The Government of the Balearic Islands and the Council for Transparency and Good Governance (CTBG) have extended for two more years the agreement signed in 2021 by which this state body is responsible for resolving complaints against decisions issued by the administrations of the Balearic Islands regarding the right of access to public information. This guarantees that the resolution of these appeals will continue to be made by a highly specialised body that is independent of the different administrations involved.

The Government and the Council for Transparency and Good Governance

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The Councillor for the Presidency and Public Administrations, Antònia Maria Estarellas, signed the addendum with the President of the Council, José Luis Rodríguez Álvarez, which allows the agreement to be extended and modified from time to time to improve its practical applicability. Under this agreement, the Balearic Islands will allocate 40,000 euros to the CTBG between 2024 and 2025 to cover the costs arising from the management and resolution of these complaints.

Since the agreement was signed two years ago, the CTBG has processed 149 complaints (79 in 2022 and 70 in 2023) against resolutions issued by the different administrations of the Balearic Islands that denied, totally or partially, access to the public information requested, either by administrative silence or expressly. Specifically, of the complaints filed, 93 corresponded to requests made to local councils, 36 to the Government of the Balearic Islands, 16 to the island councils and 4 to other public bodies.

Of the total of 149 complaints handled by the CTBG, 108 have already been resolved. Of these, 41 have received a favourable response from the respondent and 24 have been resolved by the respondent administration, which has granted access to the information requested before the end of the processing procedure. As for the remaining complaints, 14 were rejected, 14 were rejected for reasons established in the Law, 13 were shelved at the request of the applicant and 2 required a review of the process. Currently, there are 45 claims pending, all of them in 2023, which are still in the process of being processed.

A right enshrined in the Transparency Law

The right of access to public information is recognised in Law 19/2013, of 19 December, on transparency, access to public information and good governance. This regulation ensures that citizens can obtain, without the need to justify the purpose, documentation and information held by public administrations, except in those cases where the law imposes specific limits.

In recent years, there has been an increase in citizen awareness of this right, as reflected in the fact that the number of requests submitted by the Govern de les Illes Balears and its dependent bodies in this area alone has risen from 66 in 2016 to 565 by the end of October 2023. This trend shows a greater interest and active participation of citizens in public affairs.

The renewal of the agreement between the Government of the Balearic Islands and the CTBG is a step forward in the commitment to guarantee transparency and citizens’ access to public information.