Activity Details (ID# 13653)

Activity Synopsis

a) awareness-raising and training of main actors in the process of request-supply of official information with regard to Council of Europe documents, including the Recommendation Rec (2002)2 of Committee of Ministers of Council of Europe on access to public documents;
b) promotion of prevalence of public interest in the process of official information supply;
c) contribution to dissolution of culture of “secrecy”, typical for the ex-soviet countries;
d) promotion of “good practices” in the field of free access to information, including the declassification of important information of public interest;
e) breaking the inadequate behaviour of some representatives of public institutions (including the Government, Ministry of Informational Development, Department of Information and Security) regarding the role of civil society and establishment of some partnership relations.
 

The seminar was very well organised by the “Acces-info” Centre in Chişinău. The participants received files containing various relevant documents, including the Moldovan legislation concerning the access to information, as well as a Recommendations of the Committee of Ministers of the CoE, translated into Romanian (Rec (2002)2 of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe on access to public documents).

The objective of the seminar was reached: in the light of the CoE standards on access to official documents, and the Estonian, Bulgarian and Dutch experience in this area, the participants examined the current legal framework and practice of access to information in Moldova. The interventions of CoE representatives stimulated the discussions on the European standards concerning access to information.

Beyond learning about key-provisions of free access to information and good practices in Moldova and other countries, participants made a very useful exchange of experience regarding the access to official documents. They had the possibility to make a clear distinction between “secret” and “public interest”. In this context, recent attempts of some state structures to promote the “service secret” in draft laws were combated and understood as being absolutely erroneous.

The seminar contributed to a better understanding by public officials of their role and responsibilities vis-à-vis applicants for information and public at large, of the necessity to support the activity of public officials dealing with information management and, as a result, the suitable respect for the requirements of the Law on access to information. It also contributed to a better understanding by the NGOs representatives of the essential meaning of free access to information as control tool of state activities and public involvement in decision-making process.

Participants received several useful documents in the field, including best practices manuals and analysis of the information process in different countries.
 

At the close of the seminar, the participants drew up a series of conclusions and recommendations that were afterwards addressed to the Ministries, Departments and to different public authorities, aiming at more transparency of these structures and at total openness of public documents. 

Representatives of public authorities/ institutions, civil society, judiciary system, media professionals.

 

Ms Gergana JOULEVA, Executive Director, Access to Information Program, Sofia (Bulgaria); Mr Tarmu TAMMERK, Managing Director, Estonian Newspaper Association, Tallinn (Estonia). 

Mr Eugen CIBOTARU, Media Division, DG-II.