17 fines of institutions for denying access to public documents, misuse of personal data

This includes the Kosovo Prosecutorial Council, the Public Procureing Organization, we have two ministries: The Ministry of Commerce and the Ministry of Space Planning. We also have the Shrpca municipality and other fines against other public institutions”, she said.

According to her, the agency has accepted a total of 462 complaints of access to public documents by the end of June, of which about 300 have been closed, while the rest are under consideration.

The Information Agency continues to accept complaints and its number continues to increase, citizens in terms of access to public documents, but also in protecting data, which is a good step because it shows citizen awareness in protecting their rights. By the end of June we have accepted access to public documents about 462 complaints, about 300 of them closed, others are under consideration”, she said in an interview for Online Economy, broadcast Periscope.

Of these complaints, 82 percent of citizens realize the right to information through complaint, and in 15 percent of cases complaints are refused by the agency, and fines are pronounced in three percent.

Sogojevo-Dermak stressed that more and more complaints are coming from ordinary citizens, unlike the past, when demands, mainly came from media and civil society.

It is important to assume that the number of citizens seeking access is much greater than the number of those working in media and civil society. As long as we have had only requests and complaints from civil society and from the media, today we have many more complaints from citizens”, she said.

Even in the field of personal data protection, the Agency for Information and Privates has imposed five fines in the first quarter of the year. The amount of fines totals up to 25 thousand euros, depending on the nature of the violation.

We have about 200 complaints to protect the data for the first six months. We have a considerable number of them that are closed, others are under way. But here again we have pronounced five fines and the amounts are up to 25 thousand euros, depending on the violations that have been made. The violations are of the nature of illegal procurement, personal data, direct marketing, access data and misuse of data from cameras”, she said.

The commissioner also spoke of the agency's international commitment, stressing that Kosovo has been voted full-fledged member of the European Initiative for Access to Public Documents Executive Committee.

“We are already within all international and European mechanisms for transparency and accountability in terms of implementing the right to access public documents. So this is also the step we've made both as agencies, but also as Kosovo, because we've been voted in as Kosovo, not as an agency”, Sogojevo-Dermaku said. /Periscope/