NEWS ROOM
Luxembourg signs the Council of Europe Convention on Access to Official Documents
Strasbourg, 2 November 2026 – Luxembourg has signed the Council of Europe Convention on Access to Official Documents, also known as the Tromsø Convention. The Convention was signed by Ambassador Olivier Maes, Permanent Representative of Luxembourg to the Council of Europe, in the presence of...
Promoting the implementation of the Tromsø Convention in Estonia
On 21 October 2026, the Council of Europe participated in the “A² Conference 2026: Public Information and Open Data – Knowledge Creates Confidence” in Tallinn, which was jointly organised by the Estonian Data Protection Inspectorate and the Ministry of Justice and Digital Affairs of Estonia. The...
The Council of Europe Access Info Group held its 13th meeting
The AIG held its 13th meeting from 3 to 5 November 2026 in Strasbourg. It adopted its baseline evaluation report on the implementation of the Tromsø Convention in respect of North Macedonia, its draft baseline evaluation report on the implementation of the Tromsø Convention in respect of Latvia,...
International Day for Universal Access to Information
On the International Day for Universal Access to Information, we underscore the key principles of the Council of Europe Convention on Access to Official Documents (CETS No.205): Read our factsheet on the Tromsø Convention
6th meeting of the Consultation of the Parties to the Tromsø Convention
The Consultation of the Parties to the Tromsø Convention held its 6th meeting on 1 October 2026 in Strasbourg. It adopted conclusions and recommendations on the implementation of the Convention by Finland, Iceland, Norway, Spain and Sweden. The Consultation of the Parties also considered...
The Tromsø Convention was discussed at the Steering Committee for Human Rights’ 104th meeting
The Steering Committee for Human Rights (CDDH) held a thematic debate on access to official documents on Wednesday 1 July in Strasbourg, which looked at the right of access from the perspective of the both the Tromsø Convention and the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). The invited...
The Tromsø Convention was discussed in a hearing at the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly
The Committee on Culture, Science, Education and Media and the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe held a joint hearing on Wednesday 24 June “Transparency and Accountability in the Public Administration –the Tromsø Convention”. The...
The Council of Europe Access Info Group held its 12th meeting
The Access Info Group (AIG) held its 12th meeting in Strasbourg from 1 to 3 June 2026. In relation to its baseline evaluation round, the AIG considered a draft report in respect of North Macedonia as well as updates to the reports in respect of Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden. The AIG also...
Annual Activity Report 2025 of the Access Info Group
The Access Info Group (AIG) of the Council of Europe has published its Annual Activity Report for 2025, which gives an overview of the meetings of the AIG and its other activities to promote the Tromsø Convention. The Tromsø Convention is the first binding international legal instrument to...
11th meeting of the Council of Europe Access Info Group
The Access Info Group held its 11th meeting in Paris from 25 to 27 March 2026. List of adopted decisions
Spanish Law on transparency complies with the principles of Council of Europe’s Convention on access to official documents
The Spanish Law on transparency generally aligns with the Council of Europe’s Convention on access to official documents, concludes the group of experts monitoring its implementation — the Access info group (AIG) — in a report published today. The report recommends that Spanish authorities reduce...
The Council of Europe Access Info Group (AIG) publishes its opinion on what constitutes an official document under the Tromsø Convention
The AIG opinion interprets certain elements of the definition of “official documents” contained Article 1, paragraph 2, sub-paragraph b, of the Council of Europe Convention on access to Official Documents (CETS 205), which is also known as the Tromsø Convention. It focuses on the following...
WORKSHOP
Transparency and privacy in democratic societies - two sides of the same coin
In today’s data driven economy in democratic societies, ensuring accountability of governments and fighting corruption is increasingly important, while safeguarding personal privacy is of growing concern. Public authorities must strike a delicate balance between guaranteeing access to the...
10th meeting of the Council of Europe Access Info Group
The Access Info Group held its 10th meeting in Strasbourg from 3 to 5 November 2025. During this meeting, the Group was also invited to attend a Workshop on “Transparency and privacy in democratic societies – two sides of the same coin”, organised jointly by the Council of Europe Access Info...
5th MEETING OF THE CONSULTATION OF THE PARTIES
The Consultation of the Parties held its 5th meeting from 1 to 2 October 2025. The Consultation or the Parties elected 12 members of the Access info Group and adopted conclusions and recommendations in respect of Albania, Armenia and Slovenia. The first 11 Parties to the Convention provided...
Slovenia’s right to information law largely in line with Council of Europe’s Convention on access to official documents
The Council of Europe’s Access Info Group (AIG)*, in its first, baseline evaluation report on Slovenia assessing the compliance of the Slovenian Public Information Access Act with the Council of Europe Convention on Access to Official Documents (Tromsø Convention), found that the Act largely...
Observer Status to ICIC
The Council of Europe was recently granted observer status to the International Conference of Information Commissioners (ICIC), a global gathering of national agencies responsible for promoting the right to access information in their jurisdictions. This will be a welcome opportunity to raise...
Entry into force of the Tromsø Convention in respect of Latvia
The Council of Europe Convention on Access to Official Documents (CETS 205, Tromsø Convention) entered into force in respect of Latvia on 1st May 2025, bringing the number of Parties to the Convention to 17. The implementation of the Convention by the Parties is monitored by the Council of Europe...
9th meeting of the Council of Europe Access Info Group
The Council of Europe Group on Access to information (AIG) held its 9th meeting from 14 to 16 May 2025, in Paris. The AIG adopted its baseline evaluation report on the implementation of the Council of Europe Convention on Access to Official Documents (CETS No.205) in respect of Slovenia. The...
New Baseline evaluation reports on Albania and Armenia
Albania and Armenia: new AIG reports evaluate their laws on access to official documents
The Council of Europe’s Access Info Group (AIG), has published its first baseline evaluation reports on Albania and Armenia. The reports contain comprehensive analysis of the compatibility of Albania’s Law on the Right to Information and of Armenia´s Law on Freedom of Information. In its report...