European Court of Justice

23 Mar 2018

The General Court of the European Union rules in favour of greater openness of the EU legislative process

Helen Darbishire2018-11-13T10:03:04+01:00

Madrid, 23 March 2018 – Access Info has welcomed the 22 March 2018 judgment of the General Court of the European Union in the case of De Capitani v Parliament, a ruling in favour of legislative transparency. The Court found that the European Parliament was wrong when, in 2016, it denied Emilio De Capitani, a former senior official at the Parliament, access to documents produced in the EU’s secretive, informal, “trilogue” negotiations between the Council, Commission, and Parliament. The General Court emphasised that “openness strengthens democracy by allowing scrutiny of the legislative process” and that “the possibility for citizens to

The General Court of the European Union rules in favour of greater openness of the EU legislative processHelen Darbishire2018-11-13T10:03:04+01:00

8 Feb 2018

Secrecy over international relations trumps transparency of EU-Turkey deal

Helen Darbishire2018-11-13T10:03:05+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 Darbishire2018-11-13T10:03:05+01:00

8 Feb 2018

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

Helen Darbishire2018-11-13T10:03:05+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 Darbishire2018-11-13T10:03:05+01:00

20 Nov 2017

Secrecy surrounding selection of EU Judges challenged in complaint to European Ombudsman

Helen Darbishire2018-11-13T10:03:06+01:00

Madrid/Brussels, 20 November 2017 - Access Info Europe, represented by the EU Public Interest Clinic and The Good Lobby, has submitted a new complaint to the European Ombudsman about the refusal of the Council of the EU to disclose the opinions on the candidates’ suitability to become members of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU). For each judicial appointment to the CJEU, a special panel – comprising seven former members of the CJEU, members of national supreme courts and lawyers of recognised competence, one of whom is proposed by the European Parliament – issues an opinion regarding

Secrecy surrounding selection of EU Judges challenged in complaint to European OmbudsmanHelen Darbishire2018-11-13T10:03:06+01:00

21 Jul 2017

EU’s top court confirms that all documents held by European Commission fall under access to documents rules

Helen Darbishire2018-11-13T10:03:19+01:00

Madrid, 21 July 2017 - Access Info Europe welcomed this week’s ruling from the Grand Chamber of the Court of Justice of the European Union, that the Commission cannot automatically refuse access to whole categories of documents in its possession. The Court confirmed that the EU institutions should always apply the EU’s access to documents rules to any documents they hold, regardless of the original authors. “Sometimes it’s important to confirm basic principles of this fundamental right, such as that if the Commission holds a document, it has to process a request, and there can never be automatic denials, no

EU’s top court confirms that all documents held by European Commission fall under access to documents rulesHelen Darbishire2018-11-13T10:03:19+01:00

18 Mar 2017

One year later: what we (still don’t) know about the EU-Turkey agreement and accountability

Helen Darbishire2018-11-13T10:03:40+01:00

Madrid, 18 March 2017 - As I sat at the Access Info Europe offices on the 1st of March reading the latest Order of the General Court of the European Union, I could not help but shake my head every other minute in disbelief. In a case brought by an Afghan refugee threatened with expulsion from Greece against the European Council, the Court had just proclaimed that the EU-Turkey agreement is not a measure adopted by the European Council or any EU institution for that matter, but rather by the EU Member States. Luisa Izuzquiza,Communications Officer If

One year later: what we (still don’t) know about the EU-Turkey agreement and accountabilityHelen Darbishire2018-11-13T10:03:40+01:00

2 Dec 2016

Access Info challenges European Commission secrecy around EU-Turkey refugee deal legal advice before the European Court of Justice

Helen Darbishire2018-11-13T10:03:57+01:00

Madrid, 2 December 2016 – Access Info Europe is taking the European Commission to the General Court of the Court of Justice of the European Union to obtain its legal analysis of this year’s controversial EU-Turkey deal on return of refugees to Turkey. The 18 March 2016 deal – officially “statement” – which is having a direct impact in the lives of thousands of migrants and asylum seekers fleeing war - was much-criticized by human rights groups for being out of line with international human rights and humanitarian law. Access Info Europe submitted two access to information requests asking for

Access Info challenges European Commission secrecy around EU-Turkey refugee deal legal advice before the European Court of JusticeHelen Darbishire2018-11-13T10:03:57+01:00

20 Nov 2015

Journalists take European Parliament to Court over access to MEPs’ expenses

Helen Darbishire2018-11-13T10:04:37+01:00

Madrid, 20 November 2015 - The refusal by the European Parliament to make public details on spending of MEPs expenses allowances on grounds of personal data protection has been challenged before the European Court of Justice by a network of journalists from each of the 28 Member States. This initiative was started by Slovenian journalist Anuška Delić who discovered that she could get information about the expenses of members of the Slovenian parliament but not about Slovenian MEPs in Brussels. Welcoming the legal challenge, Access Info argued that the European Parliament should be setting a standard for levels of transparency

Journalists take European Parliament to Court over access to MEPs’ expensesHelen Darbishire2018-11-13T10:04:37+01:00