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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
22 Nov 2019

Malta: Access Info challenges limitation of right to information to residents

2020-01-29T10:32:45+01:00

Madrid, 22 November 2019 – Access Info Europe has lodged an appeal to Malta’s Information and Data Protection Appeals Tribunal after an access to documents request was refused due to the fact that the requester is not a resident in Malta. In the appeal, Access Info argues that residency requirements are a violation of the fundamental right to freedom of expression and information, and calls for Malta's Freedom of Information Act to be brought into line with international standards. The case began when the Ministry for Home Affairs and National Security in Malta refused to register a request sent by

Malta: Access Info challenges limitation of right to information to residents2020-01-29T10:32:45+01:00
6 Nov 2019

Spain’s 10 November General Elections: Don’t Forget Transparency!

2020-01-29T10:35:26+01:00

Madrid, 6 November 2019 – In advance of the 10 November general elections in Spain, Access Info has been in touch with the main political parties to urge them to strengthen the Transparency Law (which came into force on 10 December 2014), and to adopt laws on regulation of lobbying and on whistleblower protection. Access Info asked all the political parties for meetings. We were able to meet with Ciudadanos, Junts per Catalunya, Más País and Podemos. To the remaining parties – ERC, IU, PNV, PP, PSOE, VOX – we sent a document with the 10 Principles of the Coalición

Spain’s 10 November General Elections: Don’t Forget Transparency!2020-01-29T10:35:26+01:00
31 Oct 2019

Right of access to information at risk in Montenegro

2020-01-29T10:35:11+01:00

Madrid, 31 October 2019 - The Montenegrin government has proposed amendments to its Law on Free Access to Information that directly contradict international standards and undermine the fundamental right of freedom of expression. Access Info today voiced its serious concern and urged the Government to reconsider. Together with MANS, an anti-corruption NGO in Montenegro, Access Info has submitted a legal analysis of the proposed amendments to Montenegro’s Ministry of Public Administration on Law on Free Access to Information. The proposed changes would take Montenegro further away from international standards on transparency. Specifically, they would result in a law that is

Right of access to information at risk in Montenegro2020-01-29T10:35:11+01:00
25 Oct 2019

Ma Dada: a new online service for access information request in France

2019-10-28T16:18:29+01:00

Paris/Madrid, Friday 25 October 2019 - Open Knowledge France, with the support of Access Info Europe and Ouvre-boîte, launches madada.fr, an online service aiming to simplify requests for access to information in France. The main objective of Ma Dada platform is to help researchers, companies, journalists, associations or citizens who wish to exercise their right of access to public information, in a free, open-access service. Ma Dada aims to make citizen's requestes easier by providing a list of public organizations -more than 50,000 authorities are already available on the site!-, a form for sending the request for access to public

Ma Dada: a new online service for access information request in France2019-10-28T16:18:29+01:00
21 Oct 2019

Access Info welcomes proactive publication of sanctions of old people’s homes in Madrid region

2019-12-02T13:02:32+01:00

Madrid, 21 October 2019 – The Community of Madrid has announced that it will henceforth publish proactively sanctions imposed on the nearly 500 old people’s homes in the Madrid region – sanctions for offences such as breaching food, hygiene, or care standards – but only after an investigation by journalists from El País newspaper, who had to win a case before Spain’s Transparency Council in order to obtain the information. Access Info Europe welcomed the proactive publication of the data on the quality of care and standards in old people’s homes, noting that such information is absolutely essential for families

Access Info welcomes proactive publication of sanctions of old people’s homes in Madrid region2019-12-02T13:02:32+01:00
16 Oct 2019

United Nations Proclaims 28 September as the International Day of Universal Access to Information

2020-01-29T10:35:51+01:00

Madrid, 16 October 2019 – In an historic moment for the right of access to information, the United Nations General Assembly has proclaimed 28 September of each year as the International Day of the Universal Right of Access to Information. Access Info’s founder and director, Helen Darbishire, one of the experts who founded and promoted the day, commented “The importance of the right of access to information for defending other human rights, for restoring trust, and for advancing inclusive, democratic societies, has today been recognised.” “This is a huge achievement for the civil society movement which first named 28 September

United Nations Proclaims 28 September as the International Day of Universal Access to Information2020-01-29T10:35:51+01:00
10 Oct 2019

Citizen participation: a pending task in Europe

2020-01-29T10:36:15+01:00

Madrid, 10 October 2019 – National governments, the European Union and elected officials across Europe are failing to respond to communications from citizens. A study published today by Access Info and partner organisations reveals, something that must be addressed with urgency if trust in the political system is to be restored. The report “50 Questions from YOU to the EU” sets out how more than 200 citizens from five countries suggested over 300 questions about the future of Europe, which were then sent to public authorities, MEPs and parliamentarians. The questions related to topics of concern, ranging from the 2019

Citizen participation: a pending task in Europe2020-01-29T10:36:15+01:00
1 Aug 2019

Spain: Access Info presents report to UN Human Rights Council on violations of right of access to information

2020-01-29T10:36:45+01:00

Madrid, 01 August 2019 –  Access Info has submitted to the UN Human Rights Council a report on the ways in which the right of access to information is violated in Spain and has called on the Spanish government to bring the legal framework into line with international standards. Specifically Access Info has called for recognition by the Spanish government of access to information as a fundamental right, which would end discrimination against requesters: currently the identity requirements mean that only those who are Spanish citizens  or residents can submit requests. Furthermore, a failure to educate the wider public about

Spain: Access Info presents report to UN Human Rights Council on violations of right of access to information2020-01-29T10:36:45+01:00
30 Jul 2019

Madrid-based NGO CIECODE wins pan-European Citizen Participation prize

2020-01-29T10:39:27+01:00

Madrid, 30 July 2019 – The “Think and Do Tank” CIECODE has taken first prize in an EU-funded competition to develop a software tool that aids citizen participation The competition was organised by Access Info and its partners as part of the YOU4EU project, run under the EU’s Europe for Citizens programme. The winning application "Personal Political Analyst” was developed with the collaboration of Open Government Chair of Polytechnical University of Valencia and the Valencia Provincial Council. It is a voice assistant built on top of Google Platform that allows queries and consultations of the electoral promises made by the

Madrid-based NGO CIECODE wins pan-European Citizen Participation prize2020-01-29T10:39:27+01:00
Original content developed by Access Info Europe and is made public under a Creative Commons Attribution, Share Alike licence.