Brussels, 11 July 2013 - The European Parliament has succeeded in getting the EU's access to documents Regulation 1049/2001 back on the agenda of the Council's working party on information, following a public debate and Motion for a Resolution which calls on the European Commission and the Member States to come back to the negotiating table. The EU's transparency negotiations have been stalled since the Danish Presidency failed to broker an agreement in the Council in June 2012. During the debate held in the Parliament on 21 May, which the EU transparency Commissioner Mr Maroš Šefčovič did not attend, the

Access Info Europe applies to join key case at European Court of Justice  Madrid, 6 May 2013 – Access Info Europe has applied to the European Court of Justice to intervene in a case which is of great importance to the European public in the context of the financial crisis: the case is about whether we have a right to know what key EU bodies, such as the European Central Bank, know about the financial health of Eurozone Member States. In a letter to the Court sent on 6 May 2013, Access Info Europe asked for leave to intervene in

European poll reveals widespread concern about EU Transparency   Vast majority of people want more transparency, ethics and lobbying regulation Brussels, 31 January 2013 – A majority of people across Europe are concerned about ethics and lobbying in European Union policy-making, and want better regulation of lobbyists, as well as increased transparency of the EU, according to a new opinion poll. [1] The poll conducted by TNS opinion, and completed by over 6,000 people in six European countries, reveals that three quarters (73%) of respondents are concerned that lobbyists representing the business sector have too much influence

Cypriot Presidency prepares for agreement on access to EU documents Madrid/Brussels, 9 July 2012 – The Cypriot Presidency of the Council of the European Union (EU) has decided to accept the challenge of reaching an agreement on the revision of the EU access to documents Regulation (Regulation 1049/2001), despite the previous Danish Presidency’s decision to abandon the negotiations for lack of agreement earlier this year. The reform of the regulation, which guarantees the public the right to request EU documents and to receive them within 15 working days, has stumped EU decision-makers for almost four years as a fundamental disagreement

Denmark drops reform of EU access to documents rules as disagreements prove insurmountable 20 June 2012 – The Danish Presidency of the Council of the EU yesterday gave up on trying to reach an agreement between the European Commission, the Parliament and the Member States on reform of the rules that govern public access to EU documents. With the European Parliament standing firmly in favour of greater transparency for citizens, and the European Commission pressing for amendments to the Regulation that would exclude entire classes of information or narrow the definition of a document, the agreement hinged on an agreement