The European Ombudsman, P. Nikiforos Diamandouros, welcomes the efforts of the European Commission to make data on beneficiaries of EU funds more transparent. He supports the Commission's proposals in its Green Paper on the Transparency Initiative to introduce a legal obligation for Member States to disclose information on who receives EU money.

The Ombudsman has received complaints about lack of transparency in the field of beneficiaries of EU funds. Mr Diamandouros said: "It is in the general public interest to provide information on how EU taxpayers’ money is spent. Explaining openly what the EU and the Member States do in the name of the citizen makes the European Union more democratic and accessible".

The Commission's Green Paper was adopted in May of this year as part of the European Transparency Initiative. This Initiative aims to make the European Union and its institutions more open and accountable. Consultations on the Green Paper will end shortly.

Lobbying

The Transparency Initiative also proposes more transparency regarding the activity of lobby groups at the EU level and foresees revision of the regulation on access to information and documents of EU institutions.

A number of stakeholders have suggested a role for the Ombudsman in monitoring a lobbying registration regime or code of conduct.

Mr Diamandouros said: "I have the mandate to oversee the EU public administration and to act when I find maladministration in the activities of EU institutions, bodies, or agencies. As far as EU officials are concerned, I can of course supervise their activities and hold them to account, including in the area of lobbying. One of the most effective ways to increase trust in the administration is to improve transparency. The planned revision of the regulation on access to documents represents a key test for the Commission to show how serious it really is in this respect."

Mr Diamandouros added, however, that the Treaty does not give the Ombudsman the mandate to control the activities of private bodies such as interest groups. “This is not part of the normal role of an Ombudsman."