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So far Helen Darbishire has created 1914 blog entries.
26 May 2014

Civil society calls for full transparency about EU-US trade negotiations

2018-11-13T10:11:50+01:00

Madrid, 26 May 2014 – More than 250 civil society organisations worldwide, including Access Info Europe, today called on the European Commission to make the negotiations on the future Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) open and transparent. The TTIP is the biggest bilateral trade agreement ever negotiated and it will have significant effects on the economy, the environment and the future of citizens on both sides of the Atlantic and beyond. There is a clear public interest in being able to follow these negotiations, and yet, since they started, they have taken place behind a veil of secrecy, with

Civil society calls for full transparency about EU-US trade negotiations2018-11-13T10:11:50+01:00
22 May 2014

UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office cancels court hearing and promises complete information on EU transparency negotiations

2018-11-13T10:11:50+01:00

Madrid, 22 May 2014 – The UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has pulled out of a case before the UK’s Information Tribunal resulting in cancellation of a court hearing due this week (20-21 May) and has agreed to provide Access Info Europe with full information on negotiations in Brussels to revise the European Union’s transparency rules. The specialised Information Tribunal issued a formal decision on 21 May 2014 closing a four-year legal process arising from an information request first made on 15 June 2010 by Access Info Europe Campaigner Pam Bartlett Quintanilla. Just three weeks before the court hearing

UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office cancels court hearing and promises complete information on EU transparency negotiations2018-11-13T10:11:50+01:00
21 May 2014

Over 110 Spanish MEP candidates pledge to stand-up for citizens against excessive lobbying influence

2018-11-13T10:11:50+01:00

Madrid, 21 May 2014 – The campaign to get future members of the European Parliament to commit to support the regulation and transparency of lobbying has been a huge success in Spain with 116 MEP candidates signing the pledge to “stand-up for citizens and democracy against the excessive lobbying influence of banks and big business”. This number of signatories in Spain is the third highest in Europe, reaching 10% of the total of 1100 MEP candidates who signed the “Politics for People” pledge. The two countries with more MEP candidate pledges are Germany (250) and Austria (157). The pledge campaign

Over 110 Spanish MEP candidates pledge to stand-up for citizens against excessive lobbying influence2018-11-13T10:11:50+01:00
19 May 2014

AsktheEU.org Report on Council of the European Union: Transparency problems exposed

2018-11-13T10:11:50+01:00

Madrid/Brussels, 19 May 2014 – The Council of the EU is failing to comply with EU transparency rules by not respecting time frames for responding, applying too many extensions to requests, and not informing all requesters of their right to appeal when information is denied, according to a report published today by Access Info Europe. Analysis of 50 access to documents requests submitted to the Council between 2011 and 2013 via the AsktheEU.org platform, found that the average time for answering was 20 working days, significantly over the maximum 15 working days permitted by EU law. Requests which resulted in

AsktheEU.org Report on Council of the European Union: Transparency problems exposed2018-11-13T10:11:50+01:00
12 May 2014

Politics for People Campaign: Tweet Your Candidate Day 14 May 2014

2018-11-13T10:11:50+01:00

Madrid, 12 May – To encourage candidates in the European Parliament elections to pledge to defend the public interest against excessive private-interest lobbying, the Politics for People campaign is launching #TweetYourCandidate Day on Wednesday 14 May 2014. At the time of writing, over 970 candidates to the European Parliament have signed the pledge – but there are still many more who have yet to do so! All you need to do is to send a tweet to a not-yet-signed candidate asking them to pledge to stand-up for citizens and democracy against the excessive lobbying influence of banks and big business.

Politics for People Campaign: Tweet Your Candidate Day 14 May 20142018-11-13T10:11:50+01:00
5 May 2014

Second OGP National Action Plan by the Spanish Government open to public consultation

2018-11-13T10:11:51+01:00

Madrid, Wednesday 14 May 2014 – The Spanish government has developed a its second Open Government Action Plan as part of its involvement in the Open Government Partnership, a 64-country initiative promoting transparency, participation, and accountability, and is inviting comments from members of the public to be sent to an email address provided below. Under the Open Government Partnership rules, Spain should hold a full consultation with civil society on the new action plan, something which did not happen with the first action plan in April 2012. To date only a very limited consultation is being planned, with distribution to

Second OGP National Action Plan by the Spanish Government open to public consultation2018-11-13T10:11:51+01:00
30 Apr 2014

Access Info Europe leads panel about open government in the OGP Regional Meeting in Dublin

2018-11-13T10:11:51+01:00

Madrid, 30 April 2014 – Access Info Europe is coordinating a panel on ‘Open Government: standards and indicators for measuring progress’, as part of the Open Government Partnership Regional Meeting in Europe, which will take place in Dublin on 8 and 9 May. Effectively measuring and evaluating open government has been a challenge for the OGP since its launch in 2011. Proposals such as the Open Government Standards, the Open Government Guide, and other initiatives and instruments have aimed to provide benchmarks and guidance for the evaluation of national action plan commitments. What are the current guidelines and standards for

Access Info Europe leads panel about open government in the OGP Regional Meeting in Dublin2018-11-13T10:11:51+01:00
24 Apr 2014

Debate abierto: Apoyamos un registro de lobby obligatorio, dicen candidatos al parlamento europeo

2018-11-13T10:11:51+01:00

Madrid, miércoles 24 de abril 2014 - Su apoyo a un registro de lobby en la Unión Europea ha sido el mensaje de los candidatos al Parlamento Europeo en el debate abierto sobre transparencia y regulación del lobby celebrado en Madrid ayer, día 23 de abril, por Access Info Europe. Este evento dió una oportunidad única a los ciudadanos para hacer preguntas directamente a los candidatos, bien de manera presencial o bien a través de Twitter. Las respuestas demostaron las diferencias de opinión entre los candidatos veteranos, Salvador Garriga (PP) y Enrique Guerrero (PSOE), ambos eurodiputados en activo, y los

Debate abierto: Apoyamos un registro de lobby obligatorio, dicen candidatos al parlamento europeo2018-11-13T10:11:51+01:00
15 Apr 2014

Parliament issues strong call for EU lobby transparency register to become mandatory

2018-11-13T10:11:51+01:00

Parliament issues strong call for EU lobby transparency register to become mandatory » Strongly-worded resolution first shot in battle with Commission over weak voluntary register Brussels, 15 April 2014 – The report approved by MEPs today gives an important signal to the European Commission that a far more ambitious approach is needed to secure genuine lobby transparency in the EU. The European Parliament resolution makes a clear and explicit call upon the Commission to prepare a legislative proposal for a mandatory register, setting a deadline of 2016. It also asks the Commission to, in the meantime, introduce ambitious measures to

Parliament issues strong call for EU lobby transparency register to become mandatory2018-11-13T10:11:51+01:00
15 Apr 2014

Over 40 MEPs from across the political spectrum pledge to stand-up for citizens and democracy against excessive corporate lobbying

2018-11-13T10:11:51+01:00

Over 40 MEPs from across the political spectrum pledge to stand-up for citizens and democracy against excessive corporate lobbying Madrid/Brussels, 15 April 2014 – Today, the Alliance for Lobbying Transparency and Ethics Regulation (ALTER-EU), AK EUROPA (Brussels office of the Austrian Chamber of Labour) & ÖGB Europabüro (Brussels office of the Austrian Trade Union Federation), together with a broad coalition of civil society organisations from across Europe, are launching their campaign to urge candidates for the upcoming European elections to “stand-up for citizens and democracy against the excessive lobbying influence of banks and big business”. [1] Prominent

Over 40 MEPs from across the political spectrum pledge to stand-up for citizens and democracy against excessive corporate lobbying2018-11-13T10:11:51+01:00
Original content developed by Access Info Europe and is made public under a Creative Commons Attribution, Share Alike licence.