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Ombudsman's First Mandate Ends with a Call for Better Treatment of Citizens -Speech given by Mr Jacob Söderman, European Ombudsman, at a Press Conference on 14 September 1999 in Strasbourg
Speech - Speaker Jacob SÖDERMAN - City Strasbourg - Country France - Date Tuesday | 14 September 1999
Mr Chairman, ladies and gentlemen!
It gives me great pleasure to welcome you to this press conference. I am happy to present to you today the Code of Good Administrative Behaviour that I have proposed to the European Commission.
On your way into this room today, you will hopefully have been given a copy of the Code of Good Administrative Behaviour that my Office has drawn up. This contains rules covering all aspects of EU officials' relations with the citizens. If you have followed the developments at the European Commission over the last twelve months, you will have read many documents aimed at improving the functioning of the EU institutions. You may have read other Codes of Conduct or heard of similar proposals. Almost all of these are too be welcomed, given the current crises that have surrounded the Commission. So what makes my proposal different?
The first important difference between this and other proposals is that it solely concerns how EU officials deal with the public. This issue is too important to be forgotten. This Code sets out clear obligations so that both citizens and officials will know what the citizens have the right to expect. It is a practical Code that includes rules governing fairness, objectivity and impartiality. It contains, for example, the obligation to reply to the citizen in their own language in due time, to give reasons for decisions, the right for citizens to be heard before and notified about a decision and also to be informed of the remedies available.
Secondly, this Code has been carefully thought out, rather than being an emergency solution to a crisis. The obligations contained within it result from my four years of experience as European Ombudsman. During that time, many of the complaints that I have received could have been avoided if this Code had existed. This Code can be seen as the vaccine that prevents later surgery.
The European Commission should adopt this Code in the form of a binding decision. It should then be published and publicised so that all citizens know their rights.
The European Commission, as the administration most involved in dealing with citizens, has until 30 November to adopt such a Code.
If the new Commission adopts a Code in the near future, it will show that it is serious about improving relations with the citizens and will profoundly transform the way that citizens relate to the EU administration. However if Mr Prodi's Commission fails to give this issue the priority that it requires, it will show that, for the citizens of Europe, nothing has really changed.
Another document that you should have received on your way into the room summarises the First Mandate, from 1995 to 1999, of the European Ombudsman. It outlines what has been achieved for European citizens and shows the increasing number of citizens that are turning to the Ombudsman for help or advice.
I thank you for your attention and am happy to answer any questions that you may have.
It gives me great pleasure to welcome you to this press conference. I am happy to present to you today the Code of Good Administrative Behaviour that I have proposed to the European Commission.
On your way into this room today, you will hopefully have been given a copy of the Code of Good Administrative Behaviour that my Office has drawn up. This contains rules covering all aspects of EU officials' relations with the citizens. If you have followed the developments at the European Commission over the last twelve months, you will have read many documents aimed at improving the functioning of the EU institutions. You may have read other Codes of Conduct or heard of similar proposals. Almost all of these are too be welcomed, given the current crises that have surrounded the Commission. So what makes my proposal different?
The first important difference between this and other proposals is that it solely concerns how EU officials deal with the public. This issue is too important to be forgotten. This Code sets out clear obligations so that both citizens and officials will know what the citizens have the right to expect. It is a practical Code that includes rules governing fairness, objectivity and impartiality. It contains, for example, the obligation to reply to the citizen in their own language in due time, to give reasons for decisions, the right for citizens to be heard before and notified about a decision and also to be informed of the remedies available.
Secondly, this Code has been carefully thought out, rather than being an emergency solution to a crisis. The obligations contained within it result from my four years of experience as European Ombudsman. During that time, many of the complaints that I have received could have been avoided if this Code had existed. This Code can be seen as the vaccine that prevents later surgery.
The European Commission should adopt this Code in the form of a binding decision. It should then be published and publicised so that all citizens know their rights.
The European Commission, as the administration most involved in dealing with citizens, has until 30 November to adopt such a Code.
If the new Commission adopts a Code in the near future, it will show that it is serious about improving relations with the citizens and will profoundly transform the way that citizens relate to the EU administration. However if Mr Prodi's Commission fails to give this issue the priority that it requires, it will show that, for the citizens of Europe, nothing has really changed.
Another document that you should have received on your way into the room summarises the First Mandate, from 1995 to 1999, of the European Ombudsman. It outlines what has been achieved for European citizens and shows the increasing number of citizens that are turning to the Ombudsman for help or advice.
I thank you for your attention and am happy to answer any questions that you may have.