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9 May 2017

EU Urged to Adopt Comprehensive Transparency Agenda

2018-11-13T10:03:20+01:00

Madrid/Brussels, 9 May 2017 – On Europe Day, Access Info is calling on the European Union to commit to and implement essential transparency and open government reforms to reverse the growing sense among European citizens that they are distanced from Brussels and that decisions are taken behind closed doors with little or no accountability. Access Info’s mapping, carried out with our partners, reveals that it is not possible for citizens to get information on decisions such as that to drop EU anti-corruption reports or who really negotiated the controversial EU-Turkey deal. Other transparency blackspots relate to areas of public interest,

EU Urged to Adopt Comprehensive Transparency Agenda2018-11-13T10:03:20+01:00
20 Feb 2017

Commission data reveals lobby transparency loopholes and corporate bias

2018-11-13T10:03:42+01:00

[Article first published by ALTER-EU.] President Juncker´s proactive transparency policy continues to fail to address loopholes in lobbying transparency rules and does not ensure balanced stakeholder consultation, according to a new analysis by the Alliance for Transparency and Ethics Regulation (ALTER-EU). Brussels/Madrid, 20 February 2017 - ALTER-EU criticised the loopholes in the Commission’s policy on lobby transparency after its latest research exposes that 81 per cent of lobby meetings with DG FISMA between January and July 2016 fell outside the current proactive transparency obligations. These meetings (held only with lower-level officials) are not subject to the Commission’s disclosure regime and

Commission data reveals lobby transparency loopholes and corporate bias2018-11-13T10:03:42+01:00
2 Feb 2017

European Parliament votes in favour of beneficial ownership transparency for fishing vessels

2018-11-13T10:03:42+01:00

Madrid, 2 February 2017 - Access Info Europe welcomed today’s European Parliament plenary vote overwhelmingly in favour of a regulation that will introduce beneficial ownership transparency for EU fishing vessels. MEPs voted 586 in favour, with 56 against and just 6 abstentions, to create a public register of the EU flagged fishing fleet, something that will contribute to the fight against illegal and unsustainable fishing, as well as limiting opportunities for money laundering and tax evasion by vessel owners. “The Parliament’s position represents an opportunity for the EU to make its fisheries policy a leading example of how beneficial ownership

European Parliament votes in favour of beneficial ownership transparency for fishing vessels2018-11-13T10:03:42+01:00
31 Jan 2017

Access Info calls on Commission to publish travel expenses data proactively

2018-11-13T10:03:43+01:00

Madrid, 31 January 2017 – Following a massive public response to Access Info’s campaign to crowd source requests for Commissioners’ expenses, the organisation has written to Vice President Frans Timmermans calling for the data to be proactively published. In under two days on Thursday 26 and Friday 27 January, a total of 119 people from across Europe submitted a total of 168 requests for access to the 2016 travel expenses claims of the 28 European Commissioners. “The rapid response to this campaign demonstrates the huge public interest in getting this information into the public domain,” stated Andreas Pavlou, Access Info’s

Access Info calls on Commission to publish travel expenses data proactively2018-11-13T10:03:43+01:00
27 Jan 2017

Commission says that Juncker had to take an emergency air taxi when the Belgian air force let him down

2018-11-13T10:03:43+01:00

Madrid, 27 January 2017 - A European Union spokesperson last night told Germany online publication Netzpolitik.org that the €63,126 that European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker spent on an air taxi from Turkey to Brussels in November 2015 was an emergency expense incurred the Belgian Air Force let them down on the planned flight home. Commission Spokesperson Alexander Winterstein wrote to German FOI campaigner Arne Semsrott, author of an article about the campaign in Netzpolitik.org that: “The return flight of Presidents Tusk and Juncker, as well as the accompanying delegations, from the G-20 meeting in Antalya could not be carried out

Commission says that Juncker had to take an emergency air taxi when the Belgian air force let him down2018-11-13T10:03:43+01:00
26 Jan 2017

Request campaign launched for access to EU Commissioners’ travel expenses

2018-11-13T10:03:43+01:00

Madrid, 26 January 2017 - Access Info Europe today launched a public campaign to crowd source access to EU documents requests to obtain full information on the spending by EU Commissioners on travel costs. CLICK HERE TO PARTICIPATE IN THE CAMPAIGN! The campaign follows the discovery from a request by Access Info team member Alba Gutiérrez that Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker spent €63,126 on an air taxi to Turkey for the G20 summit. At same time, the Commission’s contracts with private air companies that provide such services was denied to another Access Info campaigner, Andreas Pavlou. After

Request campaign launched for access to EU Commissioners’ travel expenses2018-11-13T10:03:43+01:00
2 Sep 2016

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

2018-11-13T10:04:00+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 office2018-11-13T10:04:00+01:00
14 Jul 2016

EU institutions urged to adopt Ombudsman proposals for trilogue transparency

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

Madrid, 14 July 2016 - European Ombudsman Emily O’Reilly today published key recommendations calling on the EU institutions to increase transparency of negotiations over future legislation, the EU’s traditionally secretive “trilogue” meetings. Access Info welcomed O’Reilly’s call for proactive publication of key information to shed light on this secretive part of the EU legislative process, noting that the EU treaties require openness in the legislative process. “It is high time the EU institutions act upon the fact trilogues are part of the EU legislative process and subject them to the same standards of transparency, public scrutiny, and participation as any

EU institutions urged to adopt Ombudsman proposals for trilogue transparency2018-11-13T09:46:11+01:00
6 Jun 2016

Access Info defends citizens’ right to know as part of lobby transparency reforms

2018-11-13T10:04:10+01:00

Madrid, 6 June 2016 – Access Info Europe has called on the European Union and the Council of Europe to ensure that future lobby control rules that both are in the process of developing are fully in line with The International Standards for Lobbying Regulation. In submissions to separate public consultations held by the EU and Council of Europe, the pro-transparency organisation underscored the need for lobbying regulation to ensure that full information on the activity of lobbyists is both recorded and published. In response to the EU consultation Access Info proposed EU institutions keep better records of interactions with

Access Info defends citizens’ right to know as part of lobby transparency reforms2018-11-13T10:04:10+01:00
9 May 2016

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

2018-11-13T10:04:11+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!2018-11-13T10:04:11+01:00
Original content developed by Access Info Europe and is made public under a Creative Commons Attribution, Share Alike licence.