The complaint was lodged by a Commission official and concerns the failure of the European Schools to cater for the special educational needs of the complainant's child. Since the European Schools could not meet those special needs, the complainant was compelled to take her child to an alternative education system, the costs of which were not entirely covered by the Commission. Instead, the institution required the complainant to make a financial contribution to the cost of her child's special education.

In the course of the inquiry into this complaint, the Ombudsman received a significant number of additional complaints which involved similar facts and raised identical allegations. Those complaints were made part of the inquiry and treated jointly.

As a result of his investigation, the Ombudsman took the view that the integration of children with special educational needs (SEN children) into the ordinary education system remains a general policy goal, albeit without a mandatory character. In the absence of a binding legal provision, the Ombudsman did not find that the fact that the complainant’s child could not be educated in one of the European Schools constituted maladministration. The Ombudsman nevertheless found that the financial aspects of the situation constituted an unjustified discrimination, and made a draft recommendation to the Commission inviting it to take the necessary steps to ensure that parents of SEN children who are excluded from the European Schools because of their degree of disability should not be required to contribute to the educational costs of their children.

The Commission's detailed opinion as well as the additional information sent by its services did not unequivocally accept the draft recommendation. Nor did these documents indicate that the Commission appeared willing to reverse its policy on charging officials for the education of their SEN children. The Ombudsman therefore considered it appropriate to make a Special Report on the matter to the European Parliament and to include the recommendation made to the Commission.