Dear Mr X,

On 5 July 2024, you submitted a complaint to the European Ombudsman, on behalf of Diakonia, against the European Commission concerning the above issue.

In your complaint, you argued that the European Union Delegation to Burkina Faso was wrong in finding that certain costs related to your project were ineligible. In particular, you contested the fact that the Commission recovered certain funds without addressing your arguments raised in the letter of 13 December 2022 to the Delegation.

The Ombudsman opened an inquiry and asked the Commission to address your comments.  

On 4 November 2024, the Commission replied. In the context of the Ombudsman’s inquiry into the complaint, the Commission reassessed the matter and found that the costs that had previously been declared ineligible could be considered as eligible under the grant agreement. The Commission thus explained that, following an internal procedure, it intends to cancel the debit note and to pay you the remaining amount of the grant of EUR 85 467.33.

On this basis, we have decided to close this inquiry with the conclusion that it has been settled.

Yours sincerely, 

Tina Nilsson
Head of the Case-handling Unit

Strasbourg, 09/12/2024