On occasion of the International Day for universal access to information on 28 September 2025, GRECO published a thematic paper on the right to access to information. GRECO stressed that access to official information and documents is a fundamental tool that helps prevent corruption and promote integrity. The paper summarises the main findings of GRECO's fifth-round evaluation reports which included a dedicated section on introducing or strengthening access-to-information legislation. It lists common obstacles to access information held by central governments as well as good practices that were identified in GRECO's reports to facilitate access to official information.

Looking at the main recommendations that were addressed to the member states under scrutiny, GRECO points out the following:

• Adopting access-to-information legislation or, where such laws already exist, conducting an independent and thorough review to expand the scope of publicly available information;
• Enshrining the principle of proactive transparency in law or ensuring its systematic implementation where already established;
• Establishing an independent oversight mechanism or, where one exists, ensuring it has proper independence, authority and resources;
• Creating a register of access-to-information requests and limiting restrictions and exemptions to the strict minimum necessary;
• Providing awareness-raising training for officials on freedom of information laws.

GRECO has also urged member states that have not yet done so to accede to the Council of Europe Convention on Access to Official Documents (the Tromsø Convention) to help ensure an effective right to access to information.

Building on these findings, GRECO will further explore the issue of access to information during its sixth evaluation round, which focuses on preventing corruption and promoting integrity at the sub-national level.