revelations, Ekstra Bladet has had in 2018, a fund-scandal.
the Sacking of the director of Academic A-box (AKA), Michael Valentin, were tried in the dark, but our diggers found a large number of dubious transactions in the a-box.
the Journalists comes not sleeping to uncover such a case. It requires persistence and the skilful use of journalistic tools. The Danish open administration act, which provides us and all other citizens have the right to seek access to official documents, we could not use to much.
the reporters sought access to documents of the public authority, which oversees a-box. We would like to have insight into the legal inquiry, as Scholars A-box was made after the dismissal, just as we would have liked to have had the insight in the dialogue between the agency and the a-box.
It was a clear ‘ no ‘from the Danish Agency for Labour market and Recruitment (STAR), which refers to section 30 of individuals’ private relationships.
It seems we here at the Extra the Leaf is peculiar. We believe that part of the file relating to the AKA and the STAR must be about more than private conditions. The agency could at least provide parts of the material. We are really accustomed to the black erasures of it, we are not allowed to see. But here it was really point-blank refusal.
the Problem is just that it takes a very long time to appeal against a refusal of access to documents. It can take so long that the file is of pure historical interest, when we get them. Already the proceedings are often unduly lengthy. We wonder that access to politically controversial cases are very often delayed, while one can quickly get access to the file, if the relevant minister has an interest in, that it goes by fast.
Is it how we think it should be in Denmark? It must really be like in a country where we pride ourselves of very little corruption and an open democracy?
There is actually a political majority for relaxing the laws. One of them, who spoke warmly of easing, is the current minister of justice, Søren Pape. In October 2015, could Politiken tell you that the party chairman Pape on the day of the conservative council, initiated a showdown against the law, which is called the ‘mørklægningsloven’ and already at that time was highly disputed. Not least because of the so-called ministerbetjeningsregel.
the Act ‘darken too much’ and should be changed, explained Pape in the interview in the Politiken newspaper: ‘We politicians must be able to stand in goal for transparency. It is a part of living in a democracy to have transparency. It is not to throw something after someone. But you just have to say that the law is we have gone too far,’ he said.
there were for the first time a majority in the Danish Parliament, that would have the law changed.
It was at the time. Now is Søren Pape minister of justice, and the relaxations are not for something, even if there is a majority for it. Pape put a proposal forward, as the other parties did not opened up enough. In september, the radical on the background to terminate the settlement of the Danish open administration act.
It is what we as journalists have to work with here by the end of 2018.
There will be stories, we no longer can tell. For years back revealed that the Thorning-government forhalede the truth, how many of you would smoke out of the unemployment benefit system. The story was based on access to documents between the national labour market board and the ministry of Employment. And we would not be able to make today.
concluded in 2016, has ministerbetjeningsreglen in practice, led to significant restrictions on the right to access to the file.
For journalists as well as for all other citizens in this country.
Unfortunately, the play of materiality is not the major role.
