[FSFE PR][EN] Open Letter on transparency to President of the European Parliament

[press at fsfeurope.org]

= Open Letter on transparency to President of the European Parliament =

[Read online: https://fsfe.org/news/2013/news-20130716-01.en.html ]

Free Software Foundation Europe and Open Rights Group[1] have sent an
open letter[2]  [pdf][3] to the President of the European Parliament,
Martin Schulz. Mr Schulz has recently been asked[4] [pdf] to produce a
study on transparency within the Parliament.


- In their letter, the civil society groups are offering Mr Schulz their
  help in this effort. They are also suggesting a number of questions
  that should be considered in the report on transparency, such as As
  the Parliament is held to a standard of "utmost transparency", would
  it be obliged to make public the source code of the software it uses?

- How can the Parliament use Free Software and Open Standards to make
  sure that citizens have full and unfettered access to all documents
  produced by the Parliament?

- What can the Parliament do to make videos of its proceedings available
  to citizens without requiring them to install non-free software?

- Does the requirement for "utmost transparency" also cover the
  Parliament's procurement of software?



  "We appreciate the Parliament's commitment to transparency," says
  Karsten Gerloff, FSFE's President. "It is essential for democracy in
  Europe that citizens have the fullest possible access to parliamentary
  proceedings, and to the tools which the Parliament uses to make the
  laws that govern us all."

Open Rights Group and FSFE look forward to assisting the European
Parliament in the preparation of the transparency study.


 1. http://www.openrightsgroup.org/
 2. http://fsfe.org/activities/os/transparency-letter
 3. http://download.fsfe.org/letters/20130716.Letter.Schulz.pdf
 4. http://epfsug.eu/wws/arc/epfsug/2013-07/msg00041/Letter_President_Schulz_Free_Software.pdf

== About the Free Software Foundation Europe ==
  
  The Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) is a non-profit
  non-governmental organisation active in many European countries and
  involved in many global activities. Access to software determines
  participation in a digital society. To secure equal participation in
  the information age, as well as freedom of competition, the Free
  Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) pursues and is dedicated to the
  furthering of Free Software, defined by the freedoms to use, study,
  modify and copy. Founded in 2001, creating awareness for these issues,
  securing Free Software politically and legally, and giving people
  Freedom by supporting development of Free Software are central issues
  of the FSFE.
  
  http://fsfe.org/