site.btaLegal Amendments Ease Further Public Access to Administrative Information

Legal Amendments Ease Further Public Access to Administrative Information

Sofia, November 26 (BTA) - An online platform on which administrative information will be accessible to the public is one of the steps that Bulgaria is taking to further ease public access to information which is now only held by administrative authorities and public-sector organizations. The responsibility to create and maintain the platform was placed on the Council of Ministers by amendments to the Access to Public Information Act, which Parliament passed conclusively and without a debate on Thursday.

The platform already exists at opendata.government.bg. The information available there will be gradually expanded according to a schedule which will be set annually by the Government. Access to all information in this platform is free of charge.

Another revision of the Act requires wholly State- or municipal-owned companies to make their information public. They will no longer have the option of withholding information.

No fees will be charged for repeated use of information from a public authority for which a person has already paid once. The initial fee may not exceed the cost of retrieving and reproducing the information requested. Alternatively, such information may to be provided by email.

Further revisions allow waiving commercial secrecy for matters of overriding public interest.