The case concerned the time taken by the European Commission to conclude its assessment of an infringement complaint against Spain made in 2018. The infringement complaint concerned the legislative changes introduced in 2014 in the Spanish Ports Act and the subsequent extension, by the port authority of the Balearic Islands, of the duration of concessions to carry out recreational water sport activities on the port public domain. In their infringement complaint, the complainant argued, in essence, that the said legislative changes and the extension, by the port authority of the Balearic Islands, of the duration of the concessions breached Articles 49, 56 and 106 TFEU.

The Ombudsman found that the Commission failed to demonstrate that it had been diligent and active on the case, and that it failed to provide convincing reasons to explain why it had not been able to finalise its assessment after more than seven years. The Ombudsman considered that this constituted maladministration and made a recommendation that the Commission should finalise its assessment without further delay. The Ombudsman also identified issues related to information provided to the complainant and record-keeping in relation to the EU Pilot dialogue that the Commission conducted with Spain and she made two corresponding suggestions for improvement in that regard.

While the Commission opened a new pre-infringement dialogue (formerly known as EU Pilot dialogue) with Spain following the opening of the Ombudsman’s inquiry, the Commission had not finalised its assessment of the infringement complaint when the Ombudsman was closing this case. Nor had it provided a reasonable justification for the time taken. As such, the Ombudsman confirmed her finding of maladministration. The Ombudsman will continue to monitor the Commission’s record-keeping in relation to pre-infringement dialogues as well as the way it communicates with complainants when closing those dialogues.

The case concerned how the European Commission handled an infringement complaint against Spain concerning the reform of its Criminal Code. The complaint concerned in particular the sanctions foreseen for the use of public assets by public authorities or officials for private purposes. The complainant contended that the Commission had been unduly delayed in dealing with his infringement complaint.   

The Ombudsman opened an inquiry, asking the Commission to explain the time taken to deal with the complaint. The Ombudsman inquiry team also inspected the documents related to the infringement complaint. On the basis of the inquiry, the Ombudsman found that the Commission had been taking regular action on the matter since 2022, and that it had provided a reasonable explanation as regards the time taken to deal with the file. That notwithstanding, the Ombudsman regretted that the Commission did not provide the complainant with more substantial updates at an earlier stage.

The Ombudsman closed the inquiry with the conclusion that no further inquiries were justified.