About Helen Darbishire

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So far Helen Darbishire has created 1914 blog entries.
16 Oct 2015

Access Info issues formal complaint on Spain’s lack of commitment to the OGP

2018-11-13T10:11:14+01:00

Madrid, 16 October 2015 - Access Info Europe submitted a formal complaint to the Open Government Partnership (OGP) in relation to the Spanish government’s manifest lack of commitment towards the principles and values supported by the Alliance, of which Spain is member since 2011. Access Info’s complaint is specifically structured around four key obstacles to transparency, participation and accountability which constantly complicate collaboration and cooperation with the government when trying advance in open government matters: No communications mechanisms have been set up to enable dialogue and facilitate consultation processes with civil society; this includes the absence of an identifiable contact

Access Info issues formal complaint on Spain’s lack of commitment to the OGP2018-11-13T10:11:14+01:00
3 Oct 2015

Educación esconde tras una fórmula compleja y opaca los criterios con los que adjudica las becas

2018-11-13T10:11:14+01:00

eldiario.es | 03/10/2015 Spanish – Un estudiante solicita una beca al Ministerio de Educación a principios de curso. Espera unos meses hasta que, si todo va bien, le conceden una parte sin decirle cuánto recibirá en total. Espera otro tanto y le dan otra cuantía provisional. Ya hacia el final del curso, recibe la resolución definitiva con el último pago. Sólo entonces se entera de cuál es la cantidad completa de su beca y, de una parte de ella, no le dicen de dónde viene la cifra. Si quiere comprobar que no es ni más ni menos de lo que

Educación esconde tras una fórmula compleja y opaca los criterios con los que adjudica las becas2018-11-13T10:11:14+01:00
30 Sep 2015

Civil society calls for reform of trialogues in a letter to EU Commission, Parliament and Council

2020-01-29T11:25:49+01:00

Madrid, 30 September 2015 - Access Info Europe along with European Digital Rights (EDRi) and other 16 signatory organisations, today sent an open letter to European Parliament President Martin Schulz, Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and Council Secretary-General Jeppe Tranholm-Mikkelsen, calling for a major reform of the so-called “trialogues”. The letter calls for public access to be granted to the trialogue meetings, and for the systematic and timely publication of all trialogue documents. The letter remains open to signatories. “Citizens should be able to scrutinise EU decision-making,” said Andreas Pavlou, Campaigner Researcher at Access Info Europe. “The lack of transparency around

Civil society calls for reform of trialogues in a letter to EU Commission, Parliament and Council2020-01-29T11:25:49+01:00
28 Sep 2015

Time to get serious on Transparency!

2021-06-04T12:33:04+02:00

Madrid, 28 September 2015, By Helen Darbishire, Executive Director, Access Info Europe I am sitting in the Access Info Europe office in Madrid and staring in dismay at a document from the European Commission which seems to have more black lines covering the information it contains than anything useful. Dismayed and also amazed that the reason for not giving out information about a possibly problematic public procurement process in Serbia – a waste sludge processing plant to be funded with European taxpayer’s money – is apparently the personal privacy of those responsible for the decision. It’s 28 September 2015, the

Time to get serious on Transparency!2021-06-04T12:33:04+02:00
21 Sep 2015

Por un derecho a saber

2020-02-14T11:17:55+01:00

Yorokobu | 11/09/2015 Spanish – En 1962 una bióloga norteamericana, Rachel Carson, publicó un libro que haría historia. Se trataba de Silent Spring, donde, en síntesis, denunciaba que el DDT no se limitaba a ser un pesticida sino un biocida, un veneno que afectaba a todos los seres humanos [...] Este problema dio lugar a la enunciación del denominado derecho a saber. [...] Sin embargo, aunque nos parezca un derecho básico y elemental, no se trata de un derecho explícitamente enunciado, sino que para su ejercicio se ha de recurrir a otras piezas de la ley. Read more…

Por un derecho a saber2020-02-14T11:17:55+01:00
4 Sep 2015

Ciudadanos del mundo

2018-11-13T10:11:15+01:00

La Estrella | 04/09/2015 Spanish – En los últimos meses, se han creado Polétika y TIPI Ciudadano, dos plataformas de organizaciones y movimientos sociales en España con el objetivo de influir en la toma de decisiones políticas sobre distintos temas sociales: infancia, educación, cooperación y desarrollo, sanidad, empleo, vivienda, exclusión social, inmigración y violencia de género. Read more…

Ciudadanos del mundo2018-11-13T10:11:15+01:00
21 Aug 2015

Access Info submits recommendations to European Parliament on improving EU transparency

2020-01-29T11:14:30+01:00

Madrid, 21 August 2015 - Access Info Europe today sent recommendations on improving transparency in the EU in law and in practice to Sven Giegold MEP (Greens, Germany) rapporteur for the Initiative Report for Transparency, Integrity and Accountability in the EU institutions. Key problems that need to be addressed urgently include ensuring that all exceptions to the right of access to documents are subject to a public interest test, and that recently-introduced artificial barriers to access such as the need to supply a postal address be removed. Access Info’s recommendations are based on analysis of the ways the EU’s access

Access Info submits recommendations to European Parliament on improving EU transparency2020-01-29T11:14:30+01:00
18 Aug 2015

Interior declina hacer públicas las visitas al Ministerio

2018-11-13T10:11:16+01:00

Cadena Ser| 18/08/2015 Spanish – La Cadena SER ha intentado acceder a los registros de entrada y salida del ministerio del Interior después de que Fernández Díaz revelara en el Congreso que se reunió con imputados de otros partidos, pero no los facilitan porque se trata de una "información privada". Read more...

Interior declina hacer públicas las visitas al Ministerio2018-11-13T10:11:16+01:00