In a study published on Wednesday, 23 April, the organisation Civil Society Europe noted that the level of transparency related to the organisation and activities of the Permanent Representations of Member States to the European Union is “considerably uneven”.
The analysis focused on the 27 Permanent Representations’ publication of the following information: the internal organisation chart; the names, responsibilities, and contact details of national diplomats; and the meetings between ambassadors and interest groups.
Only six Permanent Representations—Croatia, Finland, Italy, Portugal, Romania, and Sweden—publish information in all these areas and update it on a regular basis. In contrast, the Permanent Representations of six other countries—Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Greece, and the Netherlands—only publish the names and contact details of a few diplomats, while the Permanent Representations of Bulgaria and Ireland do not report meetings between ambassadors and interest groups.
Compared to an initial study conducted in 2023, Civil Society Europe notes that the Permanent Representations of Denmark, Spain, and the Czech Republic have not performed as well, while those of Finland, Poland, and Romania have improved their level of transparency.
See the study’s findings: https://aeur.eu/f/giv (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)