The information was requested by Diana Boncheva, a journalist and AIP coordinator in the region of Yambol. In February 2012, she filed a request to the Ministry of Environment and Waters demanding access to a copy of the contract signed between the Ministry and the Municipality of Yambol, the project proposal of the Municipality, the interim and final reports on the project implementation, as well as the money installments under the project and the sanctions imposed.
The Chief Secretary of the Ministry of Environment and Waters refused access on the grounds that the information was related to third party's interests, those of the Municipalities, and the latter had expressed explicit dissent in the disclosure.
By a Decision of 19 February 2013, the Administrative Court Sofia City (in Bulgarian) repealed the Ministry of Environment and Water (MOEW) refusal to provide access to information on the project “Technical assistance for the establishment of a system for integrated waste management in the Yambol region”, financed under Operational Programme Environment 2007 – 2013.
The court held that there was overriding public interest in providing the information since it concerns allocation and spending of funds from the EU and the state budget.