File Not Found: Drive for Open Data Stalls in Western Balkans

Some countries also release information on cultural resources, economic indicators and business registration details.

But people across the region are still struggling with the quality and limited availability of data on official portals, BIRN’s online survey of people’s experiences with open data sites found.

The survey sought to find out more about people’s experiences with open data in the six Western Balkans countries – Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia – and to discover what the main challenges are and how the data is being used.

The responses indicated that although users view efforts to publish data as an important step toward transparent, digitalised governance, Western Balkan states still lag behind EU countries in publishing data fully, diligently and promptly.

According to BIRN’s survey:

• Most respondents say they use open data for both personal and professional purposes
• Journalists and researchers are among the most frequent users
• Datasets containing information on government, the economy, health, the environment and transport are accessed most often
• Limited information, poor data quality and technical issues with the portals are seen as the biggest drawbacks

Laws better on paper?

North Macedonia adopted its first Law on the Use of Public Sector Data in 2014. Serbia followed with a Law on Electronic Administration in 2018. Albania adopted a similar law in 2023.

These national laws said data should be published as raw data in a computer-processable format; it should be published together with its metadata, down to the lowest level of detail; and there should be regular updates. The laws also contain provisions on re-use of data, which is one of the most important prerequisites for open data.

However, as a separate recent piece of BIRN research showed, these laws on open data and digitalisation often look better on paper than in practice.

Responses received to a BIRN questionnaire about whether the data available on official open data portals is timely, reliable, and in a usable format.

“Open data policies are adequate but their implementation needs more work. A lot has been done, but much more can still be achieved,” Stevan Gostojic, assistant professor of applied computer science and informatics at the Faculty of Technical Sciences at Novi Sad University in Serbia, told BIRN.

Most countries entrust governance of open data to specialised bodies. They have either expanded the mandate of commissioners for access to public information or created new entities, such as Serbia’s Office for IT and e-Government.

But although open data portals were envisioned as platforms for publishing datasets held by state bodies and allowing community interaction, BIRN’s research found that many people feel discouraged from using the datasets, or find the portals too technical, or the information out-of-date.

Critics claim that governments are conducting a tick-box exercise on the path to EU membership, seeking to show that they are embracing the Europe-wide drive for information transparency outlined in the bloc’s Open Data Directive.

Answers given (percentage of total) to BIRN’s question about the main challenges people face when using official open data portals in each country surveyed.

Up to date – or out of date?

Most respondents to BIRN’s online survey said they access official data through government portals or websites, as well as third-party applications.

They emphasised that much of the information they seek remains less accessible, or completely inaccessible, such as the Beneficial Owners registry in Montenegro, the catalogue of datasets of the State Commission for Prevention of Corruption in North Macedonia, and the registry of geological research permits in Serbia.

One journalist from Serbia noted: “Decisions from government sessions are only partially published and the government does not respond to requests for access to information of public importance, so that data is very difficult to obtain.”

A student from Serbia said the country’s open data portal lacks data from the district and municipal level; most data is at the national level. Asked whether the data is published in a timely manner, most respondents said “no”, or they were uncertain.

Datasets on official portals must be regularly updated to remain useful. In Albania and Kosovo, journalists say that out-of-date information has hampered the search for the environmental information they need to assess the efficacy and impact of eco-friendly policies.

“It’s important to keep in mind that data opening is not a one-time activity but a process that needs to be continuously implemented and monitored,” said Stevan Gostojic.

“For this reason, it is necessary through job role systematization to clearly define who is responsible for carrying out data-opening activities, and allocate appropriate budget funds for this purpose.”

In Bosnia and Herzegovina, while several institutions, such as the Statistical Office, publish open data, the country lacks a centralised portal.

The country’s Federation entity adopted an entity-level law on free access to information in August 2023. BIRN asked the Federation government when the site will open, but received no response by time of publication. Bosnia’s other entity, Republika Srpska, also has no open data site.

The Federation’s adoption of the law on free access to information also drew criticism from a group of 20 civil society organisations that said it contained too many exceptions.

“The proposal that has been adopted will significantly limit access to information of public interest, given that it contains a long list of exceptions or possible restrictions on access to information,” the organisations said in a joint statement.

Unlike Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania, Kosovo and North Macedonia all have operational open data portals.

However, BIRN found that the North Macedonia site’s backup address, otvorenipodatoci.gov.mk, was not functioning. North Macedonia’s institutions seemed not to know about the problem until BIRN asked them abhttps://data.gov.mk/en/out it.

The Ministry of Digital Transformations then told BIRN that the problem would be resolved fast. “The website Otvoreni Podatoci is supposed to redirect to a primary web address of our open data portal. However, it seems that there is a technical problem that will be solved today,” the ministry stated on October 22.

By the time of publication, the issue had not been rectified, however.

Publication of basic information has been a legal obligation in North Macedonia since 2019. Amendments to the Law on Free Access to Public Information say institutions must publish contracts, regulations, programmes, strategies, public procurements, tenders, costs, decisions, acts and more.

However, some institutions still publish only about 20 per cent of the information they should. Asked if the government plans to do to change that, the Ministry of Digital Transformation said it plans a further law on open data and re-use of public sector data.

“The aim of the law is to harmonise the national legal framework with the EU directive [on open data]. The law will also define the relevant authorities for the proper implementation of the law and adequate corrective measures. This will be followed by a feasibility study for using the platform to automatically update relevant and high-value data on the portal,” the ministry said.

Montenegro launched its open data portal in August 2018 which was integrated with the European open data portal in 2020.

However, in August 2022 Montenegrin government servers suffered an unprecedented series of ransomware attacks that disabled access to government websites and email systems, affecting various institutions, including courts, the cadastral office and the Revenue and Customs Administration​​.

Montenegro’s open data portal is still experiencing bugs and does not work properly. But the Ministry of Public Administration assured BIRN that no data had been lost because it had copies. “The site has been improved compared to the state it was in before the cyberattack,” added Lidija Ljumovic, from the Ministry of Public Administration.

But Dejan Milovac, director of research at MANS – Mreza za Affirmaciju Nevladinog Sektora – an anti-corruption NGO, said the government had so far only published part of the data that should be made public on its open data portal.

“The criteria by which individual state institutions publish their information on this portal are not entirely clear. In most areas that are covered by open data, only part of the data has been published. In some areas, not a single set of data has been published,” Milovac said.

“The use of the Law on Free Access to Information is still the dominant starting point for investigating corruption and other forms of legal violations, or simply monitoring the work of government bodies,” Milovac said.

But he added that the quality of data on offer often isn’t high enough for journalists or civil society organisations to use as a main resource for investigating wrongdoing.

He also said the register of owners of companies and properties should be improved, given Montenegro’s long history as a destination for shady money from offshore destinations.

Serbia’s e-government and open data strategies are closely aligned with EU electronic administration principles.

Numbers of responses received to a BIRN questionnaire about how respondents use open data in their professional/personal lives. 

However, BIRN’s analysis of the data sets that Serbian cities and municipalities publish on the country’s Open Data Portal revealed that few of them publish new datasets promptly, or update existing ones.

The content and volume of published datasets also vary significantly between local municipalities. The analysis showed that while 56 cities and municipalities in Serbia out of 174 have published at least one dataset, two-thirds of local government units have not published anything.

Computer science and informatics expert Gostojic said “significant progress has been made in recent years in opening up data” in Serbia.

However, he added, “the justice system lags behind other sectors when it comes to data openness. According to the Open Data Portal, only statistical data and certain registries (such as public notaries, public executors, court experts, etc.) are available. Unfortunately, data on cases in a disaggregated form (court registers, court decisions, other documents, etc.) are not accessible,” he said.

Gostojic also noted that institutions face various challenges in publishing open datasets. “First, opening data requires financial resources that are typically not included in an institution’s budget. These financial resources may not be insignificant, especially if there is a need to anonymise personal data or redact classified information,” he pointed out.

“Second, some government bodies lack the personnel to carry out these activities, which is particularly true for local government bodies. Third, government bodies usually gain no immediate benefit from opening data (except possibly a reduction in requests for access to public information) and so lack a direct incentive to open their data,” he continued.

Finally, he pointed out, “opening data sets enhances the transparency of government operations, which may not always align with the personal interests of managers and employees”.