Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! 23.12.2019
The team of Access to Information Programme wishes you health and successful initiatives in 2020!
"Sega" newspaper v. the Anti-Corruption Commission: How many times was the Commission ordered to pay damages? What is their amount? 16.12.2019
After two years of litigation, the media won an important case with the help of AIP. There have been 25 lawsuits against the Anti-Corruption Commission, as a result of which it was ordered to pay damages of ca. EUR 195 000 - and none of this information constitutes an official secret, according to the Court decision.
The Court obliged the Ministry of Environment to disclose the names of foreign companies importing waste in Bulgaria, their countries of origin and the type of waste imported 14.12.2019
According to the court decision on a lawsuit led by Capital newspaper (with the legal assistance of AIP), "the nature of the public relations regulated by the Environmental Protection Act (EPA) (...) implies maximum transparency of any activity that could affect environmental aspects as described by the EPA". As of December 14, the Environment and Water Executive Agency has 14 days to provide access to the requested information on the waste importing companies, their countries of origin and the type of waste imported.
Open letter regarding the Bulgarian government's commitment to comply with the recommendations made by the Venice Commission 13.12.2019
Access to Information Program, together with five other civil society organisations - experts in the area of the rule of law - sent an open letter concerning the compliance by the Bulgarian Government to the recommendations made by the Venice Commission. The latter recently issued specific recommendations as to how the investigation of Bulgaria's Prosecutor General can be done in an independent and effective way. The common position is addressed to the European Commission, the Council of Ministers to the EU, the heads of the EU member states' missions in Bulgaria, the Council of Europe Monitoring Committee and to the Prime Minister Boyko Borisov himself.
AIP among Bulgarian human rights NGOs who refuse to legitimize the election procedure for Head of Anti-Corruption Commission 04.12.2019
"Access to Information Programme", „Anticorruption Fund“, „Bulgarian Lawyers for Human Rights“ and „Institute for Market Economy“ sent a letter with their joint statement to the Head of the National Assembly and the chairpersons of its parliamentary groups. “We do not want to contribute to empty of content such democratic instrument as the participation of the civil society through statements and questions in the procedure for the election of Head of the CCUAAF Commission".
Sofia Municipality refuses to disclose information regarding street repairs in six neighborhoods 26.11.2019
According to Stephan Anguelov, AIP lawyer, Sofia Municipality is supposed to have the requested data on the planning and implementation of reconstruction works in several Sofia metropolitan areas - after all, he says, this very data serves for the final financial reports.
The Ministry of Youth and Sports, the Bulgarian Football Union and the access to public information 20.11.2019
How did the Bulgarian Football Union spend over a million leva, granted by the Bulgarian state, reveals the TV investigative journalist Petar Nanev. In 2018, with the legal assistance of the AIP, he won a lawsuit against the Ministry of Youth and Sports, and this year he was nominated by AIP's team for our journalism award as part of the International Right to Know Day.
An important victory for the AIP and the freedom of expression 18.11.2019
The Constitutional Court declared unconstitutional a provision in the Private Data Protection Act, which introduced 10 criteria for assessing journalistic expression.
4th Practical Course "Access to Information and Public Communication" 11.11.2019
Students from New Bulgarian University on a series of lectures at AIP's office
AIP Turns 23 23.10.2019
Today, 23 October 2019, Access to Information Programme turns 23. During all these years, we have been persistently following our mission to assist the exercise of the right of access to information. We have been advocating for better access to information in Bulgaria and have been taking part in international networks and initiatives for higher standards in the area. We would like to thank all our colleagues, partners, friends, our coordinators in the country, for your cooperation and support.
The team of Access to Information Programme wishes you all the best for the birthday of the organization!
AIP joins the call of human rights organizations against political pressure over the civil society 04.10.2019
On October 2, 2019, the Access to Information Program joined an open letter to the media, announcing 85 Bulgarian human rights organizations in support of the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee and against the request of the nationalist party IMRO-BNM sent to the Prosecutor General to cease the activityof the human rights organization. The position of civil society organizations states that such public attacks are unacceptable and represent an attempt to silence citizens in attempt to satisfy the political interests.
17th Right to Know Day Awards Ceremony - 28 September 2019 28.09.2019
On September 28, 2019 FOI activists from Sofia and the country gathered at the Literature club Peroto (The Quill) in the National Palace of Culture – Sofia to celebrate the 17th Right to Know Day Awards Ceremony. Among the guests were partner NGOs, journalists, academia, officials from executive bodies and municipalities. The 2019 Right to Know Day Awards winners are
ACCESS TO INFORMATION FORUM AIMS TO IMPROVE TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY OF PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS 19.09.2019
On September 9, 2019, Access to Information Programme launched the implementation of the project ACCESS TO INFORMATION FORUM. The project is supported within the Active Citizens Fund Bulgaria under the Financial Mechanism of the European Economic Area.
17th Right to Know Day Awards Ceremony 18.09.2019
The Access to Information Programme is preparing to hold the 17th Right to Know Day Awards Ceremony on September 28, 2019 in Bulgaria. Nominations in six categories are collected to be awarded with four positive and two anti-awards. 32 nominees are competing for the 2019 Right to Know Day Awards. The 2019 RKD Awards Ceremony will be held on 28 September 2019 (Saturday) at 12:00 pm (EET) at the Literature Club “Peroto” (Sofia – National Palace of Culture).
How is the APIA implemented in Bulgaria? - visualized data 17.06.2019
The Access to Information Programme launches the visualization of data on the implementation of the Access to Public Information Act updated on the base of the data published in the Government reports “The State of the Administration” 2001 – 2018. The data was analyzed by the AIP Executive Director Gergana Jouleva and the visualization is possible due to the assistance of an expert from the platform Tableau.
How is the Access to Public Information Act implemented in Bulgaria? 14.06.2019
Access to Information Programme presents the analysis of the data on the Access to Public Information Act (APIA) published in the Government reports “The State of the Administration” 2001 – 2018. The analysis of the data on the APIA implementation gives the picture of the APIA implementation within the executive power and shows the improvement of the process of accountability, its digitalization (2005), and the role of the body responsible for the publication of the summarized data.
Access to Information in Bulgaria 2018 Finding and Conclusions from the AIP Annual Report 04.06.2019
On June 4, 2019, Access to Information Programme presented the findings and conclusions from its annual Access to Information in Bulgariareport. The AIP report contains recommendations related to the access to information legal framework and its implementation; assessment of the regulations in the access to information area; analysis of the results from the assessment of the proactive transparency of 564 institutions for 2019; analyses of the access to information cases referred to AIP for legal aid and consultation during 2018, including for representation in court; 6 Appendices.
First State Audit on Transparency and Publicity in the Activities of the State Administration and Access to Information in Bulgaria 03.06.2019
For the first time in 19 years since the adoption of the Access to Public Information Act in Bulgaria, the National Audit Office made an audit on the implementation of “Transparency and Publicity in the Activities of the State Administration and Access to Information” covering the period 1 January 2016 – 30 June 2018. The main conclusions from the audit report coincide with the findings and recommendations given by the AIP in its annual reports “Access to Information in Bulgaria.”
AIP presented Results from 2019 Audit on Institutional Web Sites 19.04.2019
On April 19, 2019 at the Press Club of the Bulgarian News Agency, Sofia, the Access to Information Programme (AIP) presented the Results from 2019 AIP audit on institutional web sites and the 2019 Active Transparency ratings. The results are available here: https://data.aip-bg.org/en/surveys/BAV422/
AIP Held the Annual Meeting with Its Coordinators 15.02.2019
On February 15, 2019 in Sofia, Access to Information Programme (AIP) held the annual meeting with the journalists of its country-wide coordinators' network. AIP’ team presented key achievements from AIP advocacy activities in 2018. The 2019 goals and challenges before AIP and the coordinators' network were outlined. AIP presented the 2018 legislative initiatives, characteristics of the legal aid provided during 2018, including the cases in which AIP had provided representation in court.
Third Class of Access to Information Course Alumni 25.01.2019
On January 25, 2019, the Access to Information Programme (AIP) presented certificates to the students from professional program “Public Communications and Information Sciences” at the New Bulgarian University for successfully passing the practical course “Access to Information Public Communications.” The course is held in partnership with the Mass Communications Department of the New Bulgarian University and is within the project Transparency Advice Center supported by the America for Bulgaria Foundation.