News item | 17-10-2022 | 18:32
Today Minister Hanke Bruins Slot (BZK), also on behalf of State Secretary van Huffelen (Digitalization), sent the report “Publication of government information” to both Houses. This report compares the way in which six European countries disclose information on the basis of their legislation with the Netherlands. In the study, the researchers provide various alternatives from these countries for consideration. These alternatives could contribute to the disclosure of government information in the Netherlands. The study was carried out by Leiden University on behalf of the Minister of the Interior and Kingdom Relations.
A selection of six countries was chosen for the study, in which various European regions, and thus traditions of disclosure, are represented: namely two countries with a Scandinavian model (Sweden and Estonia); two countries from Central Europe (France and Germany); one country from Eastern Europe (Slovenia); and the United Kingdom (Anglo-Saxon country).
In the comparison between these countries, it was examined per country, among other things, how the right to disclosure is legally established, which administrative bodies and which documents fall under the law and what these countries do about active disclosure (i.e. without a concrete request for disclosure). . The study also looked at how countries deal with information requests (Woo requests) and how enforcement and supervision are arranged in the various countries.
In addition to Leiden University’s research, employees from various departments have paid (digital) working visits to several other European countries to exchange insights for the disclosure of government information. A report of the findings obtained during these working visits has been made available to the House of Representatives.