Dear Ms X,

You have submitted a complaint to the European Ombudsman about the above issue.

I am sorry to have to inform you that, based on the information you provided, the Ombudsman finds no maladministration by the ECDC.

EU institutions and bodies have a wide discretion to decide on whether to renew temporary contracts. The Ombudsman can only usefully examine a dispute about a non-renewal if there are indications of misuse of power or manifest errors. Your complaint does not contain any such indications. The fact that you do not agree with how the ECDC has assessed your performance does not suffice to indicate a manifest error in the decision not to renew your contract. EU institutions and bodies have an equally wide margin of appreciation in carrying out annual performance assessments.

I also note that the ECDC appears to have respected its obligations to hear you and to give you reasons for the non-renewal of your contract.

I would finally like to note that when an EU institution or body finds that a contract renewal cannot be granted for the current post or tasks, it does not have a legal obligation to actively seek to move the staff member concerned to another post, or change the tasks, for the purpose of making a contract renewal possible. 

I realise that this decision will disappoint you, but hope that the above explanations sufficiently clarify why the Ombudsman cannot help you in this case.

Yours sincerely,

Tina Nilsson
Head of Inquiries - Unit 4

 

Strasbourg, 16/07/2019