20 October 2010, Madrid – Access Info Europe, along with other members of the Coalición Pro Acceso (the Coalition for an Access to Information law in Spain) will present the results of the 2010 Open Budget Index which has assessed the transparency of budgets in 94 countries and which for the first time this year, includes Spain.
Madrid, 22 September 2010 – Access Info Europe today launched a public consultation on Spain’s draft access to information law following receipt of a leaked copy of the draft law. Responses will be forwarded to the government. Access Info along with the 40 other NGO members of the Coalicion Pro Acceso have been calling for greater transparency around the draft. A letter sent to the government on 20 August 2010 asking for a copy and calling for a public consultation has, to date, gone unanswered.
To celebrate International Right to Know Day on 28 September, Access Info Europe and the Coalición Pro Acceso are holding a public seminar on the right of access to information at the Complutense University in Madrid. Government transparency is a burning issue in Spain, which is the last country in Europe with a population of more than one million not to have an access to information law. On 16tAugust this year, the daily newspaper El País reported leaked information that the draft “Law on Transparency and Citizen Access to Public Information” will soon be passed to the parliament. The urgent
Madrid, 25th August 2010 — Access Info today wrote to the Spanish government asking for information about the draft “Law on Transparency and Citizen Access to Public Information”. On Monday 16th of August the press carried news that the law would soon be approved by the Council of Ministers; nothing has been heard since about the progress of the draft law. Meeting agendas of the Council of Ministers are secret in Spain until after the meeting has taken place. Access Info provided the government with comparative examples of other countries in which Cabinet meeting agendas are made public and asked
Transparency Law begins Legislative Process Behind Closed Doors Madrid, 16 August 2010 – Spanish Daily El País today announced that this Friday (20 August 2010) the Spanish Council of Ministers will consider for approval the draft “Transparency and Access of Citizens to Information Law”, thereby initiating the legislative process with leaked information. Access Info Europe condemns the leaking of the draft law to the media rather than a formal public release of the text, and has renewed its call for full debate and structured public consultation around the draft law. “To date, the only information that we have about this
Access to Information in Spain: Analysis and Guides Access Info presents four key documents which review the current Spanish legal system for access to information. As well as detailed analysis Access Info presents a guide to accessing information in Spain. In Spain there does not exist adequate regulation to recognise the right to access information. After in depth analysis it is clear that the only regulation dedicated to access to information is insufficient and does not uphold the basic principles and guarantees for access to information established at the international level.
Publishing information on GM Crops is not dangerous but responsible Madrid, 19 May 2010: Access Info today rejected accusations by the agricultural association Anove that the publication by Friends of the Earth (Spain) of the location of research fields for genetically modified (GM) crops was “irresponsible”, “dangerous” and could “incite violence”.1 The members of Anove include Monsanto, Pioneer and Syngenta.2 Access Info Europe declared its support for the right of Friends of the Earth to use and disseminate information received legally from the government following an information request presented using Spain’s law on access to environmental information.3 This right is
Spanish government urged to publish draft access to information law Madrid, 3 May 2010 – On World Press Freedom Day Spain’s Coalición Pro Acceso has written to the government calling on it to publish the draft of the future access to information law. The 30-member coalition is calling on the government to publish the draft before it is sent to parliament, so that civil society can provide comments and suggestions. The Coalición Pro Acceso argues that a public debate will benefit the future law. “Publishing the draft law would be a gesture of transparency in line with the openness that
The Coalición Pro Acceso puts transparency to the test Madrid, 5 April 2010 – In order to address the lack of transparency of Spanish public bodies and the lack of an access to information law, the Coalicion Pro Acceso today launched the “100 Question Campaign”. The goal it to demonstrate the need to for greater openness of the Spanish Administration.
Supreme Court Callenge to Silence on Anti-Corruption Measures 19 January 2010: Access Info’s legal challenge against the failure of Spain’s Ministry of Justice to respond to citizens’ questions about measures to combat corruption reached the Supreme Court. Access Info is asking the Supreme Court to uphold the right of access to information. Access Info described as “absurd” the need to turn to the Supreme Court to obtain a reply to a question about an important a subject as the fight against corruption. This situation underscores the urgent need to adopt an access to information law in Spain.