The joint action of the European Union and the Council of Europe “Freedom of Expression and Freedom of the Media in North Macedonia (JUFREX)” during the past two days supported the Agency for Protection of the Right to Free Access to Public Information of North Macedonia (ASPI) in the organisation of the Third Regional Conference under “Initiative 2020”: Proactive Transparency and the Tromsø Convention.

During this Conference, the independent bodies for free access to public information, signatories of the “Initiative 2020”, from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo*, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia and Slovenia, agreed proactive transparency to be the key tool for transparency, accountability and openness of institutions in the future focus of the law on free access to public information. The publication and updating of data of the websites of public entities, shall be a primary obligation and duty, whereas transparency, upon requests for access to information shall be a secondary obligation of the holders of information of state bodies.

Patrick Penninckx, Head of Information Society Department, Council of Europe, opened the Regional Conference by referring to the effective protection of the right of access to public information as a key feature of good governance and an indicator of whether or not a society is genuinely democratic and pluralistic, and open to the enlightened participation of citizens in matters of public interest. He added that it is equally important for free and independent media outlets, journalists and other media actors to have legal and guaranteed access to information and official documents in order to inform the public and conduct journalist investigations. Without transparent regulation of media and swift access to information of public interest, journalists are prevented from fulfilling their mission of objectively informing the public.

Slavica Grkovska, Deputy Prime Minister for Good Governance Policies of the Government of the Republic of North Macedonia, supported this event and the overall aim of the Agency for Protection of the Right to Free Access to Public Information of North Macedonia towards proactive transparency. As representative of the Government, she expressed the political willingness to support the process of signing and ratifying the Tromsø Convention, i.e. the Council of Europe Convention on Access to Official Documents (CETS No. 205). She pointed out the especially significant support of the Council of Europe, through the Council of Europe Programme Office in Skopje in the process of bringing European standards home.

Lejla Dervisagic, Head of Operations at the Council of Europe Programme Office in Skopje, in her speech focused on the importance of the Tromsø Convention, as the first international treaty providing for a general right of access to official documents, which entered into force on 1 December 2020. She added that it can be seen as a building block for transparent governance and democracy, fostering a culture of pluralist and democratic society and transparency of public authorities. At the same time, it is instrumental to the integrity, efficiency, effectiveness, and accountability of these authorities.

The international expert of the Council of Europe, Ivar Tallo, presented in details European experiences in the application of the principles under the Tromsø Convention, as well as good practices and benefits of its application.

 

Another added value of this regional conference supported by the joint European Union and Council of Europe action JUFREX, is the participation of a delegation from the Office of Information and Data Protection Commissioner from Albania as observers, as they are not a party signatory of the “Initiative 2020”. Considering the regional component of JUFREX, the participants from Albania had a chance to contribute with their experiences as are among some of the Beneficiaries from the Western Balkan region that has signed and ratified the Tromsø Convention.

This Regional Conference was organised in the framework of the European Union and Council of Europe joint programme "Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Turkey 2019-2022", and its action “Freedom of Expression and Freedom of the Media in North Macedonia”  (JUFREX).

 

* This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSC 1244 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo Declaration of Independence.