1 Aug 2013

Transparency of Company Registers

2020-02-17T10:53:06+01:00

Madrid, 1 August 2013 - Access Info Europe and the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project are conducting comparative research with investigative journalists in 30 countries across Europe on the openness of national company registers. The aim of the project is to push for free public acces to Company Registers across Europe, using the right of access to information. Currently, the majority of Company Registers are not public in most European countries and in many cases the information is not available free of charge, with prices ranging from 75,000€ to 286,000€ for example. However, company register information is collected as

Transparency of Company Registers2020-02-17T10:53:06+01:00
9 Jan 2011

Request Process in Spain

2018-11-13T10:06:04+01:00

Summary: The Access to Information Law defers to other legislation Request sent to Ministry of Justice Outcome of request Information refused Time taken to respond 6 working days (deadline is 1 month) Reason for refusal FOI exceptions applied to registers. Personal privacy. Information not held.   The initial request was sent in Spanish to the Central Mercantile Register on 4 November 2013. At the time, Spain had still not adopted an access to information law, which meant that there was no legal obligation for the register to respond, nor were there specific deadlines for such a response. However, only two

Request Process in Spain2018-11-13T10:06:04+01:00
4 Jan 2011

Request Process in Greece

2018-11-13T10:06:05+01:00

Summary: Administrative Silence: No response to our request Request sent to Athens Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Click here) Outcome of request Administrative Silence Time taken to respond N/A (Deadline is one month) Reason for refusal N/A   The initial request was sent to the Athens Chamber of Commerce and Industry on 16 February 2015. The legal deadline for responding to access to information requests in Greece is one month. On 26 February a response was received from a Chamber representative, which state that our request would be forwarded to his chief directors. A month passed and no response was

Request Process in Greece2018-11-13T10:06:05+01:00
30 Jan 2010

Request Process in Croatia

2018-11-13T10:13:58+01:00

Summary: One Year Waiting for the Information Commissioner's Ruling Request sent to High Commercial Court Ministry of Justice Croatian Chamber of Commerce Outcome of request High Commercial Court: Referral to Ministry of Justice Ministry of Justice: Refused, but PENDING OUTCOME OF APPEAL TO INFORMATION COMMISSIONER Croatian Chamber of Commerce: Refused, but PENDING OUTCOME OF APPEAL TO INFORMATION COMMISSIONER Time taken to respond High Commercial Court: 10 days (deadline is 15 working days) Ministry of Justice: 9 days (deadline is 15 working days) Croatian Chamber of Commerce: 9 days (deadline is 15 working days) Reason for refusal Ministry of Justice: Another

Request Process in Croatia2018-11-13T10:13:58+01:00
27 Jan 2010

Request Process in Ukraine

2018-11-13T10:06:05+01:00

Summary:The Freedom of Information Law Does Not Apply Request sent to State Registration Service (Click here) Outcome of request Information Refused Time taken to respond 5 working days (Deadline is 5 working days) Reason for refusal Another law overrides FOI law.   The initial request for a copy of the full database of registered companies was sent by Access Info's partner, Anna Babinec, on 30 July 2013 in Ukrainian to the State Registration Service of Ukraine. Legally, Ukraine is bound to answer access to information requests within 5 working days. On 6 August 2013, we received a negative response from the

Request Process in Ukraine2018-11-13T10:06:05+01:00
26 Jan 2010

Request Process in Switzerland

2018-11-13T10:06:05+01:00

Summary: Information Commissioner Rules That Specific Company Register Law Trumps Access to Information Law Request sent to Business and Enterprise Register (BER) Outcome of request Information refused Time taken to respond 6 working days (Deadline is 20 working days) Reason for refusal Another law overrides FOI law Only need to answer requests for individual records. Personal privacy.   On 20 August 2013, Access Info sent a request to the Business and Enterprise Register, asking for access to a full copy of the Swiss company register database. The Swiss access to information law establishes a 20 working-day deadline for the public

Request Process in Switzerland2018-11-13T10:06:05+01:00
25 Jan 2010

Request Process in Sweden

2018-11-13T10:06:05+01:00

Summary: You Need to Pay For the Information and State What You Plan to Do With the Personal Data in the Register Request sent to Swedish Companies Registration Office Trade and Industry Register Outcome of request Information refused Time taken to respond 1 working day (Deadline is “immediately”) Reason for refusal Must pay for access. Personal privacy.   On 4 November 2013, the initial request was sent in English to the Swedish Companies Registration Office. Legally, Sweden is bound to answer immediately under its access to information law. Only one day later, the Swedish Registration Office responded, asking us to

Request Process in Sweden2018-11-13T10:06:05+01:00
25 Jan 2010

Request Process in Serbia

2018-11-13T10:06:05+01:00

Summary: Information Commissioner Rules that Business Register Was Right to Refuse Access Because the Data Was Already Available Online Request sent to Serbian Business Registers Agency (SBRA) (Click here) Outcome of request Information refused Time taken to respond 46 working days (deadline is 15 working days) Reason for refusal Database not a document. No need to answer if info is already online. FOI exceptions applied to registers. Personal privacy.   The initial request was sent to the Agency for Business Registry in Serbia by Access Info's partner, Vlad Kostic, on 1 October 2013. The request asked for a full copy

Request Process in Serbia2018-11-13T10:06:05+01:00
25 Jan 2010

Request Process in Russia

2018-11-13T10:06:05+01:00

Summary: It Is "Technically Impossible" to Provide Access to the Full Database Request sent to Federal Tax Service (Click here) Outcome of request Information Refused Time taken to respond 40 working days (Deadline is 30 calendar days) Reason for refusal Another law overrides FOI law. Technically impossible to fulfill.   The initial request was sent in Russian to the Federal Tax Service on 5 August 2013 by our partner Alec Luhn, a Russian journalist. Legally, Russia is bound to answer access to information requests within 30 working days. However, since no response was received before the deadline, Access Info had

Request Process in Russia2018-11-13T10:06:05+01:00
25 Jan 2010

Request Process in Romania

2018-11-13T10:06:05+01:00

Summary: The Romanian Access to Information Law Does Not Cover Self-Funded Bodies Request sent to National Trade Register (Click here) Outcome of request Information refused. Time taken to respond 3 working days (Deadline is 10 working days) Reason for refusal Only need to answer requests for individual records. Must pay for access. FOI exceptions applied to registers.   On 30 July 2013 an initial request was sent in Romanian to the National Trade Register by Access Info´s partner, Ionut Stanescu. Romanian law requires the administration to answer access to information requests within a 10 working day period. On 4 August 2013,

Request Process in Romania2018-11-13T10:06:05+01:00