INVITATION

International Right to Know Day
"Transparency at the EU level and in the Member States"

Seminar organised by the European Ombudsman
and Transparency International

28 September 2010, 10h
Room P7C050
European Parliament, Rue Wiertz, Brussels

The International Right to Know Day, celebrated on 28 September, was established in 2003 by access to information advocates from around the globe. The aim is to raise awareness of every individual's right of access to information. While much progress has been made in the EU over the past decade, the fact remains that one third of the inquiries the European Ombudsman carries out each year concern lack of transparency. This includes refusal to give access to documents, the composition of expert groups or how public consultations are conducted. In this seminar, the state of play concerning transparency at the EU level, as well as in the Member States, will be discussed.

European Parliament Vice-President Diana Wallis MEP will chair the event, while the panel will be composed of the following speakers:

• P. Nikiforos Diamandouros, European Ombudsman
  "European citizens' right to know - complaints about lack of transparency"
• Jana Mittermeier, Head of Transparency International Brussels
  "Differences in access to information cultures and regulations in EU Member States: A problem for EU transparency?"
• Christian Linder, Cabinet Member of Commission Vice-President Šefčovič
  "Transparency at EU level: an institutional point of view"
• Olivier Hoedeman, Corporate Europe Observatory/ALTER-EU
  "The 10-point action plan for transparency and ethics reform in the EU institutions"

The registration form is available at: http://www.ombudsman.europa.eu/shortcuts/document.faces/en/5278/pdf.bookmark

Please send the form by 20 September to EO-News, FAX +32 (0)2 2844914