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13 Jun 2017

Spain’s Transparency Lottery

2018-11-13T10:03:19+01:00

[Article first published on eldiario.es (in Spanish)] Helen Darbishire, Executive Director Madrid, 13 June 2017 - If the person reading this article had to place a bet, which information would you say it’s easier to access: the salaries of advisers to the ministers or the documents that guide Spanish Cabinet discussions at its traditionally secretive weekly Friday meetings? What’s certain is that talking about transparency in Spain is like buying a lottery ticket: the lack of a government transparency policy makes obtaining information feel more playing roulette than exercising a fundamental right. In fact, Access Info managed to

Spain’s Transparency Lottery2018-11-13T10:03:19+01:00
7 Jun 2017

Spanish Government takes open government secrecy battle to High Court

2018-11-13T10:03:20+01:00

Madrid, 7 June 2017 – In baffling reluctance to be transparent about its own open government policies, the Spanish Government has appealed to the High Court against last month’s lower court ruling that it should provide Access Info Europe with progress reports on commitments under the Open Government Partnership (OGP). “It’s amazing that the Government is fighting so hard to keep secret information about what it’s doing to advance open government,” stated Helen Darbishire, Executive Director of Access Info Europe. The documents on what each Ministry is doing under the OGP Action Plan were first requested by Access Info Europe

Spanish Government takes open government secrecy battle to High Court2018-11-13T10:03:20+01:00
9 May 2017

EU Urged to Adopt Comprehensive Transparency Agenda

2018-11-13T10:03:20+01:00

Madrid/Brussels, 9 May 2017 – On Europe Day, Access Info is calling on the European Union to commit to and implement essential transparency and open government reforms to reverse the growing sense among European citizens that they are distanced from Brussels and that decisions are taken behind closed doors with little or no accountability. Access Info’s mapping, carried out with our partners, reveals that it is not possible for citizens to get information on decisions such as that to drop EU anti-corruption reports or who really negotiated the controversial EU-Turkey deal. Other transparency blackspots relate to areas of public interest,

EU Urged to Adopt Comprehensive Transparency Agenda2018-11-13T10:03:20+01:00
4 May 2017

Victoria en los tribunales: El Gobierno deberá ser transparente sobre sus políticas de gobierno abierto

2018-11-13T10:06:29+01:00

Madrid, 4 de mayo de 2017 – En una importante victoria para la transparencia en España, el Tribunal de lo Contencioso Administrativo dictamina que el Ministerio de Presidencia debe entregar a Access Info Europe una serie de documentos relacionados con las acciones que el Gobierno lleva a cabo como parte de la Alianza para el Gobierno Abierto (OGP). Esta importante sentencia, que avala la resolución del Consejo de Transparencia y Buen Gobierno (CTBG) y contribuye al desarrollo de jurisprudencia en derecho de acceso a la información en España, establece que para que la sociedad civil pueda participar en la toma

Victoria en los tribunales: El Gobierno deberá ser transparente sobre sus políticas de gobierno abierto2018-11-13T10:06:29+01:00
24 Abr 2017

Necesitamos una Ley de transparencia fuerte

2018-11-13T10:06:29+01:00

[Artículo publicado en (Des)igualdad en eldiario.es] Alba Gutiérrez, Coordinadora de campañas Madrid, 24 de abril de 2017 - La sociedad civil, trabajando mano a mano con periodistas, ha logrado arrojar luz sobre cómo nuestros representantes toman las decisiones públicas que afectan a los derechos de las personas, quién interviene en las mismas y cómo se gastan nuestro dinero. Ahora sabemos el papel que las grandes empresas energéticas y lobistas tuvieron en la redacción de la controvertida ley #ImpuestoAlSol; que el Gobierno de España ignora los derechos humanos en las negociaciones de los Acuerdos de Promoción y Protección Recíproca de

Necesitamos una Ley de transparencia fuerte2018-11-13T10:06:29+01:00
21 Abr 2017

La sociedad civil pide cambios firmes en la Ley de transparencia y la regulación del lobby

2018-11-13T10:06:30+01:00

Madrid, 21 de abril de 2017 – Access Info Europe, junto con 19 organizaciones de la Coalición Pro Acceso [1], instan a los grupos parlamentarios a adoptar un firme compromiso para que la reforma de la Ley de Transparencia garantice el derecho de acceso a la información y la regulación de los lobbies de acuerdo con los estándares internacionales. Las organizaciones reconocen que el texto que se está debatiendo sobre la protección de denunciantes del Grupo Parlamentario Ciudadanos introduce importantes cambios en la Ley de Transparencia como la ampliación de la información que debe publicarse de forma proactiva; la eliminación

La sociedad civil pide cambios firmes en la Ley de transparencia y la regulación del lobby2018-11-13T10:06:30+01:00
11 Abr 2017

Pushing for beneficial ownership transparency in Europe

2018-11-13T10:03:20+01:00

[Article first published by the UNCAC Coalition Blog] Andreas Pavlou, RTI Campaigner and Researcher   Madrid, 11 April 2017 - Earlier this year, the European Parliament’s Economic and Monetary Affairs and Civil Liberties committees voted to strengthen beneficial ownership transparency rules across the European Union as part of the current revision to the 4th EU Anti-Money Laundering Directive. The proposed changes, if adopted in plenary, would mean EU citizens could access registers of beneficial owners of companies and trusts without having to demonstrate a “legitimate interest”, as is currently the case. This is something that will make it

Pushing for beneficial ownership transparency in Europe2018-11-13T10:03:20+01:00
31 Mar 2017

Civil society warn Cyprus’ draft transparency law under threat if excessive exceptions persist

2018-11-13T10:03:21+01:00

» This article is also available in Greek, here. Madrid, 31 March 2017 – Access Info Europe and 30 international and Cypriot civil society organisations have today urged the government of Cyprus to guarantee that exceptions to access in its draft transparency law meet international standards. The letter urges the Cypriot Justice Minister in charge of the law, Ionas Nicolaou, to reverse the unacceptable inclusion of five absolute exceptions [1] as well as ensure that information may only be refused if its disclosure would or would be likely to harm a protected interest, unless there is an overriding public interest

Civil society warn Cyprus’ draft transparency law under threat if excessive exceptions persist2018-11-13T10:03:21+01:00
23 Mar 2017

Los Órdenes del Día del Consejo de Ministros revelan información clave para el debate público y la rendición de cuentas

2018-11-13T10:06:30+01:00

Madrid, 23 de marzo de 2017 – Varios medios han revelado que el Consejo de Ministros revoca concesiones de nacionalidad por errores administrativos y convalida gastos en contra de los criterios de los inspectores, gracias a la información obtenida por una solicitud de acceso a información de Access Info Europe. La periodista de El País, Elena Sevillano, expone en base a la información obtenida claras ineficiencias en el sistema de las concesiones de nacionalidad española. Debido a lo que parece una falta de coordinación del Ministerio de Justicia, el Consejo de Ministros habitualmente retira la nacionalidad concedida por faltas administrativas

Los Órdenes del Día del Consejo de Ministros revelan información clave para el debate público y la rendición de cuentas2018-11-13T10:06:30+01:00
22 Mar 2017

European Parliament Committee supports increase in decision-making transparency

2018-11-13T10:03:21+01:00

Madrid, 22 March 2017 – Access Info Europe has cautiously welcomed this week’s adoption of the report on ‘Transparency, accountability and integrity in the EU institutions’ by the European Parliament Constitutional Affairs Committee. The report by Sven Giegold MEP takes important steps to improve record keeping and decision-making transparency by calling for the Council to publish the position of member states in minutes of working group meetings, as well as ensure documents created during trilogues (informal talks on legislation between the three main EU institutions) are made directly available online by the Parliament. “MEPs must now build upon the steps

European Parliament Committee supports increase in decision-making transparency2018-11-13T10:03:21+01:00
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