Within the framework of the EU/CoE PCF Project “Freedom of expression and media freedom” the Council of Europe organised the Launching Event and Roundtable on Access to Information, which took place in Baku, Azerbaijan on September 29, 2015. The event included representatives of national authorities, media, civil society and international organisations.

The aim of the event was to launch the new PCF Project and to inform the relevant stakeholder and the public about its objectives, expected results and future activities. It was the first activity held in Baku within the framework of Project. The significance of the event was great given the fact that, as it was noted by local stakeholders, it was the first event in Azerbaijan, in over a year period where issues of freedom of expression were discussed by representatives of authorities, civil society and international organisation.

The second part of the event was devoted to substance presentations and discussions on access to information issues. The presentations were made by representatives of the Ministry of Justice and Ombudsman Office on Azerbaijani legal framework on access to information. International experts and CoE secretariat presented CoE standards and European best practice on access to information. During the discussions it was established that it would be beneficial to conduct comparative analysis of Azerbaijani legislation with European standards and to develop expert recommendation on how to improve the national system on access to information. The Project will continue its work in this direction.

Programme of the meeting