EU-Turkey – Access Info Europe

8 Feb 2018

Secrecy over international relations trumps transparency of EU-Turkey deal

Helen Darbishire2019-11-07T10:28:33+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 dealHelen Darbishire2019-11-07T10:28:33+01:00

8 Feb 2018

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

Helen Darbishire2019-11-07T10:29:55+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 dealHelen Darbishire2019-11-07T10:29:55+01:00

8 Jul 2016

Post it-sized minutes of European Council meetings unacceptable says Access Info Europe

Helen Darbishire2018-11-13T10:04:01+01:00

Madrid, 8 July 2016 – Access Info Europe has denounced the European Council’s recurrent lack of detail in its record-keeping, something highlighted by the shockingly minimalist minutes of the 17-18 March 2016 European Council meeting during which the so-called EU-Turkey “agreement” was concluded. The minutes of this significant meeting on the refugee crisis, which produced a controversial solution – many experts have raised doubts about its conformity with EU and international law – are so brief that they fit into a post it: “Post it-size accounts of high-level decision making about vital human rights issues are entirely unacceptable,” commented Helen

Post it-sized minutes of European Council meetings unacceptable says Access Info EuropeHelen Darbishire2018-11-13T10:04:01+01:00