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Mission
Our mission is to help resolve complaints and ensure that the EU administration applies the highest standards of integrity, transparency, accountability and responsiveness. We do this by putting citizens and their rights at the heart of our actions and by fostering constructive dialogue with the EU IBOAs as well as engaging with other relevant stakeholders.
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Vision
Be recognised as a trusted defender of rights and of the principles that underpin the democratic functioning of the EU and as an agent of positive change.
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Principles and values
Our guiding principles and values serve as a foundation for the way we carry out our work and interact with our stakeholders.
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The European Ombudsman’s Strategy for the 2025-2029 mandate
Document - Date Monday | 10 November 2025
Introduction
The European Ombudsman deals with complaints and carries out inquiries into cases of alleged maladministration in the activities of the EU institutions, bodies, offices and agencies (hereafter ‘EU IBOAs’), with the exception of the Court of Justice of the European Union acting in its judicial role.
This important role provides people and organisations with a means of redress in situations where they consider that their complaints remain unresolved by the institutions concerned. It also empowers the Ombudsman to carry out own-initiative inquiries and to engage with the EU IBOAs and other stakeholders to proactively identify areas for improvement and address systemic issues. In doing so, the Ombudsman contributes to ensuring good administration and thus to strengthening the democratic standards and values on which the EU is founded.
Since the Office was established in 1995, the Ombudsman has dealt with over 68 000 complaints and conducted close to 10 000 inquiries.
Building on the experience and achievements of my predecessors, while taking into account the major geopolitical challenges the EU is currently facing, my ambition is to stand for the rights of people and organisations. I aim to act as a true bridge-builder between them and the EU by strengthening trust in the democratic governance of the EU and ensuring that the EU IBOAs uphold the highest standards of good administration.
This will involve:
- putting the rights of citizens at the heart of our actions,
- acting not only reactively, but also proactively and strategically to effect positive change, and
- fostering constructive dialogue with the EU IBOAs, as well as engaging with other relevant stakeholders.
This Strategy, which has been developed following extensive internal consultations, sets out how my Office intends to achieve this in the coming years and the principles and values that will guide our work.
Teresa Anjinho, European Ombudswoman
October 2025
Our guiding principles
These principles shape our decisions and interactions at every level
we act ethically and uphold the highest standards of professional conduct.
we strive to ensure that people and organisations are treated justly, equitably and with due respect.
we treat all parties equally and objectively, free from bias and undue influence.
we carry out our work autonomously ensuring credibility and trust.
we take responsibility and are answerable for our actions and decisions.
Our core values
These values define how we work and engage with people, organisations and institutions
we treat everyone with dignity, valuing diverse perspectives and experiences.
we promote transparency and clear communication, both within our institution and externally.
we strive to ensure that our services are accessible and responsive to all citizens.
we promote constructive dialogue and cooperation with institutions and stakeholders.
we aim to achieve impact through the responsive and timely use of our resources.
Objectives
1. Empower citizens
Goal: To raise awareness of the role of the European Ombudsman among citizens and civil society and ensure their voices are heard and rights upheld.
- Explore new ways to increase awareness of the European Ombudsman’s Office, our role and the rights of people and organisations to turn to us.
- Adopt a targeted approach to engaging with citizens in underrepresented categories.
- Ensure that our communication platforms are user-friendly and accessible to the widest possible audience.
- Communicate about our work in a way that emphasises the importance of good administration as well as the Office’s independence, and its role as the defender of the rights of citizens.
- Foster transparent, inclusive and accountable EU decision-making through meaningful public consultations on policies to support citizen participation.
- Use the full range of the Ombudsman’s powers to deal with issues brought to our attention, including the EU’s activities in third countries.
2. Effect positive change
Goal: To drive institutional change and strengthen good administration by promoting fairness, integrity, transparency and trust.
- Continue to issue timely, clear and well-reasoned solution proposals, suggestions for improvement and recommendations to EU institutions and ensure our decisions are well argued and robust.
- Monitor and follow-up to ensure our solution proposals, suggestions for improvement and recommendations are implemented.
- Anticipate how the changing EU context will affect the Ombudsman’s work, and actively contribute to relevant debates and discussions on the core principles and values of the EU administration.
- Focus our strategic work on areas which are in the public interest, which add value, and which are feasible for the Office to undertake.
- Showcase the impact of the Ombudsman’s work, including through the publication of the outcome of inquiries, thematic reports and guidelines.
- Leverage the European Parliament’s oversight power to support and reinforce the Ombudsman’s findings and to draw attention to key issues of public interest.
3. Strengthen partnerships
Goal: To reach out and nurture collaborative relationships with stakeholders that can support and enhance the Ombudsman’s effectiveness in protecting citizens’ rights and promoting good administration.
- Reinforce working relationships with the EU IBOAs to ensure the role of the European Ombudsman is understood and respected, to help secure quick and fair outcomes to complaints and to promote good administrative practices.
- Increase collaboration with the European Network of Ombudsmen as a way of achieving better protection of EU citizens’ rights and amplifying key issues related to democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rights at the EU and national level.
- Foster cooperation with international organisations involved in upholding human rights and the rule of law, such as the Council of Europe, the European Court of Human Rights and the United Nations.
- Engage with Civil Society Organisations and NGOs and gather insight into public concerns.
- Collaborate with academic institutions and research networks to promote the role of the Ombudsman in improving governance.
4. Foster operational quality and efficiency
Goal: To promote a forward looking, adaptable and service-minded Ombudsman’s Office that exemplifies best practices, embraces innovation and remains responsive to evolving trends and needs.
- Continuously review and adapt our processes to streamline our operations and ensure flexibility and responsiveness.
- Enhance our digital tools and explore how AI can usefully contribute to simplifying and streamlining our complaint-handling and other processes.
- Foster exemplary human resources management by recruiting and retaining highly qualified staff and by nurturing an internal culture of communication, collaboration, wellbeing and continuous learning to support personal growth and organisational agility.
- Adopt a service-minded, inclusive and accessible approach in our interactions with internal and external stakeholders.
- Continue to ensure compliance with applicable rules and regulations and with the principles of ethics and good governance, including in the area of transparency, data protection and sustainability.
Implementation
Concrete actions to implement this Strategy will be included in the Annual Management Plan of the years covering the present mandate. The Office will also establish a set of key performance indicators to measure progress in achieving the Strategy objectives and priorities.