Dear Mr X,

On 13 May 2025, you submitted a complaint to the European Ombudsman concerning the time taken by the European Commission to process payments to a service provider working on the project ’Strengthening the Global Gateway Investment Agenda Development and Implementation in Latin America and the Caribbean’, which affected your payment as a subcontractor.

The Ombudsman opened an inquiry on 24 June 2025, and urged the Commission to resolve the matter, which appeared to be linked to technical issues with its payment system, by the end of July 2025. On 24 July 2025, the Commission replied, informing the Ombudsman that it had resolved the technical issues. It explained that the issues were due to the end-of-the-year closure of the Commission’s accounting system and the roll-out of the new payment platform SUMMA. The Commission apologised for the delay and confirmed that it had paid the outstanding amount and related interest to the service provider.

You subsequently confirmed to the Ombudsman that you had received the payment. 

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

Concerning your claims about potential financial compensation for additional expenses incurred due to this delayed payment, it appears that, the main service provider (Euronet Consulting) should have paid you according to provisions set out in your contract with it, and that this was not conditional on whether it was paid by the Commission. Should you wish to pursue this claim, you should raise the matter with Euronet Consulting. Any related dispute should be pursued before the Belgian courts.

Yours sincerely, 

Tina Nilsson
Head of the Case-handling Unit

Strasbourg, 06/10/2025