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27 Jan 2020

European Commissioners’ Expenses Transparency: Ombudsman accepts challenge to secrecy justified by “privacy”

2021-03-29T15:56:52+02:00

Madrid, 27 January 2020 – The European Ombudsman has accepted two complaints from Access Info against the refusal by the European Commission to provide information about the exact nature of “miscellaneous” travel expenses claimed by various Commissioners, including former Commission President Jean Claude Juncker’s spending of €8,320 while at the G20 in Buenos Aires in November 2018. The Commission has argued that it cannot give the details of what the funds were spent on because it would violate the privacy of the Commissioners, something that Access Info is challenging. The other mystery spending which the Commission includes how Commissioner Cecilia

European Commissioners’ Expenses Transparency: Ombudsman accepts challenge to secrecy justified by “privacy”2021-03-29T15:56:52+02:00
22 Jan 2020

Tenders Guru project: Guide to EU Whistleblower Protection Directive

2021-08-11T13:28:33+02:00

Madrid, 22 January 2020- Leading transparency and anti-corruption organisations from across Europe have today released a Guide to the EU Whistleblower Protection Directive, which came into force on 16 December 2019 and must be transposed by EU Member States within two years. The Guide explains how the EU Whistleblower Protection Directive is structured and the minimum standards of protection that countries need to include in national law. The Guide also makes recommendations on how national laws can ensure an even more comprehensive protection for anyone who exposes corruption and wrongdoing in any area of governmental activity and spending. The Guide

Tenders Guru project: Guide to EU Whistleblower Protection Directive2021-08-11T13:28:33+02:00
16 Jan 2020

Tenders Guru project: Public Procurement Glossary

2021-08-11T13:24:23+02:00

Madrid, 15 January 2020- Leading transparency and anti-corruption organisations from across Europe have today released the Public Procurement Glossary, a guide on the terminology used in public procurement processes, with the goal of making it easier for civil society and journalists to monitor for corruption and wrongdoing in local procurement processes.

Tenders Guru project: Public Procurement Glossary2021-08-11T13:24:23+02:00
8 Jan 2020

Spain: New government’s transparency commitments should be integrated into next OGP Action Plan

2020-01-09T11:00:55+01:00

Madrid, 8 January 2020 – After ten months of electoral stalemate, Access Info Europe welcomed the creation of a new government in Spain, with a coalition agreement that includes important commitments on transparency, including proposed reform of Spain’s mediocre 2013 Transparency Law, as well as whistleblower protection, regulation of lobbying, abolishing laws that limit freedom of expression, and strengthening anti-corruption measures. Access Info today urged the new government to make transparency a top priority and to ensure that the promised reforms bring Spain into line with international standards for the fundamental right of access to information, something that the almost

Spain: New government’s transparency commitments should be integrated into next OGP Action Plan2020-01-09T11:00:55+01:00
20 Dec 2019

Tenders Guru project: reducing corruption risks with data

2021-08-11T13:32:08+02:00

Madrid, 20 December 2019- A major pan-European project looking into how to reduce corruption in public procurement, including at the local level, is currently underway in four European countries, and is producing it is first results which can be found on the Tenders.Guru website.

Tenders Guru project: reducing corruption risks with data2021-08-11T13:32:08+02:00
18 Dec 2019

Access Info welcomes re-election of Emily O’Reilly as European Ombudsman

2019-12-20T09:46:29+01:00

Madrid, 18 December 2019 – Access Info Europe today welcomed the re-election of Ms Emily O’Reilly as European Ombudsman for another 5 years, after a competitive open process in which she won in the third round of voting by the European Parliament, receiving 320 votes out of 600 votes cast. In the run up to the election, Access Info wrote to all MEPS, urging them to support the candidate with the strongest track record in working for transparency and openness of the European institutions, and stressing that Ms O’Reilly had demonstrated her commitment to advancing the right of access to

Access Info welcomes re-election of Emily O’Reilly as European Ombudsman2019-12-20T09:46:29+01:00
12 Dec 2019

Europe-wide Call for Greater Transparency of the Council of the EU – Croatian Presidency Urged to Act

2019-12-12T13:32:43+01:00

Brussels, 12 December 2019- Access Info today joined the organisation GONG (Croatia) and 33 other NGOs from across Europe in calling on the incoming Croatian Presidency of the European Union to act to ensure legislative and lobby transparency, and in particular to ensure transparency of the Council of the EU.   The organisations note that at least half of all laws passing through national parliaments are related to norms and directives adopted at the EU level, and yet without transparency of the Council, it is almost impossible for citizens at the national level to engage in debate at the root

Europe-wide Call for Greater Transparency of the Council of the EU – Croatian Presidency Urged to Act2019-12-12T13:32:43+01:00
10 Dec 2019

Access Info denounces violations of the right of access to information in Spain at the UN Human Rights Council

2019-12-10T15:51:49+01:00

Madrid, 10 December 2019 – Access Info presents today at the pre-session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva its report on the violations of the Right of Access to Information and Freedom of Expression that take place in Spain. Joan Barata, expert on freedom of expression and member of the Platform in Defence of Freedom of Information (PDLI), presents the report to the Council today. This report was sent to the Council in July 2019 and was prepared in collaboration with PDLI, the Federation of Journalists' Unions (FeSP), the Criminal Policy Study Group (GEPC) and the Research

Access Info denounces violations of the right of access to information in Spain at the UN Human Rights Council2019-12-10T15:51:49+01:00
10 Dec 2019

Spain: Five Years of the Transparency Law

2019-12-10T09:42:57+01:00

Madrid, 10 December 2019 – Five years after Spain’s transparency law came into force on International Human Rights Days, 10 December 2014, Access Info urged the Spanish government to take bolder steps towards complying with international standards on this fundamental right, and to ensure citizens can exercise their right to information without the multiple obstacles that are currently resulting in serious underuse of the law. Access Info highlighted the low number of requests – under 5,000 per year at the central government level, and with a shocking 69% of requests being made by men, just 26% by women and the

Spain: Five Years of the Transparency Law2019-12-10T09:42:57+01:00
28 Nov 2019

New European Council President urged to be open on lobbying

2019-11-28T11:57:55+01:00

Brussels, 28 November 2019 - The incoming president of the European Council, Charles Michel has been called on to commit to full transparency of lobbying, in a letter sent today by Access Info Europe, along with 30 civil society organisations members of the ALTER-EU lobby transparency platform. The letter, coordinated by ALTER-EU (The Alliance for Lobby Transparency and Ethics Regulation) also calls for action on enforcing the rule of law, avoiding corporate capture, and boosting ethics regulation. Particularly important is the call for the President of the Council to publish proactively, in full, a list of all meetings that he

New European Council President urged to be open on lobbying2019-11-28T11:57:55+01:00
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