Open Government in the EU | 02/03/2022 English - The NGO Access Info Europe calls on EU to implement disclosure commitments to safeguard effectiveness of sanctions against Russian oligarchs. Read more...
Madrid, 1 March 2022 – Access Info is one of 43 organisations which today called on EU leaders to ensure full transparency of debates over the future regulation of our digital environment, including services and marketplaces online. As three-way negotiations are proceeding between the European Commission, European Parliament and the Member States in the Council of the EU, the organisations expressed concern at the lack of transparency of the texts being discussed. Rather unusually, there has been little transparency of the so-called “trilogue” negotiations on the Digital Markets and the Digital Services Acts, in spite of this being required by
Madrid, 2 March 2022 – Helen Darbishire and Rachel Hanna of Access Info Europe explain why transparency is essential to ensure the effectiveness of the sanctions against Russia. Following the invasion of Ukraine, there has been global outrage at Russia’s blatant disregard for international law, human rights, and the principle of state sovereignty. In an attempt to deter Putin from escalating military action in Ukraine, the EU and its allies have come together to decide on sanctions that directly target Russian oligarchs, freezing their assets – often the fruit of corruption and money laundering – and impeding them from conducting
14 December 2021 – The measurement of the right of access to information is still in its infancy, although there are now some important initiatives, including from UNESCO and the OECD to capture data from governments, whilst civil society projects are developing more in-depth tools to measure transparency in practice. The current state of measurement of the right to information was discussed at an expert webinar that took place on 14 December 2021 as part of the Open Government Partnership summit. The full video of the webinar can be seen here: https://vimeo.com/657069498 An important conclusion of the debate was that
ZACK ZACK | 09/02/2022 German - Hinter verschlossenen Türen verhandelten Kommission und EU-Staaten über die Verwendung der 723,8 Milliarden Euro des Covid-19-Rettungsfonds. Journalisten aus der ganzen EU haben die Kommission aufgefordert, Einblick in diese Gespräche zu gewähren. Brüssel hält aber hunderte Dokumente zurück. Read more...
DEO | 09/02/2022 Danish - Den historiske pengeregn fra EU til medlemslandende bliver kanaliseret og godkendt af embedsmænd i EU-Kommissionen og i de nationale ministerier. Løfterne om åbenhed ser ikke ud til at blive overholdt, ifølge journalistgruppen #RecoveryFiles. Read more...
Denik.cz | 09/02/2022 Czech - Členské státy EU a Evropská komise jednaly o tom, jak utratit 723,8 miliardy eur z fondu na obnovu po pandemii covidu-19, za zavřenými dveřmi. Novináři z desítky evropských zemí včetně České republiky proto požádali Komisi, aby jim zpřístupnila podrobnosti o těchto jednání. Komise ale navzdory deklarované transparentnosti odmítá zveřejnit stovky dokumentů. Read more...
ILTALEHTI | 09/02/2022 Finnish - EU:n jäsenvaltiot ja Euroopan komissio neuvottelivat suljettujen ovien takana, miten elpymisvälineen 723,8 miljardia euroa käytetään. Journalistit eri maista pyysivät lisävalaistusta keskusteluihin. Juhlapuheista huolimatta komissio salaa satoja asiakirjoja. Read more...
Madrid / Strasbourg, 14 February 2022 – There is strong comparative evidence from across Europe that national access to information laws apply to the meetings calendars of senior public officials according to a submission made by Access Info to the European Court of Human Rights. This evidence has been presented in the form of an Amicus Curiae (“friend of the court”) Brief submitted in relation to the case of Citizens Network Watchdog Poland vs. Poland currently under consideration by Europe’s top human rights court. This case arose when the organisation Watchdog Poland requested the calendars of the Polish Constitutional Tribunal
Follow The Money | 09/02/2022 English - EU member states and the European Commission negotiated behind closed doors on how to spend the Covid-19 recovery fund’s 723.8 billion euros. Journalists from across the bloc requested that the Commission provide insight into those discussions. But even though it pays lip service to the importance of transparency, the Commission is refusing to disclose hundreds of documents. Read more...