23 Sep 2024

Finalists Announced for the Inaugural Access Info Impact Award

2024-09-24T09:24:58+02:00

Madrid 23 September 2024 – Access Info is proud to announce the three finalists for the first-ever Access Info Impact Award. The Access Info Impact Award aims to honour individuals and organisations that have effectively used their right to information to advance human rights, environmental protection, democracy, or anti-corruption efforts. After opening nominations last month, the award received 21 high-calibre entries from civil society organisations, journalists, academics, and citizens across Europe. A distinguished Evaluation Committee has carefully reviewed all the nominations and shortlisted the following three outstanding candidates: Lighthouse Reports - Uncovering discrimination in algorithmic decision-making The investigative series

Finalists Announced for the Inaugural Access Info Impact Award2024-09-24T09:24:58+02:00
12 Aug 2024

Call for nominations for the Access Info Impact Award

2024-09-24T09:28:57+02:00

Madrid, 12 August 2024 – Access Info Europe today announces the launch of the Access Info Impact Award which celebrates those who have used their right to information to have a positive impact on society.   The Access Info Impact Award recognises those who have significantly leveraged their right to information to advance human rights, environmental protection, democracy, and/or anti-corruption efforts.  By celebrating exemplary achievements of civil society advocates, campaigners, journalists, academics and practitioners across Europe, the award aims to highlight the importance of the right to information and inspire others to utilise this powerful tool. Through this award,

Call for nominations for the Access Info Impact Award2024-09-24T09:28:57+02:00
4 Jul 2022

Spain: Another case of lack of transparency about transparency

2022-07-05T12:51:51+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 transparency2022-07-05T12:51:51+02:00
18 May 2022

Spain: Why do we need so many OGP Local Members?

2022-05-19T11:06:37+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?2022-05-19T11:06:37+02:00
21 Feb 2022

OGP Summit Side Panel: How strong is your right to know?

2022-02-21T17:17:43+01:00

14 December 2021 – The measurement of the right of access to information is still in its infancy, although there are now some important initiatives, including from UNESCO and the OECD to capture data from governments, whilst civil society projects are developing more in-depth tools to measure transparency in practice. The current state of measurement of the right to information was discussed at an expert webinar that took place on 14 December 2021 as part of the Open Government Partnership summit. The full video of the webinar can be seen here: https://vimeo.com/657069498 An important conclusion of the debate was that

OGP Summit Side Panel: How strong is your right to know?2022-02-21T17:17:43+01:00
11 Jun 2021

OGP governments urged to open company registers

2021-06-15T13:06:55+02:00

Madrid, 10 June 2021- Speaking at the Ministerial Level meeting of the Open Government Partnership Steering Committee, Helen Darbishire of Access Info, in her role as a civil society member of the Steering Committee, stressed the need to act on the transparency agenda that the pandemic has indicated should be a top priority.

OGP governments urged to open company registers2021-06-15T13:06:55+02:00
21 May 2021

Open Government Week 2021: Survey finds European civil society is working largely unfunded on national Open Government Partnership activities

2021-06-07T16:44:25+02:00

Madrid, 21 May 2021- As Open Government week is celebrated around the world, a survey of 24 transparency organisations reveals that most national Open Government Partnership work in Europe is largely unfunded: of an estimated total value of OGP-related work of € 435,220 reported by survey respondents, a full 60%, or €261,130 is unfunded.

Open Government Week 2021: Survey finds European civil society is working largely unfunded on national Open Government Partnership activities2021-06-07T16:44:25+02:00
30 Oct 2020

Spain’s Ambitious four-year OGP Action Plan Adopted

2020-11-27T12:32:35+01:00

Spain has adopted an ambitious four-year Open Government Action Plan, replete with measures called for by Access Info, including reform of the 2013 Transparency Law, ratification of the Convention on Access to Official Documents, new laws on lobby regulation and whistleblower protection, and the opening of key data, including the company register and some health service data.

Spain’s Ambitious four-year OGP Action Plan Adopted2020-11-27T12:32:35+01:00
27 May 2020

Access Info supports principles on right of access to information during health crisis by Alianza Regional

2020-06-04T17:34:33+02:00

Madrid, 27 May 2020- Access Info Europe and 17 NGOs from Latin America today called on governments in the region to guarantee the right of access to informaton during the Covid-19 pandemic, to prioritise the disclosure of emergency-related information and to ensure that information reaches the most vulnerable populations.  The proposal also highlights the negative consequences of the absence of policies on transparency and access to information. These include the authorities’ lack of coordination as well as limited performance of the agencies guaranteeing bodies for the full exercise of the right of access to information, which the text defines as

Access Info supports principles on right of access to information during health crisis by Alianza Regional2020-06-04T17:34:33+02:00
22 May 2020

Participation: Citizens need Information! YOU4EU-Citizen Participation 2.0 project

2020-05-22T09:07:24+02:00

Madrid, 22 May 2020 – Citizens across Europe need better access to information to participate in decision-making processes at European, national, and local level. This is one of the main findings by Access Info Europe and partners of the “YOU4EU” project, which has been completed following two years of research and campaigning on civic participation.  An extensive study carried out by Access Info (Spain), Belgrade Open School (Serbia), GONG (Croatia), Institute Alternative (Montenegro) and PiNA (Slovenia) also found that policy-makers are failing to communicate adequately with citizens, even though the public is  keen to learn about their governments and institutions,

Participation: Citizens need Information! YOU4EU-Citizen Participation 2.0 project2020-05-22T09:07:24+02:00