Access to public information in Bulgaria

Access to public information and freedom of information (FOI) refer to the right of access to information held by public bodies also known as "right to know". Access to public information is considered of fundamental importance for the effective functioning of democratic systems, as it enhances governments' and public officials' accountability, boosting people participation and allowing their informed participation into public life. The fundamental premise of the right of access to public information is that the information held by governmental institutions is in principle public and may be concealed only on the basis of legitimate reasons which should be detailed in the law.

Access to Public Information in Bulgaria is a right guaranteed by the 1991 Constitution. It is regulated by the Access to Public Information Act first introduced in 2000 and amended in December 2015. The amendments enhanced proactive disclosure, encouraged electronic requests and facilitate re-use of information, in line with Directive 2013/37/EU on the Re-Use of Public Sector Information.

In 2014, a public consultation on the amendments to be introduced in the access to information legislation was initiated. In the Summer of 2014, a working group was set up at the Ministry of Transport Information Technologies and Communications with the mandate of drafting amendments to the Bulgarian legislation regarding the introduction of the revised Directive 2013/37/EU on the Re-use of Public Sector Information of the European Parliament and the Council of 26 June 2013. The amended Directive enlarged the scope of the re-use of public sector information by including archives, libraries and museums.

The initiative of amending the Bulgarian law on access to public information was also prepared in the framework of drafting and discussing the National Plan under the Open Government Partnership initiative.

In November 2015, the Bulgarian National Assembly adopted amendments to the Access to Public Information Act to enhance proactive disclosure, encourage electronic requests and facilitate re-use of information.

According to Professor Georgi Lozanov, a former member of the Council for Electronic Media, the introduction of the Access to Information Law could help in making more transparent the media sector, in particular media ownership and sources of funds which are largely opaque in Bulgaria.

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Wikipedia