News

European Ombudsman Emily O’Reilly has been awarded the University of Flensburg’s ‘Europa Prize’. The prize, which honours committed Europeans, is in recognition of the Ombudsman’s work on the transparency and accountability of the EU administration.

Following a six-month inquiry into the performance of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) during the COVID-19 crisis, the European Ombudsman has made a series of proposals to enable greater public scrutiny and understanding of its work as the crisis continues and the focus of that work moves to the monitoring of vaccine distribution. The Ombudsman has also suggested that ...

The Ombudsman opened an own-initiative inquiry into the role of the Commission in ensuring that member state governments use EU funds with a view to promoting independent living for persons with disabilities and older persons, and transitioning away from residential care institutions.

The inquiry takes place against the background of the COVID-19 pandemic, which had devastating consequences for people in these institutions.

In response to the unprecedented situation created by COVID-19, many of the EU institutions, agencies and bodies were required to adopt targeted measures and/or to adapt their working processes to deal with the challenges of the emergency. In April 2020, the Ombudsman began examining the work of the EU administration in the context of the COVID-19 crisis. As a first step, at that stage, she drew t...

In 2020, the Office drew up a new strategy - ‘Towards 2024’- to guide the current mandate of the European Ombudsman. It builds upon the successful ‘Towards 2019’ strategy which aimed to increase the impact, visibility and relevance of the office.

The strategy outlines the Ombudsman’s mission as working with the EU institutions to create a more transparent, ethical and effective administration. 

The Ombudsman has made three suggestions to the European Commission to improve the process of approving ‘active substances’ – the components in pesticides that act against specific pests or plant diseases – for use in pesticides. 

The Ombudsman asked the Commission to approve active substances only for uses that have been confirmed as safe by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA); to publish an explanation of its approvals of active substances in language easily understandable to the public; and to use the confirmatory data procedure with particular restraint.

In the context of wider strategic work on the response of the EU administration during the COVID-19 crisis, the Ombudsman has been examining the work of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). This inquiry has focused on the ECDC’s role in gathering and communicating information on COVID-19. As the European Commission comes forward with proposals to give greater powers to the ECDC, the Ombudsman hopes that her inquiry can help identify some of the issues that may have hampered the ECDC as it sought to tackle this pandemic.

The European Ombudsman, Emily O'Reilly, invites nominations for the third biennial ‘Award for Good Administration’ in the EU institutions. Nominations for the award – to be submitted by end January 2021 – can be made by EU staff, or by businesses, associations or civil society groups. The nominated work should have a visible and positive impact on the lives of EU citizens. Read here the press rele...

European Ombudsman Emily O’Reilly has opened an inquiry to look into how the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex) deals with alleged breaches of fundamental rights. In particular, the investigation will assess the effectiveness and transparency of Frontex’s Complaints Mechanism for those who believe their rights have been violated in the context of Frontex border operations, as well as the role and independence of Frontex’s ‘Fundamental Rights Officer’.

The European Ombudsman has opened an inquiry into a complaint from Amnesty International against the European Commission. The inquiry focuses on how the Commission seeks to ensure that the Croatian authorities respect fundamental rights in the context of border management operations.