The European Ombudsman calls on the EU bodies to facilitate citizens’ access to information

On 28 September of every year, people around the world celebrate their right to access information. That means that people have the right to know what the governments are doing. On this year’s day, there was a meeting in Brussels. In that meeting, people discussed how accessible information is in Europe.

On the occasion of International Right to Know Day, the European Ombudsman opened a dialogue regarding the level of transparency and access to EU information. He called on the EU administration to be more proactive on that and proposed the appointment of information officers in the EU institutions to ensure the citizens’ right to access EU documents.

On 28 September, the International Right to Know Day was celebrated reminding that access to government information is a fundamental right of all citizens. On the occasion of this day, the European Ombudsman,, Mr ikiforos Diamandouros, organised a seminar entitled: What the EU can learn from others. As Mr Diamandouros said opening the seminar, this is the 2^nd time that an event like this is organised in the framework of the International Right to Know Day. However, he hopes to make it a tradition, as European citizens have the right to know what their representatives in European level are doing and monitor the work of European Institutions.

Mr Diamandouros gave an insight into the level of transparency and access to information in Europe underlining that there are still a lot of things that should be improved. Given that more than one third of the Ombudsman’s inquiries concern complains about lack of transparency in the activities of the EU administration, Mr Diamandouros called on the EU administration to be more proactive as regards access to documents and information.

To facilitate public access to EU documents, the Ombudsman proposed the appointment of information officers in the EU institutions and bodies; “their role should be to ensure the citizens’ right to access to EU documents by encouraging the institutions to adopt a proactive approach, as well as ensuring that they react correctly to requests for access”. He also called for useful, citizen-friendly online registers of documents that not only inform citizens of the documents available, but whenever possible, make those documents directly accessible to the public, without having to make an application for access.

Chaired by the Europe Editor of the Press Association, Mr Geoff Meade, the seminar continued with the Finnish Minister for International Development and former MEP, Mrs Heidi Hautala talking about the Finish and the European situation concerning the level of transparency and access to information and the Chargé d’ Affaires of the U.S. Mission to the EU, Mr Thomas J. White. Mr White focused on the example of United States referring to the US Freedom of Information Act, a law which gives anyone the right to request information from the US government. He also referred to the US Privacy Act of 1974, which protects individuals from the disclosure of personal records without their consent. These two Acts are, according to Mr White, “the two sides of the same coin”. Last but not least, the director of Access Info Europe, Mrs Helen Darbishire elaborated on the keys to make the EU transparent, accountable and participatory. She also introduced a new website to the audience. The website is called “Ask the EU – It’s your right” and its aim is to help members of the public to get information about the European Union by asking for it. Then, the responsible EU body has the obligation to reply to the request within 15 working days and the answer is both sent to the person and published on the website for everyone else to see.

What about people with intellectual disabilities?

In the seminar, it was repeatedly underlined that transparency and access to information is a fundamental right of citizens and a key element for their active participation in democracy. To this end, vulnerable categories of citizens –like people with intellectual disabilities- should not be deprived of their right to know. That means that the government information should not only be disclosed but also accessible and comprehensible by all, including people with intellectual disabilities. This could be the next step to take towards a more inclusive society.