The outgoing European Ombudsman, P. Nikiforos Diamandouros, has warmly congratulated Emily O'Reilly on her election as the next European Ombudsman.

Welcoming today's vote in the European Parliament, Mr Diamandouros said "I am convinced that Emily O'Reilly will pursue with dedication, dynamism, and vision the European Ombudsman's goal of serving as a bridge between European citizens and the EU administration. Her experience in impressively restructuring and successfully running an ombudsman institution at the national level will undoubtedly be extremely valuable to her new institution. I am also sure that she will give further impetus to the European Ombudsman's close cooperation with the ombudsman community in Europe, in which she has played a prominent role over the past ten years. I congratulate her warmly and wish her the very best in leading the European Ombudsman institution forward."

Emily O'Reilly is currently the Ombudsman of Ireland and will take up the post of European Ombudsman on 1 October of this year, when Mr Diamandouros retires. By then, Mr. Diamandouros will have been European Ombudsman for ten and a half years. He was first elected as European Ombudsman in 2003.

For further information on the Ombudsman election, please visit:
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/ombudsmanelection/