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European Parliament urged to support protections for right of access to information in wake of killing of Slovak journalist

2020-01-29T11:30:29+01:00

Madrid, 13 March 2018 – In light of the shocking news that Jan Kuciak was likely killed as a result of his work as an investigative journalist and whose freedom of information requests may have been passed to the subject of his inquiry, a total of 61 civil society organizations today wrote to the European Parliament calling for stronger safeguards for those who exercise the right of access to information. The statement and the list of signatories can be found here Please contact Access Info to add your organisation The statement, sent to all 751 Members of the European Parliament

European Parliament urged to support protections for right of access to information in wake of killing of Slovak journalist2020-01-29T11:30:29+01:00

Letter to European Parliament with Statement on killing of Jan Kuciak

2018-11-13T09:38:35+01:00

Madrid/Brussels, 13 March 2018 Dear Member of the European Parliament In advance of tomorrow's parliamentary debate on the killing of Slovak investigative journalist Jan Kuciak, please find below a statement signed by 61 civil society organisations from across Europe and elsewhere expressing their concern about the fact that his investigation may have been exposed after he submitted request for information, and calling on the European Union to take action to help protect journalists and all those who exercise their fundamental right of access to information. More details can be found in this story by the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting

Letter to European Parliament with Statement on killing of Jan Kuciak2018-11-13T09:38:35+01:00

European Commission starts publishing travel expenses proactively

2019-11-04T17:11:42+01:00

Madrid, 2 March 2018 – Access Info Europe has welcomed today the start of proactive publication of EU Commissioners travel expenses as a positive step towards greater transparency and accountability of spending of public funds. Proactive publication of this information had been a crucial demand of Access Info, which has led a campaign for greater transparency of travel expenses since 2014. Finally, in September 2017 the European Commission had announced changes to Commissioners’ code of conduct that would require publication of these expenses every two months. Since Wednesday (28 February 2018), the information is publicly available online, although it’s not

European Commission starts publishing travel expenses proactively2019-11-04T17:11:42+01:00

Tres años de la Ley de transparencia: perspectiva de una activista

2018-11-13T10:06:27+01:00

[Artículo publicado en el Número 5 de la Revista Española de la Transparencia] Alba Gutiérrez, Coordinadora de campañas Madrid, 26 de febrero de 2018 - El derecho de acceso a la información es esencial para la democracia y para el ejercicio de otros derechos básicos de las personas. Entre las finalidades y objetivos de la transparencia está el que los ciudadanos podamos conocer cómo se toman las decisiones o bajo qué criterios actúan nuestras instituciones. Sólo con un completo conocimiento de la información relevante es posible enjuiciar propuestas, formular alternativas y exigir una rendición de cuentas sobre cómo

Tres años de la Ley de transparencia: perspectiva de una activista2018-11-13T10:06:27+01:00

Negociaciones México-UE: una cláusula democrática “confidencial”

2018-11-13T09:44:16+01:00

Proceso | 22/02/2018 Español- Contrasta el tratamiento diferenciado que en Europa se le ha dado a las rondas de renegociaciones comerciales y políticas del acuerdo global entre México y la Unión Europea (UE). Mientras las comerciales fueron más o menos conocidas por el público y la prensa, las políticas, dentro de las cuales se discutió la importante cláusula democrática, destacaron por su hermetismo. Leer más...

Negociaciones México-UE: una cláusula democrática “confidencial”2018-11-13T09:44:16+01:00

Greater transparency of Council legislative process, fundamental for representative democracy, says European Ombudsman

2018-11-13T10:03:04+01:00

Madrid, 13 February 2018 – Access Info today welcomed the European Ombudsman recommendation that the Council of the European Union increase transparency of its legislative process in order to guarantee citizens’ right to hold their elected representatives to account and to participate in the democratic life of the EU. Two main findings of the Ombudsman’s inquiry into transparency of the Council, to which Access Info submitted a series of proposals in December 2017, are that the Council’s systematic failure to record the names of Member States along with their positions on legislative matters constitutes maladministration, and that there is over-classification

Greater transparency of Council legislative process, fundamental for representative democracy, says European Ombudsman2018-11-13T10:03:04+01:00

Secrecy over international relations trumps transparency of EU-Turkey deal

2019-11-07T10:28:33+01:00

Madrid, 8 February 2018 - The General Court of the European Union has ruled that the public does not have the right to access the European Commission’s legal advice on the March 2016 EU-Turkey agreement on returning migrants and asylum seekers from Greece to Turkey. The Commission had applied a series of exceptions to documents requested by Access Info Europe, documents that the court process revealed included late night emails between high level public officials discussing legal and political aspects of the controversial deal. The judgments shed further light on the scope and application by the EU Commission of the

Secrecy over international relations trumps transparency of EU-Turkey deal2019-11-07T10:28:33+01:00

The documents in dispute: The European Commission’s legal advice on the EU-Turkey deal

2019-11-07T10:29:55+01:00

From 7 March 2016, the day when a pre-agreement with Turkey was reached, to 12 April 2016, when the deal was already under implementation, the European Commission consulted with its legal services on a wide range of issues related to the legality of the EU-Turkey agreement. These consultations resulted in a total of 11 documents – sometimes produced at late hours in the night – which were exchanged between the different actors involved in the making of the deal, accompanied with telephone conversations. Access to that information was challenged by Access Info Europe in two cases before the General Court

The documents in dispute: The European Commission’s legal advice on the EU-Turkey deal2019-11-07T10:29:55+01:00
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