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The case concerned a former staff member of the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) whom the EIOPA dismissed due to an irreparable breakdown in trust. This followed a series of unsuccessful attempts by the EIOPA to clarify the complainant’s financial and business affairs.

The Ombudsman’s inquiry focused on whether the EIOPA had examined and handled the conflict of interest situation in line with principles of good administration.

In this case, the complainant’s personal business situation posed obvious risks of apparent, potential and actual conflicts of interest of a particularly serious and unique kind. The Ombudsman concluded that there were serious shortcomings in how the EIOPA initially handled the matter. While this may have contributed to the breakdown of trust, the EIOPA did give the complainant the chance to provide comprehensive information about his external earnings and business affairs. Moreover, as an EU public body, the EIOPA was obliged to investigate fully the complainant’s financial and business affairs when it realised that there was a conflict of interest situation.

The Ombudsman closed the inquiry with a finding of maladministration and pointed to a series of shortcomings.

At the time of the complainant’s recruitment, the conflict of interest issues were not handled in a diligent manner. This was a serious instance of maladministration.

The EIOPA’s subsequent ethics check and launch of the administrative inquiry were steps that were within the EIOPA’s managerial discretion to undertake. However, these processes were not carried out with the requisite focus and rigour.

The Ombudsman noted that, as the EIOPA has since introduced changes to how it works, the issues that arose in this case are unlikely to reoccur. As such, she did not proceed to a recommendation.

The case concerned how the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex) recruited members of its standing corps from a ‘reserve list’ established in the context of a selection procedure. The complainant took issue with Frontex’s decision to recruit some candidates before the completion of the selection procedure, and with the fact that some candidates on the reserve list were recruited to different types of posts to those set out in the selection notice.

The Ombudsman found issues in how Frontex organised the selection procedure. She proposed that Frontex extend the validity of the reserve list for at least one year and inform all candidates that took part in the selection procedure of the issues faced and the changes applied to the terms of the selection procedure. In its reply to the Ombudsman, Frontex did not address the solution proposed and merely explained the steps taken in its recruitment plan. The Ombudsman understands Frontex’s reply as an implicit rejection of the solution proposed.

The Ombudsman found maladministration in Frontex’s failure to comply with the provisions of the selection notice and to inform all candidates of the changes in the conditions of the selection procedure. As the validity of the reserve list has since expired, no purpose would be served by making a recommendation. The Ombudsman therefore closed the case, pointing out that a finding that an EU body has failed to comply with a selection notice is, for her Office, rare and serious. Moreover, in the course of this inquiry, the Ombudsman gave Frontex the possibility to address the concerns raised on three different occasions. Frontex provided limited and unsatisfactory replies. She will emphasise this in her letter to the new Executive Director about this case. The Ombudsman also set out suggestions to Frontex for the future.

The case concerned the European Personnel Selection Office’s decision not to admit the complainant to a selection procedure for secretaries due to insufficient professional experience in the field of the competition.

The Ombudsman found that the selection board had examined the information provided in the complainant’s application and assessed it against the eligibility criteria. The Ombudsman did not identify a manifest error in how the selection board assessed the application, and closed the inquiry with a finding of no maladministration.

The case concerned how the European Personnel Selection Office (EPSO) assessed the professional experience of a candidate in a selection procedure for recruiting EU staff in the field of sustainable agriculture and rural development.

The Ombudsman found nothing to suggest a manifest error in how the selection board assessed the complainant’s professional experience and, therefore, closed the inquiry with a finding of no maladministration.

El caso versaba sobre la información facilitada por la Comisión Europea sobre el estado de dos denuncias por infracción.

La Defensora del Pueblo consideró que la Comisión podría haber facilitado información más exhaustiva sobre el estado de una de las denuncias, especialmente en relación con el «procedimiento de denuncia múltiple» en curso relativo a algunas de las cuestiones planteadas en dicha denuncia. No obstante, la Comisión tramitó las denuncias de manera razonable.

La Defensora del Pueblo dio por concluida la investigación con la conclusión de que no hubo mala administración.

The complainant in this case contended that the European Commission had not fully examined an infringement complaint concerning Danish rules on temporary use of cars from other EU Member States. The complainant suspected that the Danish rules in this area are to some extent intended to minimise the temporary use of cars registered in other Member States, with a view to increasing revenues from the registration of imported cars.

The Ombudsman found that the issue raised by the complainant warranted further attention, and that certain specific points had not been fully addressed by the Commission. She therefore proposed as a solution that the Commission register and examine the infringement complaint anew. The Commission accepted her proposal and the Ombudsman therefore closed the inquiry.