Eldiario.es | 11/12/2014 Spanish - Un Portal de Transparencia poco transparente. Es una de las conclusiones tras buscar la información sobre el coste económico del desarrollo y lanzamiento de esa web que el Gobierno ha vendido a bombo y platillo. Tampoco es posible encontrar datos sobre quién está detrás de la página, porque no ofrece un contacto al que poder hacer preguntas. Read more...
New transparency law, criticised as failing to meet international standards, took effect yesterday Vienna, 11 December 2014 – Spanish civil society must speak out to counter diverse challenges to freedom of expression, the International Press Institute (IPI) said today following a four-day international mission to Madrid and Barcelona. Participants in the mission concluded that a lack of coordinated monitoring and advocacy has hindered efforts to enhance the free flow of information necessary for the strongest possible functioning of Spanish democracy, nearly 40 years after its advent. Led by IPI, the visit – the first of its kind to Spain –
Madrid, 10 December 2014 - Access Info Europe has called for significant improvements to the legal framework and implementation of the right of access to information at the EU level, as the European Commission finalises its work programme this week. In the letter to Vice President Timmermans, Access Info suggests the Commission focus on expanding the scope of Regulation 1049/2001 in line with the Treaty of Lisbon to cover all institutions, offices, bodies and agencies; bring exceptions on access to documents into line with international standards; and to clarify the relationship between the right of access to documents and the
Madrid, 10 December 2014 - Online access to information request platforms have huge potential for success but are threatened by a lack of institutional acceptance and financial sustainability, according to conclusions drawn in a report by independent researchers for mySociety, the organisation that created the Alaveteli software which powers AsktheEU.org and TuDerechoaSaber.es. Access Info welcomes the findings of the report which are particularly relevant to the AsktheEU.org platform, given the European Commission's new-found resistance to the transparency portal. On 1 April 2014 the Commission implemented a policy to refuse to register requests for access to documents that are not accompanied
Madrid, 10 December 2014 – The Spanish access to information law entered into force at the central government level on 10 December 2014, but it’s proving near impossible for the public to make requests. Rather than a cause for celebration, it’s been a bit of an anti-climax for the team that founded Access Info Europe, which is headquartered in Spain in part out of the goal of promoting a transparency law in the only country with over a million inhabitants in the European Union and wider European region not to have one. The biggest disappointment for the Access Info Europe
News Articles from 2014 Une loi espagnole sur la transparence peu convaincante Acteurs Publics | 16/12/2014French - Il aura fallu une décennie à l’Espagne pour adopter une loi sur la transparence de la vie publique et l’accès à l’information des citoyens. Objet de débats houleux depuis 2004, cette loi est entrée en vigueur mercredi 10 décembre. Mais le texte est quasi unanimement contesté pour son “insuffisance” et pour l’“opacité” qu’il maintient. Read more... El Portal de Transparencia nace sin información sobre su coste Eldiario.es | 11/12/2014Spanish - Un Portal de Transparencia poco transparente. Es una de las conclusiones tras buscar
Hundreds of groups worldwide call for governments to act Madrid, 9 December 2014 - On the occasion of International Anti-Corruption Day, the UNCAC Coalition, an anti-corruption network of 350 public interest groups worldwide and of which Access Info Europe is Europe Region Corrdinator, is calling on governments to get serious about tackling corruption as they agreed when they adopted the UN Convention against Corruption (UNCAC). The groups point to a hemorrhaging of public resources and growing inequality and instability around the world due to corruption. One concrete step that governments should take without further delay is to establish a requirement
Madrid, 9 December 2014 -- The Spanish access to information law enters into force at the national level on Wednesday 10 December 2014, but with just one week to go to until citizens can start presenting requests, there is little sign of preparation, with the transparency portal not having been launched and the oversight body, the Transparency Council, not having been formed. In a meeting with Secretary of State for Communication, Carmen Martinez Castro, on Thursday 4 December 2014, an international delegation of freedom of expression organisations was told that the transparency law is a priority for the current Spanish
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Madrid – Access Info Europe has welcomed the 25 November decision by the European Commission to proactively publish information about meetings between high level officials and lobbyists, but has raised concerns that the measures do not go far enough and contain loopholes which could seriously undermine the transparency initiative. Of particular concern is the lack of independent criteria for ascertaining whether or not the name of a particular lobbyist should be withheld from the public, with this hinging solely on whether or not the lobbyists provide “unambiguous consent”. This loophole leaves transparency in the hands of the lobbyists, who are
Concerns include abuse of defamation laws, regulation of broadcast media, and the right of access to information Madrid, 26 November 2014 - A mission of international freedom of expression experts will visit Spain during 1-3 December 2014 in order to gather information about levels of press freedom, freedom of expression and the right of access to information. The first mission of its kind, it is led by the International Press Institute (IPI) in coordination with Access Info Europe, and includes representatives of leading media freedom groups including the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Reporters Sans Frontières (RSF), the World Association