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Madrid, 10 September 2013 – Access Info Europe has again warned that the current version of the Spanish transparency law does not meet international standards. The law will be approved by the Parliament on Thursday 12 September, it will then be passed to the Senate for approval. When adopted, Spain would rank 72nd out of 96 countries with access to information laws, obtaining 70 points from a total of 150 on the Global RTI-Rating. In the upcoming debate, the parliament is expected to approve amendments to the transparency law adopted by the Constitutional Committee on 31 July 2013. These amendments
Civil society groups warn UK Lobbying Bill is too weak on transparency London, 9 September 2013 – Access Info Europe, together with 14 other civil society groups from the UK, is urging the British Government to redraft the proposed Lobbying Bill so that it provides the public with a genuine opportunity to scrutinise the activities of lobbyists. The letter sent today to the British Prime Minister, David Cameron, calls for a more thorough transparency register which is not restricted to consultant lobbyists, but which would also include in-house lobbyists, big consultancies, and other entities that offer lobbying services such as
Madrid, 23 August 2013 – NGOs today urged parties to the UN Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) to take action to promote adoption of access to information laws and to increase the availability of information on beneficial ownership of private companies. A letter sent today to members of the UNCAC Working Group on Prevention, by Access Info Europe and Global Financial Integrity together with the civil society UNCAC Coalition, urged priority action on transparency measures essential in the fight against corruption. “Access to information is vital for civil society organisations and members of the public to be able to fulfil their
Madrid, 29 November 2011 - Non financial reporting has proved to be a very important tool in encouraging companies to implement corporate social responsibility (CSR) policies. Multinational companies have a substantial influence on the planet and on human life, and corporate non financial information disclosure is a way to ensure that companies behave responsibly and are held accountable to the community in which they operate. It is important that the latter be able to assert their social, environmental and human rights. Despite the recognised importance of environmental, social and governance information reporting, European Governments and a majority of companies have
Madrid, 10 July 2013 - 2013 has been marked by a series of fatal incidents in the Bangladeshi garment industry. The Rana Plaza disaster, in which more than 1100 people were killed following the collapse of a building, revealed the bad working conditions in the textile sector in Bangladesh. The building was hosting five garment factories working for Western brands, therefore western businesses were responsible for the precarious working conditions in these factories. The EU has responded to these tragic incidents by launching, with the Government of Bangladesh on the 8th of July, a new compact on garment factory safety
Brussels, 18 July 2013 - European multinational companies strongly affect the lives and the environment in which they operate, and that is why it is essential that they report on the social, environmental and human rights aspects of their activities. It has been recognized that non financial reporting is not only beneficial for companies themselves, but also for citizens and stakeholders. Calls from international and national actors have been made to regulate corporate non financial reporting as a consequence of multiple corporate scandals; for example the horse meat scandals or various cases of environmental damages. On the international scene, the
Non financial reporting is the disclosure of a company's social, environmental and human rights information. It is also known as Environmental, Social and Governance information (ESG). Today, European multinational companies have expanded to a point where they have a significant impact on a variety of areas such as the economy, the environment, social and human rights, as well as the health of the community in which they operate. Specific examples of the areas which are affected include: - discrimination - sexual harassment - health and safety - freedom of information - torture - freedom of expression - privacy - poverty
Madrid, 1 August 2013 - Access Info Europe and the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project are conducting comparative research with investigative journalists in 30 countries across Europe on the openness of national company registers. The aim of the project is to push for free public acces to Company Registers across Europe, using the right of access to information. Currently, the majority of Company Registers are not public in most European countries and in many cases the information is not available free of charge, with prices ranging from 75,000€ to 286,000€ for example. However, company register information is collected as
Can the public find out who owns the media through free access to the essential information required? It is only possible to find out who owns the broadcast media in the UK. This is via the reporting requirements to the media authority (Ofcom) under the Broadcasting Act 1990 and Communications Act 2003. In common with Norway and Luxembourg, the law does not state what information should be disclosed but leaves it to the discretion of Ofcom to request all the information it deems necessary. In practice this may include information on the size of shareholdings, beneficial owners and those with