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Spanish Transparency Law approved by Senate without significant changes
The law will be adopted on 28 November 2013 but will enter into force only after one year at the national level and two years at the regional level Madrid, 26 November 2013 – The Spanish Law on Transparency, Access to Information and Good Governance was approved by the Senate last Wednesday with no improvements to the right of access
Ireland: Campaign to block FOI fee increases successful, but unacceptable €15 up-front fee remains
Madrid/Halifax, 15 November 2013 - Intense campaigning by Irish and international civil society organisations has resulted in an important policy reversal by the Irish government. The Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Brendan Howlin, has withdrawn, for now at least, an amendment to the Freedom of Information Bill 2013 which threatened to charge multiple up-front fees for requests deemed to
Time running out for lobby transparency: citizens call for action
Time running out for lobby transparency: citizens call for action Madrid/Brussels, 13 November 2013 – More than 10,000 people have signed an online petition which was delivered today to Members of the European Parliament [1], calling on them to stand up for lobbying transparency in the European Union by supporting the transition to a mandatory lobby register
Fees for FOI Requests Breach European Rules on Access to Information
Madrid/Dublin, 12 November 2013 – The specialist freedom of information NGO Access Info Europe today expressed serious concern at attempts to maintain and even increase fees for FOI requests in Ireland and noted this is not permitted by European and international standards. Access Info Europe noted that the Council of Europe Convention on Access to Official Documents expressly prohibits charges
Friends of the Earth Spain publish locations of GMO test fields
– Companies have asked to plant test GM crops in 40 locations in Castilla y León out of 62 in total across Spain – Civil society organisations report that the Spanish Government gave the information when most of the experiments had already finished Valladolid, 13 November 2013 – Amigos de la Tierra, Access Info Europe, COAG, Plataforma Rural and Red
Recommendations for Transparency of Media Ownership presented to Council of Europe
Belgrade/Madrid, 7 November 2013 - Access Info Europe and the Open Society Media Program today launched Ten Recommendations for Transparency of Media Ownership in a presentation to the 47 governments of the Council of Europe meeting in Belgrade, Serbia. Presenting the recommendations, Mark Thompson of the Open Society Media Program called for the Council of Europe to take a lead
Cover photo: International Open Data Conference via Flickr (CC BY 2.0)