Dear Mrs Z.,

On 17 November 2000, you made a complaint to the European Ombudsman concerning the lack of reply by the institution to your letter of 15 March 2000.

On 27 November 2000, I forwarded the complaint to the President of the European Commission. The Commission sent its opinion on 20 February 2001 and I forwarded it to you with an invitation to make observations, if you so wished.

A telephone conversion took place between you and the Ombudsman's services on 23 March 2001.

THE COMPLAINT

On 15 March 2000, the complainant wrote to Commissioners Barnier and Wallström asking for information concerning the "Região de Oeste" landfill project in Portugal, but it appears that the Commission had not given a reply. The complainant has therefore lodged a complaint with the Ombudsman, in which she alleged the lack of reply by the institution to her correspondence.

THE INQUIRY

The Commission's opinion

In its opinion on the complaint, the Commission pointed out that it appeared that its services had received no request for information from the complainant.

Furthermore, the institution stated that in the meantime it had registered a complaint (number 2000/4668) lodged by a group of Portuguese citizens on the same matter, against the Portuguese authorities.

By letter of 8 December 2000, the complainant was informed of the above and of all the actions taken by the Commission in this context.

The complainant's observation

During a telephone conversation between the Ombudsman's services and the complainant, she thanked the Ombudsman for his effort and considered that the objective of the inquiry was fully achieved.

THE DECISION

On the basis of the information provided by the complainant and the opinion submitted by the European Commission, it appears that the case has been settled by the Commission to the complainant's full satisfaction. The Ombudsman has therefore decided to close the case.

The President of the European Commission will also be informed of this decision.

Yours sincerely,

 

Jacob SÖDERMAN