ABSTRACT

The purpose of the request for information submitted by a citizen was to know the costs of production and distribution of Felipe VI’s new euro coin that had been coined on the occasion of his coronation. The request was rejected on April 13, 2015 by the National Mint and Real Mint Factory Casa de la Moneda, on the understanding that disclosing such information would harm their economic and commercial interests by affecting the chances of being awarded in tenders for minting currency opened in other countries.

The citizen filed a complaint with the Council of Transparency and Good Governance, which was estimated on July 10, 2015, and urged the FNMT-RCM to provide the requested information within 15 days. In its resolution, the Council of Transparency and Good Governance considered that knowing the economic cost of the investment made, assumed with public funds, fully responds to the ultimate purpose for which the Law on Transparency, Access to Information and Good Governance was approved. Likewise, the Council related the argument put forward by the FNMT-RCM with the obligation to publish information on contracts concluded by public bodies with private entities and states in its Resolution that “if the argument put forward by the FNMT-RCM were accepted, given that it is based on the damage derived from knowing the costs of providing that currency minting service, it would mean as much as saying that the economic and commercial interests of any entity contracting with the Administration could be harmed since the information on the cost of the services it offers would be public to its competitors”.

State: Madrid Central Administrative Court No. 5 ruling is a firm ruling in favor of providing information.