[euopendata] Campaign to prevent the retrogressive reforms of EU access to docs regulation 1049/2001

Fri Feb 4 18:53:20 UTC 2011

Dear Open Data advocates,

As you may know, the reform of EU access to documents regulation 
1049/2001 has been ongoing for some time, mainly because the Commission 
is proposing some changes to the regulation which it claims will make it 
"clearer", but which will actually serve to reduce our right of access 
to EU documents.

Particularly controversial is the *Commission's proposal to reduce the 
definition of a document* to content that is "drawn-up by an institution 
and formally transmitted to one or more recipients or otherwise 
registered, or received by an institution". In addition, "data contained 
in electronic storage, processing and retrieval systems are documents 
*if* they can be extracted in the form of a printout or 
electronic-format copy using the available tools for the exploitation of 
the system".

This narrow wording, apart from creating a loophole through which 
opponents of greater transparency can slip simply by not registering a 
document, *definitively excludes databases from our right of access. *

Given that the Commission and the Council have demonstrated themselves 
to be opponents of greater transparency, and that *the Parliament is due 
to vote on this issue soon* (date to be confirmed), we have prepared a 
letter urging MEPs not to accept the Commission's proposals. The letter 
(attached) was prepared by Access Info, ClientEarth and Greenpeace and 
has 234 signatures so far (of which 143 are civil society organisations 
and 91 are journalists, academics and freedom of information advocates).

To find out more about this whole situation, visit 
http://www.access-info.org/en/european-union or ask me.
To add your support to this letter, email pam at access-info.org, or fill 
in this form: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/MKBVCKZ

Thanks in advance!
Pam Bartlett
-- 
Pamela Bartlett Quintanilla
Research Coordinator
Access Info Europe
Madrid
+34 91 366 5344
+34 699 354 215
Twitter: Access_Info

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