The Ombudsman works to ensure good administration in the EU administration’s management of grants and procurement. This includes ensuring the EU institutions follow the rules when it comes to managing contracts and tenders and that they deal with applicants and recipients of EU funds in a fair manner.

The strategy sets out how the Ombudsman's Office intends to achieve its goals in the coming years and the principles and values that will guide its work.

Le Médiateur européen aura trente ans en 2025.

Ce reportage met en lumière le rôle de la Médiatrice dans la réduction du fossé entre l’UE et ses citoyens et dans le renforcement de l’administration de l’UE en la rendant plus éthique, transparente et responsable.

Les institutions de l’UE disposent d’une série de règles éthiques visant à protéger l’intégrité de l’administration et à faire en sorte que les citoyens soient servis par des fonctionnaires indépendants et responsables.

Le Médiateur européen aide à contrôler la manière dont ces règles sont mises en œuvre et les domaines dans lesquels des améliorations sont nécessaires. Au fil des ans, les travaux de la Médiatrice ont abouti à des normes éthiques plus strictes au sein de l’administration de l’UE.

Good EU public administration can improve the wellbeing of European citizens and strengthen their belief in democracy.

Whether it be programmes that help combat pressing challenges like climate change or economic inequality, or actions that aid people in times of crisis, or initiatives to improve the transparency and efficiency of administrative procedures, the work of motivated civil servants can make a real difference in people’s lives.

Every two years the European Ombudsman holds an Award for Good Administration to recognise some of the exceptional work done by the EU administration.

This year, we have decided to look back at some of the winning projects in various categories and to ask those responsible what makes their work special.

Find more in this online publication!

The work of the European Ombudsman has helped make the institutions, bodies, and agencies of the European Union more transparent, accountable, and ethical. Some positive changes are enacted quickly following an Ombudsman inquiry, while others emerge gradually as the EU administration adjusts to new norms of good administration.

Engaged collaboration with the EU institutions, as well as pressure on the EU administration from complainants, media, civil society, Members of the European Parliament, and EU courts also help to achieve positive results.

Find out more in this online publication!

The 2023 European Ombudsman Award for Good Administration was a great success! Join us as we take a look back at the award ceremony that took place in the beautiful Solvay Library in Brussels on 28 June.

Through the presentation of 57 innovative projects, the ceremony was a celebration of work by EU public servants that has had a positive impact on people’s lives.

After introductory words by European Ombudsman Emily O’Reilly and European Parliament President Roberta Metsola, eight awards were handed out to exemplary projects. There were winners in five specific categories such as open administration and citizen-oriented delivery, a public vote winner, a special award winner, and the 2023 overall winner.

The winners explained the work behind the projects—sometimes involving several different teams—and what it meant to win. Members of the advisory board also took to the stage to explain what they liked about the projects and how difficult it was to choose among them.

Thank you to everyone for showing such enthusiastic support for all the nominated projects during the award ceremony. And thank you for your commitment to public service and for making the EU stronger through your creative initiatives!

Find more in this online publication !

When a public official moves to the private sector, they are often described as having gone through ‘the revolving door’.

This can present a risk to the integrity of EU institutions because valuable inside knowledge can move into the private sector, or because former officials may lobby their former colleagues or existing officials may be influenced by possible future employment.

While not yet as common as in other jurisdictions, when cases of revolving doors do occur, they can raise questions about whether the EU administration in acting fully in the public interest.  

This can undermine public trust in the EU.

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Access to documents or ‘freedom of information’ is a crucial right, providing transparency about the work of public bodies and enabling the public to hold them to account.

Accessing documents held by public bodies strengthens democracies by, for example,  allowing public scrutiny of draft laws or enabling journalists to investigate stories.

Find more in this online publication !

Introduced in 2017, the award recognises actions by the EU public service that have a visible and positive impact on the lives of citizens, and aims to encourage the sharing of good ideas and practices.

In this third edition of the award, the overall winners were the Commission’s department for Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid (DG ECHO) and the European External Action Service (EEAS) for their efforts to repatriate EU citizens stranded abroad during the pandemic. Prizes were also awarded in four categories:

• excellence in citizen-focused services delivery
• excellence in communications
• excellence in innovation/transformation
• excellence in crisis management

All nominations were assessed by an independent advisory board, and the winners were chosen by the Ombudsman.

This year, a special award was also given to an action that went beyond all categories – a solidarity project set up by EU staff. Also, for the first time, the public could choose their favourite project via an online vote.

Find more in this online publication !

The core work of the European Ombudsman is to help people, businesses and organisations that face problems with the EU’s administration by dealing with the complaints they submit.

Read here our web story highlighting the most relevant cases in 2020, and the impact of our work.