This strategic initiative aimed to assess how the European Commission communicates with individuals who submit complaints about infringements of EU law, how the Commission keeps the broader public informed about its work in this area, and the time taken by the Commission to deal with infringement cases. A year on from the publication of a ‘stocktaking report’ on the Commission’s working methods in this area, and as the Ombudsman continues to receive complaints about these matters, she decided to follow up on the actions that the Commission has taken or intends to take to implement the recommendations in the report.

In reply to the Ombudsman’s questions, the Commission detailed a series of relevant measures it has taken or is taking, which should improve how it communicates with individual complainants, improve how it communicates relevant information of interest for the public on the dedicated website and reduce the overall time it takes to deal with infringement cases.

The Ombudsman welcomed these measures and closed the strategic initiative encouraging the Commission to keep up its efforts.