The complainant raised concerns about how the European Commission handled an infringement complaint they had raised against Italy concerning the remuneration and social security entitlements of foreign-language university lecturers. In particular, the complainant alleged the Commission had failed to keep them informed and provide them with the opportunity to share their views before closing the infringement case and withdrawing related court action.

The Ombudsman opened an inquiry and set out a series of questions to the Commission. She also sought to inspect various documents related to the infringement procedure and court action.