FacebookXInstagramYouTubeEmailWhatsAppLinkedIn
30 Jul 2015

Global civil society calls upon EU to join Open Government Partnership

2018-11-13T10:04:48+01:00

Madrid, 27 July 2015 – Access Info Europe, the Open Society European Policy Institute, and Publish What You Fund have sent a letter endorsed by 50 organisations from around the world, calling on Members of the European Parliament to encourage the European Union to sign up to the Open Government Partnership (OGP). The OGP is a 65-country multi-stakeholder initiative that brings together champions of democratic reform from governments, parliaments, international organisations, civil society and the private sector. Its members include 20 EU member states, 5 candidate countries and another 9 European Neighbourhood countries. The letter emphasises the benefits that OGP

Global civil society calls upon EU to join Open Government Partnership2018-11-13T10:04:48+01:00
28 Jul 2015

European Ombudsman investigates lack of transparency in selection of judges for European Court of Justice

2018-11-13T09:46:11+01:00

Madrid, 27 July 2015 – The European Ombudsman last week called on the Council of the European Union to respond to allegations made by Access Info Europe and the HEC-NYU EU Public Interest Clinic that it wrongly refused access to information on selection processes used for judges entering the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU). The EU Clinic originally requested access to the opinions of the panel that examines all judicial candidates put forward by the Member States for the Court of Justice and the General Court of the EU. The information was denied on the basis that

European Ombudsman investigates lack of transparency in selection of judges for European Court of Justice2018-11-13T09:46:11+01:00
26 Jun 2015

New lobby transparency civic-tech tools reveal corporate dominance of the Brussels bubble

2020-01-29T11:07:19+01:00

Madrid, 25 June 2015 - The RTI community celebrated this week the launch of two groundbreaking online tools that enable citizens to monitor the interactions between high-level European Commission officials and lobbyists in the Brussels bubble: » LobbyFacts.eu, created by ALTER-EU's Corporate Europe's Observatory, Friends of the Earth Europe and LobbyControl, and relaunched last week, is a site that delivers easy access to data from the EU Transparency Register, allowing you to compare entries over time and to sort and rank the data contained in the EU's (still voluntary) Transparency Register; » IntegrityWatch.eu, created by the Transparency International EU office,

New lobby transparency civic-tech tools reveal corporate dominance of the Brussels bubble2020-01-29T11:07:19+01:00
24 Jun 2015

European Commission urged to act to improve transparency

2018-11-13T10:04:49+01:00

Madrid, 24 June 2015 – In a letter to European Commission Vice-President Timmermans as part of an ongoing dialogue, Access Info Europe has called for action to improve EU transparency in law and in practice. The pro-transparency organisation stressed the urgent need to bring the EU’s access to documents rules into line with international standards, and raised concerns about problems accessing key documents, as observed in responses to requests submitted on the AsktheEU.org platform. Access Info’s analysis of the EU’s access to documents Regulation 1049/2001 using the RTI Rating, found that although it scores a solid 96 out of 150,

European Commission urged to act to improve transparency2018-11-13T10:04:49+01:00
19 Jun 2015

European Commission fails to prove the need for its postal addresses policy

2018-11-13T09:46:14+01:00

Madrid, 19 June 2015 – Access Info Europe this week expressed concern at the European Commission’s insistence on maintaining its obstructive requirement for all documents requesters to provide their postal addresses, after the Commission admitted in response to parliamentary questions that the policy is based on just one case of “abuse” over the past 14 years. Answering a parliamentary question by MEP Julia Reda, the Commission cited the case of a requester who allegedly used 13 identities to submit requests, the only case they could identify since the access to documents regulation came into force in 2001. Julia Reda immediately

European Commission fails to prove the need for its postal addresses policy2018-11-13T09:46:14+01:00
28 May 2015

Access Info Europe welcomes European Ombudsman investigation into excessive secrecy of “trilogues”

2018-11-13T09:46:30+01:00

Madrid, 28 May 2015 - Access Info Europe today welcomed the decision by the European Ombudsman to investigate the lack of transparency of “trilogues”, the informal and secretive negotiations between the EU’s Commission, Council and Parliament by which much future legislation is decided. In spite of their crucial role in the legislative process, trilogues are closed meetings, and there is a severe lack of access to key information such as participants, agendas, minutes or documents considered. Access Info has frequently criticised trilogues for violating the fundamental rights obligations of the EU treaties, which require that EU institutions “conduct their work

Access Info Europe welcomes European Ombudsman investigation into excessive secrecy of “trilogues”2018-11-13T09:46:30+01:00
22 May 2015

AsktheEU.org and the EU Institutions: The Challenge of running an Alaveteli Request Platform

2020-01-29T11:22:32+01:00

Madrid, 22 May 2015 - Following AlaveteliCon 2015 in Madrid on 19-20 May, Access Info Europe’s director Helen Darbishire, reflects on 3.5 years of running the AsktheEU.org website for making documents requests to the European Union. In particular she notes the successes, challenges and lessons learned about the relationship with the EU Institutions and public officials. Access Info Europe launched AsktheEU.org on 28 September 2011 on International Right to Know Day at an event in the European Parliament organised by the European Ombudsman. One of our first messages was the desire to cooperate with the various EU bodies in making

AsktheEU.org and the EU Institutions: The Challenge of running an Alaveteli Request Platform2020-01-29T11:22:32+01:00
22 May 2015

Civil society secures European Parliament support for transparency of mineral imports

2018-11-13T09:46:31+01:00

Madrid, 22 May 2015 – The European Parliament this week took a strong stance in favour of binding rules on transparency for the mineral extraction industry, following a letter sent to MEPs signed by 157 civil society organisations, including Access Info Europe, calling for action to tackle the deadly trade in conflict minerals. The civil society letter called on MEPs to require all companies bringing minerals into the EU – whether in their raw form or contained in products – to carry out supply chain due diligence and publicly report in line with international standards. If it eventually becomes law,

Civil society secures European Parliament support for transparency of mineral imports2018-11-13T09:46:31+01:00
11 May 2015

Over 100 NGOs urge EU Commission to make the lobby register legally binding

2020-01-29T11:07:28+01:00

Brussels, 11 May 2015 - The Alliance for Lobbying Transparency and Ethics Regulation (ALTER-EU) [1] has urged European Commission Vice President Frans Timmermans to take strong and urgent action to create a high-quality and legally-binding EU lobby transparency register in a letter sent to him today, signed by over one hundred non-governmental organisations and trade unions, and supported by the European Parliament Intergroup on Integrity [2]. The letter calls on the Commission to adopt measures to reduce opportunities for unethical lobbying, and to ensure a better balance between corporate and public interest groups in the access to, and influence they

Over 100 NGOs urge EU Commission to make the lobby register legally binding2020-01-29T11:07:28+01:00
29 Abr 2015

Full Lobby Transparency campaign launched with ALTER-EU debate at the Parliament

2020-02-14T13:58:43+01:00

This article was originally published on ALTER-EU.org: http://www.alter-eu.org/alter-eus-new-campaign-launched-with-transparency-debate-at-the-parliament Brussels, 29 April 2015 - ALTER-EU launched its new campaign Full lobby transparency now! with a high-profile debate. Held at the European Parliament, panellists included ALTER-EU members and officials from the Commission, Parliament and Council. Here, Commission Vice-President Frans Timmermans renewed the Commission's commitment to a mandatory lobby register but postponed submitting a proposal to the Autumn. Timmermans also rejected the possibility of trying to do so via legislation, instead choosing to implement a sanctions-based system for the unregistered and those who submit false information. Facing a fully packed house, the Vice-President

Full Lobby Transparency campaign launched with ALTER-EU debate at the Parliament2020-02-14T13:58:43+01:00
Original content developed by Access Info Europe and is made public under a Creative Commons Attribution, Share Alike licence.