Editorial
It is a great pleasure for me to welcome you to my website! You may have noticed that the website has a new look! The Ombudsman launched a new visual identity on 27 September 2010. The launch coincided with the fifteenth anniversary of the institution. On that same day, the Ombudsman also presented his strategy for the 2009-2014 mandate, which outlines a set of objectives and priorities designed to ensure that EU citizens enjoy their rights fully, and to enhance the quality of EU administration. The strategy is available in the "Resources" section of this website.
The aim of the site is to give you clear, succinct, and easy-to-understand information on what the European Ombudsman can do for you. In addition, you can find out what the Ombudsman has achieved to date, and how to lodge a complaint. The website is regularly updated with press releases, details of upcoming events, publications, and case summaries.
The website also contains an interactive guide in all the 23 official EU languages. On any given day, dozens of citizens receive advice through the guide. It is there to help you quickly identify the most appropriate body to turn to, if you want to lodge a complaint. This service is proving particularly useful for citizens, businesses, and other organisations throughout Europe. As of 5 January 2011, the second anniversary of the interactive guide's launch, more than 45 000 persons had made use of this service.
Even if you do not wish to lodge a complaint, you may be interested in finding out more about the Ombudsman's work of holding the EU institutions, bodies, offices, and agencies to account. The "Cases" section on the website allows you to search through all the Ombudsman's decisions, draft recommendations, and special reports, as well as summaries of cases.
I hope the site will continue to prove a valuable resource for all those who follow the Ombudsman's work. Enjoy visiting it and please feel free to contact me with any feedback or suggestions that you wish to make.
All the best,
