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Over 50 Spanish constitutional experts urge recognition of access to information as a fundamental right
Madrid, 12 December 2016 - Over 50 of Spain’s top constitutional experts, lawyers, and academics have called upon the Spanish government to recognise access to information as a fundamental right in line with international jurisprudence which links the right to information to freedom of expression. The experts insist that there is no need for a constitutional reform as the Spanish
Access Info challenges European Commission secrecy around EU-Turkey refugee deal legal advice before the European Court of Justice
Madrid, 2 December 2016 – Access Info Europe is taking the European Commission to the General Court of the Court of Justice of the European Union to obtain its legal analysis of this year’s controversial EU-Turkey deal on return of refugees to Turkey. The 18 March 2016 deal – officially “statement” – which is having a direct impact in the
Civil society calls on Spanish Government to be open about the Open Government Partnership – again!
Madrid, 24 November 2016 – A letter from seventeen (17) Spanish civil society organisations sent today to the Spanish government calls for information about progress on the third Open Government Partnership Action Plan, as well as urging the Spanish authorities to send ministerial level representatives to the OGP summit, to be held in Paris on 7-9 December 2016. The letter
Europe: access to information in practice, not just on paper
[Article first published by the Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso] Long established and widely recognized, the right to access to information is severely curtailed in many European countries due to deficient implementation of existing law In case you missed it, this year marks the 250th anniversary since the world’s first transparency law was adopted, in Sweden in 1766. At a quick
Spanish Transparency Council confirms that Agendas of Cabinet meetings of the Government is public information
Madrid, 14 November 2016 – Access Info today welcomed the recent ruling by the Spanish Transparency Council that agendas of Cabinet meetings constitute information that should be available for public scrutiny in accordance with the obligations set out in Spain’s Transparency Law. The Council’s important Decision rejected the arguments of the Ministry of the Presidency, concluding that publication of the
One step forward, two steps back: New Italian FOIA fails to improve adequate appeals mechanism
Madrid, 10 November 2016 - Access Info Europe has expressed serious concern that Italy’s newly-adopted “FOIA” still falls far behind international standards after an analysis of the quality of the law ranked Italy 54th out of 111 countries. The pro-transparency organisation criticised the decree, passed in May this year, specifically because it weakens the appeals system by abandoning Italy’s Information
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