'Swedish foreign ministry not transparent enough'
Sweden's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been criticized for not respecting freedom of information laws in a new overview by the parliamentary committee on constitutional affairs (Konstitutionsutskottet, KU).
In principle, the committee reported, there have been difficulties in accessing the foreign ministry's minutes and documents since 2008.
"The right to access public documents is a cornerstone of the Swedish justice system and is important for debate and transparency," the committee report noted.
The main ledger, where ministry officials note down the activities of the foreign minister and his staff, is difficult to access, the TT news agency wrote in a summary of the committee's findings.
Foreign Minister Carl Bildt responded to the criticism on his blog.
Bildt wrote that while his ministry was busy trying to sort out how to arrange its archived documents, many of the requests for information needed to be discussed on the grounds of whether the information should be classified or not.
"The last few years, requests for information are more frequent and they ask for more information," Bildt wrote.
TT/The Local/at
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In principle, the committee reported, there have been difficulties in accessing the foreign ministry's minutes and documents since 2008.
"The right to access public documents is a cornerstone of the Swedish justice system and is important for debate and transparency," the committee report noted.
The main ledger, where ministry officials note down the activities of the foreign minister and his staff, is difficult to access, the TT news agency wrote in a summary of the committee's findings.
Foreign Minister Carl Bildt responded to the criticism on his blog.
Bildt wrote that while his ministry was busy trying to sort out how to arrange its archived documents, many of the requests for information needed to be discussed on the grounds of whether the information should be classified or not.
"The last few years, requests for information are more frequent and they ask for more information," Bildt wrote.
TT/The Local/at
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