8 Feb 2016

Austria: Draft FOI law falls short of international standards

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

Access Info/IPI analysis welcomes progress, but urges reforms to better guarantee right to information Madrid/Vienna, 8 February 2016 – Austria’s draft freedom of information (FOI) law requires significant further reforms in order to meet international standards governing transparency and the right to information, Access Info Europe and the Vienna-based International Press Institute (IPI) said today upon jointly releasing an analysis of the draft. The analysis, conducted by Access Info, welcomes Austria’s initiative to replace an outdated legal framework that “until now has severely restricted access to information held by Austrian public bodies”. Key weaknesses in the proposed FOI law (Informationsfreiheitsgesetz)

Austria: Draft FOI law falls short of international standards2018-11-13T10:04:13+01:00
23 Nov 2015

Decision Making Transparency is an Essential Part of Open Government Access Info Europe tells UK FOI Commission

2018-11-13T10:04:36+01:00

Madrid, 23 November 2015 – Access Info Europe has warned that any move by the UK government to amend the FOI law by expanding blanket exceptions to decision-making transparency or by extending a political veto over disclosure, would be an attack on international standards. These concerns were set out in a submission to the government-appointed FOI Commission, which has been criticised for being stacked with transparency sceptics. The Commission’s consultation document opened the possibility of extending the use of Cabinet vetoes to block disclosure of information, even after a judicial decision to do so. Access Info Europe called for the

Decision Making Transparency is an Essential Part of Open Government Access Info Europe tells UK FOI Commission2018-11-13T10:04:36+01:00
21 Oct 2015

Access Info welcomes Cyprus’ commitment to strong FOI law

2018-11-13T10:04:38+01:00

Madrid, 21 October 2015 - Access Info Europe has welcomed Cypriot Justice Minister Ionas Nicolaou’s commitment to adopt a strong access to information (Freedom of Information) law that will be “one of the best in the European Union”. The pro-transparency organisation, headquartered in Madrid, urges the Cypriot government to act on this promise, noting that in order to bring the law into line with European and international standards, the government should recognise the fundamental nature of the right, including all public bodies in the law, reducing the number of exceptions, and removing other obstacles such as the requirement to provide

Access Info welcomes Cyprus’ commitment to strong FOI law2018-11-13T10:04:38+01:00
30 Jul 2015

Cyprus: Draft FOI law seriously below European standards

2018-11-13T10:04:48+01:00

Madrid, 30 July 2015 – Access Info Europe has urged the government of Cyprus to greatly improve its draft access to information law in order to meet basic international transparency standards. An analysis of the draft text using the Right to Information Rating indicators found that Cyprus would come in at position 97 of 102 countries globally, scoring a dismal 57 of 150 points. It would not be able to sign and ratify the Council of Europe Convention on Access to Official Documents. In a submission sent to the Justice Minister Ionas Nicolaou, the pro-transparency organisation recommended significant amendments to

Cyprus: Draft FOI law seriously below European standards2018-11-13T10:04:48+01:00