stacked with transparency sceptics. The Commission’s consultation document opened the possibility of extending the use of Cabinet vetoes to block disclosure of information, even after a judicial decision to do so. Access Info Europe called for the
Madrid, 20 November 2015 - Access Info Europe today welcomed recommendations by Sven Giegold MEP, Rapporteur for the Constitutional Affairs Committee of the European Parliament, on greater transparency and accountability ofEU institutions, but has warned that they do not go far enough in addressing the need to improve access to EU documents in law and in practice. The pro-transparency organisation pointed to the need for exceptions to the right of access to EU documents be subject to a public interest test, and the importance of removing barriers to access such as the requirement since April 2014 that requesters must supply
El Mundo | 20/11/2015 Spanish – La Ley de Transparencia española entró en vigor a finales de 2014. Tarde, muy tarde. Este hito histórico sitúa a las instituciones del Estado en el pelotón de cola de los países desarrollados en materia de rendición de cuentas. Por el contrario, desde 2000, la Carta de los Derechos Fundamentales de la Unión Europea garantiza a toda persona física o jurídica a acceder a los documentos de sus tres instituciones insignia: el Parlamento Europeo, el Consejo y la Comisión. Read more...
It’s just like the good old days: the doorbell rings, and there is the postman with a registered letter – how exciting!! - you sign and open it, but nowadays you are more likely to find it’s a letter from the European Commission refusing to grant access to this or that document. These days we refer to the postal service as “snail mail”. And yes, once again the Berlaymont Snail has arrived in Madrid to deliver a letter to Access Info! Except that the refusal to grant access to information had already arrived ten days ago via AsktheEU.org. The Commission's
Madrid, 20 November 2015 - The refusal by the European Parliament to make public details on spending of MEPs expenses allowances on grounds of personal data protection has been challenged before the European Court of Justice by a network of journalists from each of the 28 Member States. This initiative was started by Slovenian journalist Anuška Delić who discovered that she could get information about the expenses of members of the Slovenian parliament but not about Slovenian MEPs in Brussels. Welcoming the legal challenge, Access Info argued that the European Parliament should be setting a standard for levels of transparency
Levante | 15/11/2015 Spanish – Las crónicas jurídicas y periodísticas de la última década en la Comunitat Valenciana las han protagonizado los casos Terra Mítica, Fabra, Gürtel, Bankia, Brugal, Emarsa o Imelsa. Son un síntoma de que «algo iba mal» en la sociedad valenciana. Todos se han judicializado. Pero «la respuesta penal a la corrupción es una respuesta que llega tarde». Read more...
El Periódico | 14/11/2015 Spanish – Estos días los partidos políticos debaten internamente sus programas electorales y en unas semanas todos los presentarán de manera oficial y los pondrán por escrito. Falta algo más de un mes para las elecciones generales del 20 de diciembre y es una buena ocasión para que los ciudadanos nos convirtamos en sujetos activos. Es cierto que leer los programas no parece que sea lo más divertido del mundo, pero es una manera de saber si nos engañan y si cumplen después lo que prometen. Algo muy básico. Read more...