Transparency

Access to information for the public is key for effective participation in political decision-making processes and the effective control of those in power. Effective access to this information is therefore a sign of modern democratic systems.

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A proactive information policy by the government is essential to strengthening democracy. In a transparent state, relevant information is freely available to the public, decision-making processes are comprehensible, and citizens can actively shape and monitor political decisions. Without transparency, however, there is a risk of non-transparent decisions being made behind closed doors, which undermines the public's trust and encourages corruption.  

In the environmental sector, Austria has had legal instruments for requesting environmental information for over 20 years now, thanks to corresponding EU Law such as the EU Directive on Public Access to Environmental Information. However, the national environmental information laws are sometimes applied in a very restrictive or incomplete manner, which makes access to environmental information unnecessarily difficult. The path for the necessary cultural change towards a transparent handling of information by politics and administration was paved with the introduction of the Freedom of Information Act in 2024 (in force from September 2025) and the abolition of official secrecy as constitutional law. Now, access to information is a fundamental right enshrined in constitutional law. However, it remains to be seen how these changes will work in practice.

ÖKOBÜRO is committed to the following measures:

  • a proactive information policy by the government and constructive and open communication between the government and civil society  
  • easy and timely access to information of general interest and environmental information in accordance with the environmental information laws  

Become active!

  • Platform FragDenStaat.at: Make requests for information from public authorities. You can find out more about the general obligation of public authorities to provide information on the website of the Freedom of Information Forum
  • For environmental issues in particular, any individual has a legal right to access environmental information based on federal and state environmental information laws. Details on how to apply can be found in the corresponding information texts from ÖKOBÜRO (available only in German)
  • A template for the application is available for download here (available only in German)