The Access to Information Programme (AIP) handed out its yearly awards and "anti-awards" for freedom of information at a ceremony at the Peroto club in Sofia to mark International Right to Know Day. The Regional Inspectorate for Environment and Water in Haskovo won the "Padlock" anti-award, while the Council of Ministers took home the "Tied Key". AIP also gave out 4 "Golden Key" awards, 5 honorary certificates and 2 anti-awards.
The Haskovo inspectorate charges people who ask questions about the Maritsa 3 power plant and about environmental checks, AIP said. In 2024 it asked for 100 levs for partial access. In 2025 the fee for an answer by email rose to 50 levs. By 2026 the charge had reached 500 euros.
The requests concern the environment, an area where anyone can ask for access without proving a specific interest. Even so, the inspectorate labels the information "specially processed", AIP said. This year's request simply asked for an answer by email, which should always be free.
The Council of Ministers won its award over its decision and steps to shut down the Dossier Commission. Prime minister Rumen Radev set up a working group of officials from several ministries to draft a law closing the commission and moving its work to the State Agency "Archives", AIP explained.
AIP director Alexander Kashamov said the "Padlock" goes to institutions that keep failing to meet their duties under the Access to Public Information Act (APIA), while the "Tied Key" marks a refusal to hand over information that is either absurd or part of a pattern of turning down APIA requests. The other awards, he added, go to good examples in the field of freedom of information.
Stoycho Stoychev won the "Golden Key" for the citizen who made the most active use of the right to information. He had asked the head of the National Security Service for data on the security detail protecting DPS leader Delyan Peevski, and that is how the public learned how much that protection cost, AIP said. Vasilena Kiara Dimitrova also got a certificate in this category for her APIA requests on how public money is spent in healthcare.
The Bulgarian Helsinki Committee won the award for the non-government group most active in using the right to access information. It filed APIA requests to find out how widely, and with what results, special surveillance devices have been used against judges and prosecutors. Certificates in the same category went to the Zaedno Foundation, for seeking information of public interest about residents of Plovdiv and smaller towns, and to the Equal Opportunities Initiative association, for information it asked the Social Assistance Agency for on cases under the Child Protection Act.
In the category for the best journalistic campaign or piece tied to the right of access to information, the award went to Vasilena Dotkova of Factcheck.bg for uncovering data on natural gas deliveries and payments under the contract between Bulgargaz and Botas. Honorary certificates went to Spas Spasov of Dnevnik, for his investigation into how the interior ministry protects a witness under protection, and to Emiliya Dimitrova of Za Istinata, for the information she requested under APIA and her investigations.
In the category for the institution that does the best job of giving citizens access to information, the "Golden Key" went to the Regional Inspectorate for Environment and Water in Plovdiv for its steady policy of openness.