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Regulation 1049/2001 on the right of access to documents, including the digital context
Upon request of the Committee on Petitions (PETI), the Policy Department for Citizens’ Rights and Constitutional Affairs commissioned the present study on Regulation 1049/2001 on access to documents with a twofold objective. First, to update the analysis conducted in a 2016 study for the PETI Committee with the latest developments in the case law of the CJEU and the activities led by the European Ombudsman since then – in particular focussing on access to legislative documents, documents relating ...
Revision of the Victims' Rights Directive
On 12 July 2023, the Commission published its proposal for a revision of the Victims' Rights Directive, the key EU legislation on the protection of the rights of victims of crime. The Commission estimates that 15 % of Europeans fall victim to a crime every year. Despite progress in recent years, victims still lack access to information, support and protection. Secondary victimisation during criminal proceedings is still common and victims' access to compensation is not sufficiently supported. Vulnerable ...
Ϸվ's position on the data act
In February 2022, the European Commission tabled a proposal for a regulation on harmonised rules on fair access to and use of data. Ϸվ's Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE) approved its report on the act in February 2023. Ϸվ is due to vote on the report during its March I plenary session.
The fight against disinformation and the right to freedom of expression
This study, commissioned by the European Ϸվ’s Policy Department for Citizens’ Rights and Constitutional Affairs at the request of the LIBE Committee, aims at finding the balance between regulatory measures to tackle disinformation and the protection of freedom of expression. It explores the European legal framework and analyses the roles of all stakeholders in the information landscape. The study offers recommendations to reform the attention-based, data-driven information landscape and regulate ...
The European Ombudsman's activities in 2019
At the first plenary session of March 2021, the European Ϸվ is set to discuss and adopt a resolution on the European Ombudsman's activities in the year 2019, based on the Ombudsman's annual report presented on 4 May 2020. The report covers the final year of Emily O'Reilly's first mandate as Ombudsman before her re election for a second term in late December 2019.
Disinformation, 'fake news' and the EU's response
The impact of the online spread of mis- and disinformation – including false news posing as factual stories – became increasingly visible in the context of the crisis in Ukraine, and gained notoriety as a global challenge during the 2016 United States presidential election campaign. Ahead of the European elections in 2019, the EU is now stepping up its efforts to tackle 'fake news'. This is a further updated version of an 'at a glance' note published in April 2017: PE 599.384.
Towards an EU common position on the use of armed drones
Since the European Ϸվ (EP) passed a resolution on the use of armed drones in February 2014, it has pointed several times to the need for a common EU position on the matter. It has stressed in particular the importance of ensuring compliance with international human rights and humanitarian law when using armed drones. This publication, which was requested by the EP’s Human Rights Subcommittee, includes a briefing with specific recommendations, drawn up from a legal standpoint, on the elements ...
The EU and the Aarhus Convention: Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-Making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters
This briefing, commissioned by the Policy Department on Citizens' Rights and Constitutional Affairs for the PETI committee, focuses on the Aarhus Convention, applicable to the EU and to all Member States. The Convention provides for rights to the public to access to information, participation in decision-making and access to justice in environmental matters. The Aarhus Convention Compliance Committee has found several EU Member States as well as the EU itself non-compliant with the Convention. Currently ...
Openness, Transparency and the Right of Access to Documents in the EU
Upon request of the PETI Committee, the Policy Department on Citizens' Rights and Constitutional Affairs commissioned the present analysis, which examines the situation in relation to openness, transparency, access to documents and information in the EU. Case law and developments in the jurisprudence of the CJEU are examined, notably for legislative documents, documents relating to administrative proceedings, to Court proceedings, infringement proceedings and EU Pilot cases, protection of privacy ...
Media freedom in the Western Balkans: state of play
Media freedom is one indicator of a country's commitment to democracy, good governance and political accountability, and thus its readiness for EU membership. As such, it represents a key element in any aspiring country's EU enlargement agenda, along with other fundamentals such as the rule of law and economic governance. Each of the Western Balkan countries – Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo, Montenegro and Serbia – is at a different stage of the ...