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Award for Good Administration - vote for your favourite project
News - Tuesday | 02 May 2023
The 57 projects nominated for the Ombudsman’s Award for Good Administration are now online. The projects come from a range of EU institutions and showcase the breadth of activities carried out by the EU administration. At an award ceremony on 28 June, the Ombudsman will name the overall winning project as well as winners in specific categories: citizen-oriented delivery communication diversity and...
Ombudsman publishes annual report for 2022
News - Tuesday | 25 April 2023
The Ombudsman has published her annual report for 2022 with transparency and accountability issues representing the largest percentage of complaints (32%). The report provides an overview of key areas of the Ombudsman’s work, such as her suggestions to the European Commission, European Central Bank, and European Investment Bank for better managing moves by their staff to the private sector (so-cal...
Ombudsman publishes overview of responses to public consultation on environmental decision making
News - Tuesday | 25 April 2023
Respondents to the Ombudsman’s public consultation on the transparency of EU environmental decision making have raised a number of concerns around access to information and participation by civil society. The 18 respondents - the vast majority from civil society organisations - identified a series of issues that make it difficult for them to follow or contribute to decision-making processes. These...
Ombudsman finds lack of transparency in Commission meetings with tobacco lobbyists
News - Wednesday | 19 April 2023
The Ombudsman has asked the Commission to respond to preliminary inquiry findings about a lack of transparency in its interactions with tobacco lobbyists. Her preliminary view is that this constitutes maladministration. Following a detailed examination of documents concerning Commission meetings with tobacco industry representatives in 2020 and 2021, the Ombudsman identified several transparency c...
EO express 02/2023
News - Wednesday | 19 April 2023
The EO express brings you an overview of the European Ombudsman's recent activities, including inquiry openings, key findings, speeches and events. It is published six times a year. RECENT INQUIRY DEVELOPMENTS Commission should urgently deal with systemic delays to access to documents requests The Ombudsman has asked the Commission to urgently deal with systemic delays in its handling of access to...
Ombudsman asks Commission to deal urgently with systemic delays in processing public access to documents requests
News - Tuesday | 28 March 2023
The Ombudsman has asked the Commission to deal urgently with the systemic delays in its handling of access to document requests, noting that a fundamental rethink is needed so that deadlines set out in the EU transparency regulation are adhered to. The Ombudsman’s own initiative inquiry found that when people ask the Commission to review its initial access decision—because it refused or granted on...
Ombudsman asks for more details of Parliament’s proposed ethics reforms
News - Tuesday | 21 March 2023
The Ombudsman has written to the President of the European Parliament with a series of questions designed to aid the Parliament’s reflections on improving its ethics and transparency framework. The questions follow the Ombudsman’s analysis of the 14-point draft proposals presented by President Metsola to the Conference of Presidents on 8 February and relate to areas the Ombudsman considers need gr...
Ombudsman opens inquiry into how EU staff recruitment test was carried out
News - Friday | 17 March 2023
The Ombudsman has opened an inquiry into how the European Personnel Selection Office (EPSO) carried out ‘pre-selection’ tests as part of a procedure to recruit new staff into the EU civil service. A significant number of job candidates have complained to the Ombudsman about the tests, specifically in relation to the requirement that they be exclusively carried out remotely. Candidates cited experi...
Ombudsman asks Commission for details on business trips by senior officials
News - Monday | 06 March 2023
The Ombudsman has asked the Commission how it deals with requests for business trips by its senior staff members that are paid for by third parties. The Ombudsman decided to ask for these details following news that some business trips between 2015 and 2021 by the Director-General of the Commission’s transport department had been paid for by the Qatari government or organisations close to it. The ...
EO express 01/2023
News - Monday | 13 February 2023
The EO express brings you an overview of the European Ombudsman's recent activities, including inquiry openings, key findings, speeches and events. It is published six times a year. RECENT INQUIRY DEVELOPMENTS Ombudsman regrets Frontex’s continued refusal to simplify access to documents procedure The Ombudsman confirmed her finding of maladministration against the European Border and Coast Guard A...