Dear Mr E.,

On 26 July 2000 you made, on behalf of FAC Consult scrl, a complaint to the European Ombudsman against the European Commission in which you claimed that the Commission had failed to pay you the sum of € 29 825 that was due under contract STR/1455/97/BE.

On 29 August 2000, I forwarded the complaint to the Commission for its comments.

On 13 September 2000, you sent me a further letter concerning your complaint.

The Commission sent its opinion on your complaint on 13 December 2000. I forwarded the Commission's opinion to you on 20 December 2000 with an invitation to make observations, if you so wished. No such observations were received.

On 7 February 2001, my services contacted your firm by telephone.

I am now writing to you to let you know the results of the inquiries that have been made.

THE COMPLAINT

The complainant performed services for the Commission (DG XVII). The final instalment (which according to the complainant amounted to € 29 825) was due to be paid by the end of 1999. However, no payment was made. The complainant was inofficially informed that this was due to an internal problem.

On 26 July 2000, the complainant turned to the European Ombudsman for help.

THE INQUIRY

The opinion of the Commission

In its opinion, the Commission explained that the complainant had acted as co-ordinator for contract no. STR/1455/97/BE that had been signed in the framework of the Specific Programme for Research and Technological Development, including Demonstration, in the field of Non-Nuclear Energy under the 4^th Framework Programme for RTD (1994-1998). In a letter of 20 June 2000, the complainant had informed the Commission that the balance due under this contract was still unsettled. An immediate investigation by the Commission confirmed that this balance remained unpaid and that the suspension of the payment was inadvertent and due to an administrative error. According to the Commission, the remaining balance of € 29 625 was credited to the account of the complainant on 6 October 2000.

The complainant’s observations

The complainant did not submit written observations. The Ombudsman's services thus contacted the complainant on 7 February 2001 in order to ascertain the situation. The complainant confirmed that the money had been received and thanked the Ombudsman for his efforts.

THE DECISION

1 Failure to pay balance due under contract

1.1 The complainant claimed that the Commission had failed to pay the balance due to it under contract no. STR/1455/97/BE.

1.2 Further to the Ombudsman's intervention, the Commission acknowledged that due to an administrative error the relevant amount had remained unpaid. The Commission pointed out, however, that the amount had been credited to the account of the complainant on 6 October 2000. The complainant confirmed this and thanked the Ombudsman for his efforts.

2 Conclusion

On the basis of the European Ombudsman’s inquiries into this complaint, it appears that the European Commission has taken steps to settle the matter and has thereby satisfied the complainant. The Ombudsman therefore closes the case.

The President of the European Commission will also be informed of this decision.

Yours sincerely,

 

Jacob SÖDERMAN