Transparency is key for a healthy democracy. This holds true for all democratic institutions, national and international (including the European Commission). Unfortunately, according to a recent analysis by Civil Society Europe the Austrian Permanent Representations of Member States to the European Union is almost last when it comes do disclosing contact information or information about the organisational structure.

The analysis takes into consideration the disclosure of the Permanent Representation internal structure – including civil servant names and contact details – and the disclosure of the list of meetings held between ambassadors and interest representatives.

It shows significant differences in the level of transparency of the Permanent Representations. While some of them make all of the information publicly available, others barely disclose their internal structure and do not reveal which interest representatives the ambassadors are meeting. While some states publish information on staff names, phone numbers, email addresses and a transparency register, the Austrian Representation offers almost no information at all.

The disclosure of information relevant to the public is a key element of institutional accountability: as such, we encourage all Permanent Representations to fully commit to the highest standards of transparency and to take the appropriate steps to fill the gaps identified in this analysis.

Access the analysis database here.