Spain Transparency Campaign

2 Mar 2026

Access Info Submits Comments on the Spanish Draft Law on Public Integrity

Marta Morcuende2026-03-18T16:45:51+01:00

Madrid, 2 March 2026. – Access Info Europe has participated in the public consultation and information process for the Spanish Draft Organic Law on Public Integrity, submitting its comments to the Ministry of Finance to strengthen the transparency and access to information requirements of this key legislation to prevent and combat corruption. The draft bill includes a wide range of measures aimed at strengthening accountability, improving institutional controls and increasing transparency in areas particularly sensitive to public integrity, which Access Info welcomes. Nevertheless, Access Info highlighted the limited timeframe provided for submitting comments and observations – just eight working

Access Info Submits Comments on the Spanish Draft Law on Public IntegrityMarta Morcuende2026-03-18T16:45:51+01:00

25 Feb 2026

Access Info Celebrates Landmark Release of Secret Files on Spain’s 23-F Coup

Marta Morcuende2026-03-18T16:45:42+01:00

Madrid, 25 February 2026 — Access Info Europe welcomes the decision by the Spanish Government to declassify documents relating to the attempted coup d’état of 23 February 1981, a move that acknowledges the public’s right to know about events that profoundly shaped Spain’s democratic history. For decades, these documents remained inaccessible under the shadow of a Franco-era law — the 1968 Official Secrets Act — which, despite Spain’s transition to democracy, has continued to govern classified information without clear declassification deadlines or effective independent oversight. Its origins and outdated nature have been widely criticised by human rights organisations, historians

Access Info Celebrates Landmark Release of Secret Files on Spain’s 23-F CoupMarta Morcuende2026-03-18T16:45:42+01:00

2 Jun 2025

Spanish Court Orders Government to Disclose UNCAC Self-Assessment Documents

Rachel Hanna2025-06-19T11:56:35+02:00

02 June 2025 - A Spanish court has ruled that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation was wrong to refuse Access Info’s request for documents related to Spain’s self-assessment of its implementation of the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC). Spain is currently participating in the second cycle of the UNCAC review process. As part of this process, countries must complete a self-assessment questionnaire on how they are complying with the UNCAC. This questionnaire then forms the foundation of a peer review by two other states, culminating in a final review report. In terms of transparency,

Spanish Court Orders Government to Disclose UNCAC Self-Assessment DocumentsRachel Hanna2025-06-19T11:56:35+02:00

4 Jul 2022

Spain: Another case of lack of transparency about transparency

Helen Darbishire2022-07-05T12:51:51+02:00

Madrid, 1 July 2022 – This week Access Info submitted an appeal to the Spanish Transparency Council after the Ministry of Foreign Affairs refused access to any documents at all about Spain’s signature and ratification of the Tromsø Convention, arguing that disclosure might damage international relations. This refusal is perplexing given that ratification of the Tromsø Convention is a flagship commitment under Spain’s IV Open Government Partnership Action Plan, and the signature ceremony in Strasbourg on 23 November 2021 was a very public event covered in Spanish media. The appeal submitted yesterday comes after a tortuous process of a series

Spain: Another case of lack of transparency about transparencyHelen Darbishire2022-07-05T12:51:51+02:00

18 May 2022

Spain: Why do we need so many OGP Local Members?

Helen Darbishire2022-05-19T11:06:37+02:00

Madrid, 18 May 2022 – Access Info welcomes the news that two more Spanish regions – Asturias and Valencia - have joined Open Government Partnership’s local programme, making Spain the European country with the largest number of sub-national members, at six in total.[1] Access Info is calling on these regional governments to institute strong and inclusive multi-stakeholder forums, something which three of the Spain’s other OGP local members - Aragon, the Basque Country, and Catalonia – have, but the City of Madrid does not. “As a late-comer to the field of transparency, only adopting an access to information law in

Spain: Why do we need so many OGP Local Members?Helen Darbishire2022-05-19T11:06:37+02:00

26 Jan 2022

Call for transparency in selecting head of Spanish Data Protection Agency

Helen Darbishire2022-01-26T16:31:39+01:00

Madrid, 26 January 2021 – Access Info has called on the Spanish government to guarantee a transparent, merit-based process for selection of the head and deputy head of the Spanish Data Protection Agency. Concerns about this process have arisen after allegations surfaced that the two principal political parties (the PSOE and PP) had reached an agreement on who would get the posts (a governing PSOE candidate for the position of President, an opposition PP candidate for the Deputy President position). This brought a warning from the European Data Protection Supervisor Wojciech Wiewiórowski, who told El País newspaper that “the EU

Call for transparency in selecting head of Spanish Data Protection AgencyHelen Darbishire2022-01-26T16:31:39+01:00

10 Dec 2021

Spain: High Time to Guarantee the Right of Access to Information

Helen Darbishire2021-12-11T08:38:15+01:00

Madrid, 10 December 2021 – On International Human Rights Day, and as the Spanish Transparency Law celebrates seven years since it entered into force, Access Info has renewed the call for full recognition of the right to information in Spain, something essential to fix many problems with the right to know in practice. With work on the reform of the law starting in early 2022 as part of a commitment in Spain’s latest Open Government Action Plan there is a unique opportunity to guarantee a full right of access to information in Spain, as a human right. This would be

Spain: High Time to Guarantee the Right of Access to InformationHelen Darbishire2021-12-11T08:38:15+01:00

24 Nov 2021

Spain signs the Tromsø Convention on Access to Official Documents

Helen Darbishire2023-07-27T15:44:00+02:00

Madrid, 24 November 2021 – Access Info today welcomed the signature by Spain of the Council of Europe Convention on Access to Official Documents – the Tromsø Convention – fulfilling its commitment to do so under Spain’s current Open Government Partnership Action Plan. The Tromsø Convention was signed by Spain’s Representative to the Council of Europe, Manuel Montobbio, on 23 November 2021, in the presence of Assistant Secretary General Bjorn Berge. The commitment to sign and ratify the Tromsø Convention was secured by civil society, with active involvement of Access Info, as part of the co-creation of Spain's IV OGP

Spain signs the Tromsø Convention on Access to Official DocumentsHelen Darbishire2023-07-27T15:44:00+02:00

28 Sep 2021

Spain: Civil Society calls for full Recognition of the Right of Access to Information

Helen Darbishire2021-09-28T10:49:09+02:00

Alicante, 28 September 2021 - On the International Day for Universal Access to Information, Access Info Europe and other (35) organisations of the Coalición Pro Acceso have published a declaration calling on the Spanish government to recognise the right of access to information as a fundamental right, and to adopt a transparency law that applies to all public authorities, as well as to private entities that perform public functions and/or operate mostly with public resources. Among the 18 demands contained in the Declaration of the Coalición Pro Acceso, presented at the VI international Congress on Transparency (Alicante, 27 to 29

Spain: Civil Society calls for full Recognition of the Right of Access to InformationHelen Darbishire2021-09-28T10:49:09+02:00

21 Jun 2021

Spain: Government should guarantee transparency of EU recovery funds

Helen Darbishire2021-06-22T12:44:44+02:00

Madrid, 21 June 2021 – Members of the Coalición Pro Acceso and the Open Generation EU Platform have called on the Spanish government to guarantee the transparency of the European pandemic recover funds, after a report revealed the lack of mechanisms for public oversight of these funds.

Spain: Government should guarantee transparency of EU recovery fundsHelen Darbishire2021-06-22T12:44:44+02:00