Madrid, 10 December 2014 - Access Info Europe has called for significant improvements to the legal framework and implementation of the right of access to information at the EU level, as the European Commission finalises its work programme this week. In the letter to Vice President Timmermans, Access Info suggests the Commission focus on expanding the scope of Regulation 1049/2001 in line with the Treaty of Lisbon to cover all institutions, offices, bodies and agencies; bring exceptions on access to documents into line with international standards; and to clarify the relationship between the right of access to documents and the

Madrid, 10 December 2014 - Online access to information request platforms have huge potential for success but are threatened by a lack of institutional acceptance and financial sustainability, according to conclusions drawn in a report by independent researchers for mySociety, the organisation that created the Alaveteli software which powers AsktheEU.org and TuDerechoaSaber.es. Access Info welcomes the findings of the report which are particularly relevant to the AsktheEU.org platform, given the European Commission's new-found resistance to the transparency portal. On 1 April 2014 the Commission implemented a policy to refuse to register requests for access to documents that are not accompanied

Brussels/Madrid, 15 November 2014 - The Directive requiring large EU companies to produce yearly statements revealing non-financial information must now be implemented by Member States following its adoption by the Council of the European Union last month and its publication in the Official Journal of the EU today. The Directive will specifically require businesses to publish information relating to environmental, social, and employee-related matters, human rights, anti-corruption, and bribery as well as produce an evaluation of potential risks involved and the strategy employed to mitigate them. Access Info Europe welcomes the Directive's implementation across Europe. "As the first EU legislation

[Originally published on AsktheEU.org on 13 November 2014] Madrid, 13 November 2014 - Vicky Cann is a campaigner for Corporate Europe Observatory, a research and campaign group working to expose and challenge the privileged access and influence enjoyed by corporations and lobby groups in EU policy making. Vicky makes access to documents requests through AsktheEU.org to expose potential conflicts of interest or highlight where the EU revolving door rules have not been followed. She spoke to Andreas Pavlou of Access Info Europe about her experiences. - Thank you Vicky for taking time out to speak with us about your experience

Madrid, 4 November 2014 - ALTER-EU, of which Access Info Europe is a steering committee member, has welcomed EU Commission President Juncker's commitment to improve transparency around lobbying through a mandatory lobby register and more proactive publication of information, in a letter sent this week. The coalition wrote to seek assurance that the commitment to a mandatory register will take the form of a legislative proposal rather than an Inter-Institutional agreement, and that the scope of proactive transparency is widened to cover a broad range of Commission meetings between officials and that all such information is published on a regular

Madrid, 31 October 2014 – Increased disclosure, more proactive transparency of key documents and a more balanced influence of interests were the key issues raised in Access Info Europe’s submission to the public consultation opened by the European Ombudsman on the transparency of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) negotiations. The talks, conducted between the EU and the US, will determine future rules that will govern the daily lives of citizens on both sides of the Atlantic, including the quality of food, consumer protection, and chemicals safety. Yet, citizens have effectively been shut out as stakeholders due to a