On 12 September Spanish lawmakers approved amendments which will increase the scope of Spain’s first freedom of information law. At present Spain is the only EU country which does not guarantee its citizens access to information on how public money is spent.
The amendments extended the scope of the freedom of information law to include the royal family, lobbies, unions and employers associations. The Spanish royal family has traditionally been protected from public scrutiny. However, their popularity has declined since the king’s son-in-law was charged with embezzling €6 million of public funds.
The law is expected to be passed by both houses of parliament in coming weeks.
According to Access Info, following the adoption of the new law, Spain will rank 72nd out of 96 countries with access to information laws. The non-governmental organisation Access Info have criticised a number of weaknesses in the bill, noting that access to information is not recognized as a fundamental right, the legislation does not provide for an independent appeals mechanism and that the law does not apply to all institutions consistently.
Click here to view Transparency International’s profile on Spain.
Click here to view an article from Access Info.
Click here to read an article by Reuters on the reform.