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23 May 2016

Give the Commission your views on EU lobbying!

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

This article was originally published by ALTER-EU. Brussels, 23 May 2015 - Do you want to see more transparency about who is lobbying who in Brussels and the EU institutions? Are you angry about the privileged access that corporate lobbyists get to EU decision-makers, whether it be on TTIP, tobacco, climate, regulation, digital rights...? The European Commission is consulting about how to improve the EU lobby transparency register with a view to revising and improving the current set-up. The consultation process is far from perfect, and the extent of the Commission's future ambition is not yet clear, but nonetheless, the

Give the Commission your views on EU lobbying!2018-11-13T10:04:11+01:00
11 May 2016

EU Ombudsman: Public figures should expect a high degree of transparency about their professional competence

2018-11-13T10:10:41+01:00

Madrid/Brussels, 10 May 2016 – In an important Decision from the European Ombudsman, Emily O’Reilly has said that data relating to the professional competence and activities of public figures, especially those appointed to a high level public posts, may not require the same level of protection as might apply to personal data in other circumstances. Access Info Europe and the HEC-NYU EU Public Interest Clinic welcomed the Ombudsman’s Decision on their complaint about the lack of transparency in the selection process for judges to the European Union Court of Justice (ECJ). “The public has a right to know if the

EU Ombudsman: Public figures should expect a high degree of transparency about their professional competence2018-11-13T10:10:41+01:00
9 May 2016

After five months, European Commission tells Access Info the name of a database!

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

Madrid, 9 May 2016 - On Europe Day, Access Info’s Executive Director Helen Darbishire was happy to open a DHL package from the European Commission with the response to a request submitted on 16 November 2015 for information about the database in which the travel and entertainment expenses of the European Commissioners are stored. We asked about the database because we’ve been told it’s not possible to provide numerical data on how much each Commissioner spends on travel and entertainment without also providing personal data, which would take many days to redact. In the modern information era this seems odd.

After five months, European Commission tells Access Info the name of a database!2018-11-13T10:04:11+01:00
18 Apr 2016

Will Timmermans really shed light on lobbying in Brussels?

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

This article was originally published by ALTER-EU. Brussels, 18 April 2016 - Commission Vice-President Frans Timmermans' launch in March of a consultation to improve the EU lobby register came seven months late. Does it herald a genuine step forward towards improved lobby transparency in Brussels? A database of organisations working to influence EU legislation, the European transparency register was designed to boost the image and integrity of the institutions. The Commission's latest moves to reassess the tool are welcome, however campaigners and veterans of such processes would be forgiven for being a little weary at the thought of yet another

Will Timmermans really shed light on lobbying in Brussels?2018-11-13T10:04:11+01:00
22 Mar 2016

Member state offices in Brussels wide open to corporate lobbyists

2018-11-13T10:04:12+01:00

Brussels/Madrid, 22 March 2016 – Corporate lobbyists enjoy widespread access to member state representations by exploiting loopholes in EU transparency rules according to the first ever study on lobbying activities at national government offices in Brussels.[1] The study, ‘National representations in Brussels: open for corporate lobbyists’ by the Alliance for Lobbying Transparency and Ethics Regulation (ALTER-EU), reveals how these government missions to EU institutions are a target for big business lobbyists looking to promote their agendas. Vicky Cann, Corporate Europe Observatory, said:“This report demonstrates that there is a worrying level of corporate lobbying directed at the EU's permanent representations. These

Member state offices in Brussels wide open to corporate lobbyists2018-11-13T10:04:12+01:00
21 Mar 2016

Access Info calls for immediate end to the EU’s secretive law-making process

2018-11-13T10:04:12+01:00

Madrid, 21 March 2016 - Access Info Europe has urged the European Ombudsman to recommend that the European Union immediately end its current practice of negotiating future legislation in secretive “trilogue” talks between the Council, Commission and Parliament. In a submission to the Ombudsman’s Public Consultation, Access Info cited the arguments of the EU’s own Advocate General in the case that led to Access Info’s 2013 victory against the Council before the European Court of Justice: ‘Legislating’ is, by definition, a law-making activity that in a democratic society can only occur through the use of a procedure that is

Access Info calls for immediate end to the EU’s secretive law-making process2018-11-13T10:04:12+01:00
18 Mar 2016

We Have the Right to Know: Is the EU-Turkey Deal Legal? So We’re Asking.

2018-11-13T10:04:12+01:00

Madrid, 18 March 2016 – As EU leaders meet in Brussels to finalise details of last week’s controversial deal on sending refugees back from Greece to Turkey, Access Info Europe is launching an access to information campaign digging into the legality of the agreement, and asking EU institutions whether they sought legal advice on or properly evaluated the human rights impacts of the deal. The three initial access to documents requests, sent to the Council of the European Union, the European Commission, and the European Parliament, also ask for legal advice-related documents in regards to the pre-existing 2014 Agreement between

We Have the Right to Know: Is the EU-Turkey Deal Legal? So We’re Asking.2018-11-13T10:04:12+01:00
17 Mar 2016

MEPs urged to take stand to defend future of EU Transparency

2018-11-13T10:04:12+01:00

Madrid, 17 March 2016 – As the European Parliament’s Constitutional Affairs Committee (AFCO) gears up for a crucial debate on recommendations on the future of EU integrity, transparency, and accountability, Access Info Europe has called on MEPs to support proposals in favour of strengthening EU transparency mechanisms, including by giving the Ombudsman powers to review classified documents and inspect the premises of public bodies. At the same time, Access Info cautioned that some of the amendments put forward by MEPs in the AFCO Committee, such retaining a limited definition of access to documents (rather than all information), are out of

MEPs urged to take stand to defend future of EU Transparency2018-11-13T10:04:12+01:00
22 Jan 2016

Access Info sets out transparency priorities for EU with Green/EFA Group

2018-11-13T10:10:55+01:00

Madrid, 22 January 2016 – Access Info Europe has outlined key actions that will help to increase transparency of EU decision-making and lobbying, in its submission as part of a consultation on civil society priority areas held by the Green/EFA Group. The pro-transparency organisation called upon the Greens to push EU institutions towards the proactive publication of information such as agendas, minutes, and participants of meetings between EU public officials and lobbyists. Access Info Europe also called for the currently-secret interinstitutional “trialogue” meetings to be made public, as part of an agenda to open up lobbying activities and decision-making processes

Access Info sets out transparency priorities for EU with Green/EFA Group2018-11-13T10:10:55+01:00
17 Dec 2015

Civil society expose holes in EU lobby transparency rules

2018-11-13T10:04:24+01:00

This post was originally published by ALTER-EU. Madrid/Brussels, 17 December 2015 - Research by ALTER-EU member groups Corporate Europe Observatory, Access Info Europe and Friends of the Earth Europe shows that well over 90 per cent of meetings between DG FISMA (the Commission's department for financial regulation) officials not covered by transparency rules and lobbyists are with the corporate sector. Since the end of 2014, following an initiative by new European Commission President Juncker, the meetings of commissioners, their cabinets and directors-general with lobbyists are published online. This transparency initiative has enabled the public to see which lobbyists get most

Civil society expose holes in EU lobby transparency rules2018-11-13T10:04:24+01:00
Original content developed by Access Info Europe and is made public under a Creative Commons Attribution, Share Alike licence.