European Commission – Página 3

14 Sep 2016

European Commission Withdraws Automated August Holiday Delay Message

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

Madrid, 14 September 2016 - Access Info Europe has welcomed the decision by the European Commission not to repeat August's automatic "out-of-office" style message warning requesters that there might be delays in processing their requests due to the summer holidays. This decision came after Access Info's Executive Director Helen Darbishire sent a letter to the Commission on 1 September 2016 expressing concerns about the automatic response, which read "Due to the holiday period in August, some delays may occur in the treatment of your access-to-documents request." In a rapid reply sent on 7 September 2016, the head of the EU's

European Commission Withdraws Automated August Holiday Delay MessageHelen Darbishire2018-11-13T10:04:00+01:00

2 Sep 2016

Your fundamental right might have to wait, I’m out of office

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

Madrid, 2 September 2016 - Since the beginning of August, requesters of access to EU documents may have noticed the following automated messages from the Secretariat General warning them about possible delays to dealing with requests: “Due to the holiday period in August, some delays may occur in the treatment of your access-to-documents request, especially where the processing of data requires the consultation of national administrations, external organisations or other services.” So far during August, Access Info has counted 22 instances of this specific message appearing on the AsktheEU.org request platform. It is unacceptable for citizens to have to anticipate

Your fundamental right might have to wait, I’m out of officeHelen Darbishire2018-11-13T10:04:00+01:00

23 May 2016

Give the Commission your views on EU lobbying!

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

This article was originally published by ALTER-EU. Brussels, 23 May 2015 - Do you want to see more transparency about who is lobbying who in Brussels and the EU institutions? Are you angry about the privileged access that corporate lobbyists get to EU decision-makers, whether it be on TTIP, tobacco, climate, regulation, digital rights...? The European Commission is consulting about how to improve the EU lobby transparency register with a view to revising and improving the current set-up. The consultation process is far from perfect, and the extent of the Commission's future ambition is not yet clear, but nonetheless, the

Give the Commission your views on EU lobbying!Helen Darbishire2018-11-13T10:04:11+01:00

9 May 2016

After five months, European Commission tells Access Info the name of a database!

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

Madrid, 9 May 2016 - On Europe Day, Access Info’s Executive Director Helen Darbishire was happy to open a DHL package from the European Commission with the response to a request submitted on 16 November 2015 for information about the database in which the travel and entertainment expenses of the European Commissioners are stored. We asked about the database because we’ve been told it’s not possible to provide numerical data on how much each Commissioner spends on travel and entertainment without also providing personal data, which would take many days to redact. In the modern information era this seems odd.

After five months, European Commission tells Access Info the name of a database!Helen Darbishire2018-11-13T10:04:11+01:00

18 Abr 2016

Will Timmermans really shed light on lobbying in Brussels?

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

This article was originally published by ALTER-EU. Brussels, 18 April 2016 - Commission Vice-President Frans Timmermans' launch in March of a consultation to improve the EU lobby register came seven months late. Does it herald a genuine step forward towards improved lobby transparency in Brussels? A database of organisations working to influence EU legislation, the European transparency register was designed to boost the image and integrity of the institutions. The Commission's latest moves to reassess the tool are welcome, however campaigners and veterans of such processes would be forgiven for being a little weary at the thought of yet another

Will Timmermans really shed light on lobbying in Brussels?Helen Darbishire2018-11-13T10:04:11+01:00

17 Dic 2015

Civil society expose holes in EU lobby transparency rules

Helen Darbishire2018-11-13T10:04:24+01:00

This post was originally published by ALTER-EU. Madrid/Brussels, 17 December 2015 - Research by ALTER-EU member groups Corporate Europe Observatory, Access Info Europe and Friends of the Earth Europe shows that well over 90 per cent of meetings between DG FISMA (the Commission's department for financial regulation) officials not covered by transparency rules and lobbyists are with the corporate sector. Since the end of 2014, following an initiative by new European Commission President Juncker, the meetings of commissioners, their cabinets and directors-general with lobbyists are published online. This transparency initiative has enabled the public to see which lobbyists get most

Civil society expose holes in EU lobby transparency rulesHelen Darbishire2018-11-13T10:04:24+01:00

26 Jun 2015

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

Helen Darbishire2020-01-29T11:07:19+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 bubbleHelen Darbishire2020-01-29T11:07:19+01:00

24 Jun 2015

European Commission urged to act to improve transparency

Helen Darbishire2018-11-13T10:04:49+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 transparencyHelen Darbishire2018-11-13T10:04:49+01:00

12 Feb 2015

MEP Julia Reda questions European Commission on postal address policy

Helen Darbishire2020-02-14T16:00:31+01:00

Madrid, 12 February 2015 – A Member of the European Parliament, Julia Reda (Pirate Party, Germany), has filed a Parliamentary Question calling on the European Commission to provide justifications for its policy of refusing to register access to documents requests if citizens do not provide their personal postal address. Access Info Europe welcomes this investigation into the postal address policy, introduced on 1 April 2014, which the Commission has stated is necessary because it is "increasingly confronted with cases where applicants seem to hide behind false identities". Julia Reda’s Parliamentary Question notes that the new policy is placing barriers for

MEP Julia Reda questions European Commission on postal address policyHelen Darbishire2020-02-14T16:00:31+01:00