Open Government in the EU

Russian lobbyists to be barred from accessing EU decision makers

Post author By Editor
Post date June 22, 2022

Decision taken well into the Russian invasion in Ukraine and after considerable pressure on the institution representing EU member states.

Tags 2022, lobbying, register, russia, ukraine, war

Research

WhatsApp Europe?

Post author By Editor
Post date June 5, 2022

How official instant messaging can be made accessible is a big question. Whether it is compatible with democracy is a bigger one, Jonathan White argues.

Ursula von der Leyen—government by instant messaging carries a political subtext (Etienne Ansotte / European Commission)

Tags 2022, access to documents, Commission, coronavirus, jonathan white, pandemic, sms, social media, von der leyen

Civil society

Secrecy over Brexit agreement

Post author By Editor
Post date June 2, 2022

In process of obtaining the Council Legal Service’s opinion on the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement.

While the EU was praised for its transparency in negotiations with the exiting United Kingdom, this openness appears not to extend to its internal legal advice regarding the negotiation process. Vellamo Jutila shares her experience of trying to probe behind the scenes of the negotiation process.

Tags 2022, brexit, confirmatory application, eu-uk trade and cooperation agreement, European Ombudsman, regulation 1049, vellamo jutila

Oversight

European Ombudsman concludes Commission revolving door inquiry with call to action

Post author By Editor
Post date May 31, 2022

Ombudsman O’Reilly presents findings after studying over 100 decisions pertaining to outgoing senior staff, of which a mere 2 were rejected.

Tags 2022, Commission, EU ethics, European Ombudsman, revolving door