The Controversial Federal Exception in Politics Transparency Discussion

The Minister of the Interior wants to exempt the publication of administrative documents for federal cabinets, which does not yet exist in the Regions. The debate is ongoing in the Vivaldi government. This article is reserved for subscribers. Interior Minister Annelies Verlinden aims to improve the transparency of Belgium’s administration by increasing the publicity of administrative documents. To accomplish this, she has proposed amending the 1994 law on the publicity of administration, specifically to optimize the publicity of the administration at the federal level. However, the bill has faced difficulties. This article is for subscribers only, offering unlimited access to articles, files, and reports from the editorial staff, as well as the digital version of the newspaper with limited .

The Minister of the Interior provides an exception to the publication of administrative documents for federal cabinets, whereas it does not exist in the Regions. The debate is not closed in the Vivaldi.

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By the editor

Published on 04/11/2023 at 20:30
Reading time: 6 mins

CIt was the Council of Europe, via Greco (Group of States against Corruption), which recommended it to our country: Belgium should improve the transparency of its administration, and therefore the publicity of administrative documents. For this, a modification of the law of April 11, 1994 relating to the publicity of the administration is essential. Interior Minister Annelies Verlinden (CD&V) has therefore drafted a bill aimed at responding to Greco’s recommendations and “optimizing the publicity of the administration at federal level”. And this is where the difficulties begin…

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In conclusion, the debate on transparency and publicity of administrative documents in Belgium is still ongoing, especially at the regional level. While the Minister of the Interior has proposed a bill to improve the transparency of the federal administration, some argue that the proposed exceptions go against the recommendations of the Council of Europe. This highlights the importance of striking a balance between transparency and the need for confidentiality in certain cases. We can only hope that the final decision takes into account the interests of citizens and the functioning of the administration.