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2 Sep 2022

Free, online and open for all! UNESCO launches new Access to Information course

Helen Darbishire2022-09-02T13:30:10+02:00

Madrid, 2 September 2022 – UNESCO and the Centre for Law and Democracy (CLD) have launched a massive open online course (MOOC) about the right of access to information. The course is free for everyone and provides official certification upon completion. Taking just six hours to complete, this course is an excellent opportunity for all those who have an appetite to increase or reinforce their knowledge on the right of access to information (ATI), including public officials, journalists, civil society, students, and any other person interested on this fundamental right. The objectives of this course are: To increase participants’ knowledge

Free, online and open for all! UNESCO launches new Access to Information courseHelen Darbishire2022-09-02T13:30:10+02:00

13 Aug 2022

Spain and State Secrets: Civil Society condemns mid-August consultation on first new secrecy law in over 50 years!

Helen Darbishire2022-08-26T21:05:19+02:00

Photo: El País Update, 26 August 2022: 24 organisations have signed this statement, as well as three individual experts. Madrid, 13 August 2022 – Access Info is one of 15 civil society organisations which today condemned in the strongest terms an incredibly short, mid-August, public consultation on a Spain’s new secrecy law, proposed to replace the 1968 Franco-era law still in force. The new draft law was made public by the Spanish government on 3 August 2022 with a deadline of 12 August for public comments, right in the heart of the holiday period when very few academics, legal experts,

Spain and State Secrets: Civil Society condemns mid-August consultation on first new secrecy law in over 50 years!Helen Darbishire2022-08-26T21:05:19+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

29 Jun 2022

European Commission rejects recommendation by Ombudsman to open up secret covid vaccine negotiations

Helen Darbishire2022-06-29T12:47:01+02:00

130,000-strong petition backs European Ombudsman ruling for Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to adhere to EU transparency rules around vaccine negotiations. Brussels, 29 June 2022 – The European Commission today doubled-down on its refusal to release text messages exchanged with Pfizer CEO, Albert Bourla, relating to negotiations of the purchase of covid vaccines in spite of calls to do so from over 130,000 citizens and the European Ombudsman. This Wednesday, rejecting the opinion by the European Ombudsman, Emily O'Reilly, who said that the text messages are subject to EU transparency rules, the European Commission is arguing instead that text

European Commission rejects recommendation by Ombudsman to open up secret covid vaccine negotiationsHelen Darbishire2022-06-29T12:47:01+02:00

23 Jun 2022

Almost 200 signatories ask the European Commission to open company ownership

Helen Darbishire2022-06-23T17:04:30+02:00

Madrid, 23 June 2022 - 182 organisations, journalists, academics, and individuals have signed a petition calling on the European Commission to ensure company ownership transparency in the EU. The petition comes as a response to the Commission’s draft Implementing Regulation for the Open Data Directive, which proposes the publication of only basic company information and company documents, without the names of company legal owners, legal representatives, and beneficial owners. The broad range of organisations and individuals adhering to this petition indicate the importance of open company registers: without company ownership information, CSOs and journalists would not have access to the

Almost 200 signatories ask the European Commission to open company ownershipHelen Darbishire2022-06-23T17:04:30+02:00

13 Jun 2022

Act Now! Have your say on EU company ownership transparency – Follow our guidance on how to participate in the public consultation

Helen Darbishire2022-06-13T16:01:06+02:00

Madrid, 13 June 2022 – We are urging civil society organisations, journalists and citizens across Europe to participate in the European Commission’s consultation on whether or not company registers should be open. The consultation is open until Tuesday 21 June 2022 (midnight Brussels time). What is this about? The consultation is on the Open Data Directive, adopted in 2019, which promised to open up company and company ownership data, including the names of the legal and beneficial owners. This information is currently available to all who have the means to pay for the data, with costs ranging up to €11

Act Now! Have your say on EU company ownership transparency – Follow our guidance on how to participate in the public consultationHelen Darbishire2022-06-13T16:01:06+02:00

1 Jun 2022

Don’t let the European Commission go back on its promise to open up EU company ownership – have your say in the Public Consultation!

Helen Darbishire2022-06-01T13:03:29+02:00

Madrid, 1 June 2022 – Under the EU’s Open Data Directive, company registration and ownership information should be available as open data. In a surprise move, the European Commission is now proposing, via a long-overdue Implementing Regulation, that the names of the owners of companies will not be made available for free. As a result, SMEs, businesses, academia, journalists and CSOs will not get access to information that is vital in due diligence, innovation and preventing corruption, money laundering and terrorist financing. Join leading transparency and open data activists in a public briefing to discuss next steps and how to

Don’t let the European Commission go back on its promise to open up EU company ownership – have your say in the Public Consultation!Helen Darbishire2022-06-01T13:03:29+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

17 May 2022

Call for participants! – Active citizenship youth project

Helen Darbishire2022-05-19T15:27:40+02:00

Madrid, 17 May 2022 – 10 partner organisations from 10 EU countries invite 30 young people to a one-week experience in Luxembourg on the topic of active citizenship. The EU Democracy Rally gives you the chance to experience a variety of activities, games and tools to sharpen your skills in active citizenship: public speaking and negotiations, storytelling, video journalism, (digital) well-being, language animation, access to information, campaigning, and more. Who can apply? Those aged 18 to 30 years old who are citizens or residents of one of the 10 eligible countries: Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Poland, Romania, Spain,

Call for participants! – Active citizenship youth projectHelen Darbishire2022-05-19T15:27:40+02:00

30 Mar 2022

Malta Tribunal decides case in favour of Access Info and extends the right to information to non-residents

Helen Darbishire2022-03-30T14:03:23+02:00

30 March 2022 – Access Info has successfully defended the right of access to information in Malta, winning a court ruling from Malta’s Information and Data Protection Appeals Tribunal that all EU citizens have a right to submit information requests. The case arose from an August 2019 request for data on migration to Malta submitted by an Italian citizen working at Access Info’s Madrid office. The request was refused by Malta’s Ministry of Home Affairs and National Security on the grounds that she was not a Maltese resident. Malta’s 2008 Freedom of Information Act says that requesters must be both

Malta Tribunal decides case in favour of Access Info and extends the right to information to non-residentsHelen Darbishire2022-03-30T14:03:23+02:00