Decision in the above case on how the European Commission replied to a letter concerning inheritance rights in Romania

Dear Mr X,

You recently submitted a complaint to the European Ombudsman against the European Commission.

We understand from your complaint that you sent a letter to the Commission concerning inheritance issues in Romania. You are not satisfied with the Commission’s reply.^[1]

After a careful analysis of all the information you provided with your complaint, we find no indication of maladministration by the European Commission.

The Commission provided you with clear information about its position. It explained that it does not have competence to intervene in matters not linked with the implementation of EU law, which is correct.

The issues you raised with the Commission concern the rights of heirs to an estate and division of inheritance in Romania, for which national law applies. The Commission said that there are EU rules related to inheritance only to determine the jurisdiction in cases of cross-border inheritance, which does not seem to be relevant in your case. The Commission recommended you to seek redress at national level. Finally, the Commission provided information about the European e-Justice Portal concerning your rights.

We find nothing to indicate a manifest error in the Commission’s reply.

In light of the above, the Ombudsman has closed the case.^[2]

While you may be disappointed with the outcome of the case, we hope that you will find the above explanations helpful.

Yours sincerely,

Tina Nilsson

Head of the Case-handling Unit

Strasbourg,07/06/2022

 

[1] Reference Ares(2022)979006 - 10/02/2022

[2] Full information on the procedure and rights pertaining to complaints can be found at

https://www.ombudsman.europa.eu/en/document/70707.