Decision of the European Ombudsman on complaint 749/98/OV against the European Commission

Dear Mr M.,
On 16 July 1998 you made a complaint to the European Ombudsman concerning the European Commission's refusal to refund your travel expenses for an interview and its failure to reply to your correspondence.
On 30 July 1998, I forwarded the complaint to the President of the European Commission. The Commission sent its first opinion on 25 November 1998 and I forwarded it to you.
In its comments the Commission explained that following checks made by the Directorate-General, it was found that although it undertook to pay the complainant DEM 170, the payment had never been made. The Commission regretted that payment was not made for a long time, and it had taken steps to transfer the amount to the bank account specified by the complainant.
Furthermore, the Commission also recognised that, in the case in question, its departments did not show all the diligence which each European citizen is entitled to expect from the institutions, in that they did not reply to the complainant's fax. In order to remedy this situation a letter was sent to the complainant on 4 September 1998.
It appears from the European Commission's comments that it has taken steps to settle the matter and has thereby satisfied the complainant. The Ombudsman has therefore decided to close the case.
The President of the European Commission will also be informed of this decision.
Yours sincerely
Jacob SÖDERMAN