The case concerned the time taken by the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) to decide on two complaints made by the same complainant in 2023 concerning the processing of the complainant’s personal data.

In the course of the Ombudsman’s inquiry, the EDPS provided reasonable explanations concerning the handling of the cases and the delay. The EDPS has also finalised its preliminary assessment of the issues raised.

The Ombudsman also noted that the EDPS took measures aimed at addressing its backlog to avoid similar situations in the future and therefore closed the case with the conclusion that no further inquiries were justified. 

The case was about how the European Commission informed the public about the status of its legislative initiative concerning the framework for sustainable food systems (FSFS), which formed part of the ‘Farm to Fork’ Strategy. Following this initiative’s inception and public consultation, the Commission did not include it in its 2024 work programme. The complainant, an organisation that participated in the public consultation, was concerned that the Commission had failed to inform the public about the initiative’s status and reasons for the delay in adopting a legislative proposal in relation to it.

During the Ombudsman’s inquiry, the Commission explained that, in 2023, it had revised its political priorities due to economic disruptions caused by Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, the farmers’ protests throughout the EU, and broader stakeholder concerns about EU agriculture. In 2025, the Commission adopted a new ‘Vision for Agriculture and Food’. As this document did not mention the FSFS, the Commission believed it was clear to stakeholders that this initiative had been discontinued. Moreover, the Commission said that it was in the process of updating information on all its policy initiatives available on its website.

The Ombudsman welcomed the Commission’s commitment to provide greater transparency about the status of its policy initiatives and considered that no further inquiries into this matter were justified.