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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 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
30 Jul 2015

Cyprus: Draft FOI law seriously below European standards

2018-11-13T10:04:48+01:00

Madrid, 30 July 2015 – Access Info Europe has urged the government of Cyprus to greatly improve its draft access to information law in order to meet basic international transparency standards. An analysis of the draft text using the Right to Information Rating indicators found that Cyprus would come in at position 97 of 102 countries globally, scoring a dismal 57 of 150 points. It would not be able to sign and ratify the Council of Europe Convention on Access to Official Documents. In a submission sent to the Justice Minister Ionas Nicolaou, the pro-transparency organisation recommended significant amendments to

Cyprus: Draft FOI law seriously below European standards2018-11-13T10:04:48+01:00
28 Jul 2015

European Ombudsman investigates lack of transparency in selection of judges for European Court of Justice

2018-11-13T09:46:11+01:00

Madrid, 27 July 2015 – The European Ombudsman last week called on the Council of the European Union to respond to allegations made by Access Info Europe and the HEC-NYU EU Public Interest Clinic that it wrongly refused access to information on selection processes used for judges entering the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU). The EU Clinic originally requested access to the opinions of the panel that examines all judicial candidates put forward by the Member States for the Court of Justice and the General Court of the EU. The information was denied on the basis that

European Ombudsman investigates lack of transparency in selection of judges for European Court of Justice2018-11-13T09:46:11+01:00
13 Jul 2015

Spain: Draft Regulation Limits Already Weak Transparency Law

2018-11-13T09:46:12+01:00

Madrid, 13 July 2015 - Access Info Europe and the 65-member Coalición Pro Acceso have strongly criticised the draft implementing Regulation for Spain’s transparency law as a deliberate attempt by the government to further limit an already weak law and have called for it to be redrafted with urgency. Particularly egregious features of the Regulation include inverting the public interest test so that the balance tips in favour of secrecy, and reducing further the kinds of information that can be requested. In response to a poorly-publicised consultation on the draft, the concerns raised in the civil society submission include the

Spain: Draft Regulation Limits Already Weak Transparency Law2018-11-13T09:46:12+01:00
1 Jul 2015

Access Info condemns sabotage of Hungarian FOI law

2018-11-13T09:46:14+01:00

Madrid, 1 July 2015 - Access Info Europe today condemned the proposal by the Hungarian government to amend the Freedom of Information Act in ways that would seriously limit the exercise of the right of access to information in Hungary. Hungarian civil society is reacting strongly to the proposal put by the government to an accelerated decree process in parliament which would result in arbitrary fees for searching for data and for copying and delivering it.[1] Other concerns are that the new rules would permit refusal of requests on the grounds that documents are “preparatory” or the copyright of third

Access Info condemns sabotage of Hungarian FOI law2018-11-13T09:46:14+01:00
24 Jun 2015

European Commission urged to act to improve transparency

2018-11-13T10:04:49+01:00

Madrid, 24 June 2015 – In a letter to European Commission Vice-President Timmermans as part of an ongoing dialogue, Access Info Europe has called for action to improve EU transparency in law and in practice. The pro-transparency organisation stressed the urgent need to bring the EU’s access to documents rules into line with international standards, and raised concerns about problems accessing key documents, as observed in responses to requests submitted on the AsktheEU.org platform. Access Info’s analysis of the EU’s access to documents Regulation 1049/2001 using the RTI Rating, found that although it scores a solid 96 out of 150,

European Commission urged to act to improve transparency2018-11-13T10:04:49+01:00
19 Jun 2015

European Commission fails to prove the need for its postal addresses policy

2018-11-13T09:46:14+01:00

Madrid, 19 June 2015 – Access Info Europe this week expressed concern at the European Commission’s insistence on maintaining its obstructive requirement for all documents requesters to provide their postal addresses, after the Commission admitted in response to parliamentary questions that the policy is based on just one case of “abuse” over the past 14 years. Answering a parliamentary question by MEP Julia Reda, the Commission cited the case of a requester who allegedly used 13 identities to submit requests, the only case they could identify since the access to documents regulation came into force in 2001. Julia Reda immediately

European Commission fails to prove the need for its postal addresses policy2018-11-13T09:46:14+01:00
10 Jun 2015

Civil society urges World Bank to collect and publish beneficial ownership data of contractors

2018-11-13T09:46:28+01:00

Madrid, 10 June 2015 - Over 100 civil society organizations from around the globe including Access Info Europe, on 8 June 2015 called on the World Bank to require that all companies bidding for Bank-financed procurements disclose their beneficial ownership information and that this information be published in an open data format as part of the Bank’s efforts to foster transparency in its contracting practices. Such a move would be in line with current trends to end corporate anonymity: On 5 June 2015, the Norwegian Parliament voted unanimously to establish a beneficial ownership registry, following in the footsteps of the

Civil society urges World Bank to collect and publish beneficial ownership data of contractors2018-11-13T09:46:28+01:00
4 Jun 2015

EU Member States urged to guarantee access to registers of beneficial owners of companies

2018-11-13T09:46:29+01:00

Brussels/Madrid, 4 June 2015 – Access Info Europe has welcomed the adoption of the EU’s Anti Money Laundering Directive obliging Member States to set up a central registry of beneficial owners of companies, but has warned that this information will not be available to investigative journalists and civil society watchdogs unless Member States take steps to ensure that the registers are public. The Anti Money Laundering Directive [1], which EU Member States now have two years to transpose into national law, requires each country to maintain a centralised database on the natural persons behind legal structures, in a bid to

EU Member States urged to guarantee access to registers of beneficial owners of companies2018-11-13T09:46:29+01:00
Original content developed by Access Info Europe and is made public under a Creative Commons Attribution, Share Alike licence.