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21 Feb 2022

OGP Summit Side Panel: How strong is your right to know?

Helen Darbishire2022-02-21T17:17:43+01:00

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

OGP Summit Side Panel: How strong is your right to know?Helen Darbishire2022-02-21T17:17:43+01:00

14 Feb 2022

Access to meetings calendars? Access Info submits Amicus Curiae Brief to the European Court of Human Rights

Helen Darbishire2022-03-11T11:57:13+01:00

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

Access to meetings calendars? Access Info submits Amicus Curiae Brief to the European Court of Human RightsHelen Darbishire2022-03-11T11:57:13+01:00

28 Jan 2022

European Commission President’s text messages are documents and can be requested says Ombudsman

Helen Darbishire2022-01-28T15:13:58+01:00

Madrid / Brussels, 28 January 2022 – Access Info has hailed today’s decision by the European Ombudsman that Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s text messages with the CEO of Pfizer about Covid vaccine purchases are documents to which the public can request access. Access Info is calling for an urgent reform to ensure that the EU’s twenty-year-old access to documents rules are brought into line with the digital age. Rather remarkably, the European Commission had told Alexander Fanta, a journalist with netzpolitik.org, that because it does not register text messages, these cannot be requested. This refusal came to a

European Commission President’s text messages are documents and can be requested says OmbudsmanHelen Darbishire2022-01-28T15:13:58+01:00

26 Jan 2022

Call for transparency in selecting head of Spanish Data Protection Agency

Helen Darbishire2022-01-26T16:31:39+01:00

Madrid, 26 January 2021 – Access Info has called on the Spanish government to guarantee a transparent, merit-based process for selection of the head and deputy head of the Spanish Data Protection Agency. Concerns about this process have arisen after allegations surfaced that the two principal political parties (the PSOE and PP) had reached an agreement on who would get the posts (a governing PSOE candidate for the position of President, an opposition PP candidate for the Deputy President position). This brought a warning from the European Data Protection Supervisor Wojciech Wiewiórowski, who told El País newspaper that “the EU

Call for transparency in selecting head of Spanish Data Protection AgencyHelen Darbishire2022-01-26T16:31:39+01:00

15 Dec 2021

The Right to Know Declaration 2021: Open for endorsement!

Helen Darbishire2021-12-15T17:50:11+01:00

On 14 December 2021, The Right to Know Declaration 2021 was opened for endorsement at an event to discuss measurement of the right of access to information organised by Access Info Europe as part of the Open Government Partnership Global Summit. The Declaration is open for endorsement by civil society organisations, IGOs, governments, information commissioners, academics and other individuals, and will serve as an action agenda for the right to information community for 2022 and beyond. Organisational endorsements here / Individual endorsements here The Right to Know Declaration arose out of debates convened by UNESCO to mark International Right to

The Right to Know Declaration 2021: Open for endorsement!Helen Darbishire2021-12-15T17:50:11+01:00

15 Dec 2021

Eight leading civil society organisations banned from UN anti-corruption conference due to objections by Turkey

Helen Darbishire2021-12-15T17:25:00+01:00

Sharm El-Sheikh - Transparency International, Access Info Europe, The Good Lobby, and the UNCAC Coalition strongly condemn the exclusion of prominent civil society organisations from participating in the 9th session of the UN Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) Conference of the States Parties (CoSP), currently underway in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt. The CoSP plenary on the morning of 15 December 2021 failed to overturn the unfounded objections by the Turkish government. Many countries from the European Union and broader Europe, Canada, the US and other regions spoke out in support of the affected NGOs. The barred organisations include Access Info Europe (Spain),

Eight leading civil society organisations banned from UN anti-corruption conference due to objections by TurkeyHelen Darbishire2021-12-15T17:25:00+01:00

10 Dec 2021

Spain: High Time to Guarantee the Right of Access to Information

Helen Darbishire2021-12-11T08:38:15+01:00

Madrid, 10 December 2021 – On International Human Rights Day, and as the Spanish Transparency Law celebrates seven years since it entered into force, Access Info has renewed the call for full recognition of the right to information in Spain, something essential to fix many problems with the right to know in practice. With work on the reform of the law starting in early 2022 as part of a commitment in Spain’s latest Open Government Action Plan there is a unique opportunity to guarantee a full right of access to information in Spain, as a human right. This would be

Spain: High Time to Guarantee the Right of Access to InformationHelen Darbishire2021-12-11T08:38:15+01:00

24 Nov 2021

Spain signs the Tromsø Convention on Access to Official Documents

Helen Darbishire2023-07-27T15:44:00+02:00

Madrid, 24 November 2021 – Access Info today welcomed the signature by Spain of the Council of Europe Convention on Access to Official Documents – the Tromsø Convention – fulfilling its commitment to do so under Spain’s current Open Government Partnership Action Plan. The Tromsø Convention was signed by Spain’s Representative to the Council of Europe, Manuel Montobbio, on 23 November 2021, in the presence of Assistant Secretary General Bjorn Berge. The commitment to sign and ratify the Tromsø Convention was secured by civil society, with active involvement of Access Info, as part of the co-creation of Spain's IV OGP

Spain signs the Tromsø Convention on Access to Official DocumentsHelen Darbishire2023-07-27T15:44:00+02:00

21 Oct 2021

It’s time for EU Member States to deliver transparency of fisheries control

Helen Darbishire2021-10-22T09:22:25+02:00

Madrid, 22 October 2021 – As negotiations get underway in Brussels on future regulation of the fishing sector, Access Info is calling on EU Member States to support increased transparency in fisheries control, in line with the proposals made by the European Parliament in March 2021. At stake is the reform of an existing rule, the controversial Article 113, which prohibits the European Commission from sharing fishing controls data with other persons, even with national and European parliamentarians, unless the relevant Member State has given express consent. Access Info has repeatedly criticised this problematic secrecy clause, which dates back to

It’s time for EU Member States to deliver transparency of fisheries controlHelen Darbishire2021-10-22T09:22:25+02:00

4 Oct 2021

Pandora Papers: How long before we have open company registers?

Helen Darbishire2021-10-04T22:14:48+02:00

Helen Darbishire, Director of Access Info Europe, reflects on what the Pandora Papers tell us about anti-corruption and integrity instruments in Europe, and calls on the European Commission to move urgently on opening up company registers. Helen is a member of the Steering Committee of the Open Government Partnership, and is Chair of the UNCAC Coalition, a global civil society network working to combat corruption. Madrid, 4 October 2021 – The Pandora Papers leak reveals, once again, that the mega rich are using legal loopholes to avoid taxes and the corrupt are transferring money out of poorer countries into more

Pandora Papers: How long before we have open company registers?Helen Darbishire2021-10-04T22:14:48+02:00