EU Transparency2021-08-30T11:39:16+02:00

ADVOCATING FOR GREATER TRANSPARENCY IN THE EU

WE SHINE A LIGHT ON EU INSTITUTIONS AND DECISION MAKING

WE PROMOTE TRANSPARENCY IN EU DECISION MAKING...

since citizens have the right to know about how decisions are taken
Transparency in EU decision making is essential to ensuring citizens can hold public officials to account and increase citizen participation. We also campaign for stronger rules for lobbying transparency, the opening up of trilogues, as well as better record keeping by all EU institutions.

WE TACKLE THE
ABUSIVE APPLICATION
OF EXCEPTIONS...

because only in limited cases should the EU apply exceptions to access
By using the EU transparency rules (Regulation 1049/2001) we challenge the decisions of EU institutions that limit access to documents, and take further appeals and complaints to the European Ombudsman or Courts.

WE CHALLENGE
PRACTICAL OBSTACLES TO
ACCESS INFORMATION...

so that submitting requests is simple and straightforward for everyone
We challenge the obstacles put in place by EU institutions via appeals and evidence-based advocacy – whether it be for example, to end the obligation to provide a postal address or personal identification to register requests or simply to be able to use email!

OUR LATEST UPDATES ON EU TRANSPARENCY

13Nov 2014

“If there is something you have always wanted to know, why not ask?” – Interview with Vicky Cann

[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

4Nov 2014

Civil society welcome Juncker commitment to improve lobbying transparency in the EU

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

31Oct 2014

Recommendations on TTIP Transparency Presented to EU Ombudsman

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,

28Oct 2014

Call for reform of Copyright Rules in the EU

Madrid, 28 October 2014 - Access Info Europe, the specialist right to information campaigners, today joined 32 civil society organisations calling on the European Commission to clarify the framework for copyright within the European Union. The position paper by Free Knowledge Advocacy Group EU calls on the European Commission to bring copyright law into the 21st century, redefining the balance

22Oct 2014

Lack of Transparency Leads to EU Expert Group Budget Freeze

Madrid, 22 October 2014 - The European Parliament has voted to freeze the budget of the European Commission's Expert Groups for the second time in four years, due to a lack of transparency, conflict of interest issues, and unbalanced stakeholder representation within these advisory groups. A group of cross-party MEPs [1] tabled the amendment to withhold almost €4 million from

10Oct 2014

EU Ombudsman urged to review European Commission’s insistence on postal addresses to register requests for documents

Madrid, 13 October 2014 – Access Info Europe is challenging the European Commission’s policy of demanding postal addresses as a precondition for registering requests for access to EU documents as part of a complaint being considered by the European Ombudsman. Access Info Europe argues that Commission’s policy, adopted on 1 April 2014, of refusing to register requests without postal address