Ombudsman asks Parliament to act on Commission access to documents delays

The Ombudsman has sent a special report to the European Parliament, asking for its formal support in addressing delays by the European Commission in responding to requests for public access to documents. The report follows a recent Ombudsman inquiry which revealed that when individuals seek a review of access decisions, the Commission misses the deadlines in the EU’s transparency regulation in 85% of cases. Over 60% of these review decisions also took over 60 working days—more than double the 30-day limit.  

Inquiry into how EU institutions adhere to EU law in public access requests for legislative documents

The Ombudsman has launched an inquiry into how the European Parliament, Council of the European Union, and European Commission apply EU law and case law when handing public access requests for legislative documents. Previous Ombudsman inquiries into insufficient and delayed access have suggested that the three institutions are not fully adhering to EU law and court decisions when it comes to access requests. To get an overview into the institutions’ approach, the Ombudsman has asked them to provide statistics on initial access requests as well as a list of follow-up requests (confirmatory applications) for three recently adopted legislative acts.

Ombudsman asks Commission about respect for fundamental rights in EU agreement with Tunisia

The Ombudsman has asked the European Commission how it plans to ensure human rights are respected in migration-related actions resulting from the EU-Tunisia Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed in July. The MoU includes provisions addressing irregular migration and provides EU financial support for Tunisian border management. The Ombudsman has asked the Commission if it carried out a human rights impact assessment prior to signing the agreement and whether it intends to carry out periodic reviews during the MoU’s implementation. She has also asked whether the Commission has defined criteria for suspending funding if human rights are not respected

Ombudsman encourages EMA to share preliminary plans as soon as possible for publishing backlog of clinical trial data

The Ombudsman is encouraging the European Medicines Agency (EMA) to share preliminary plans as soon as possible for publishing clinical trial data related to medicines evaluation procedures completed while its proactive transparency policy was suspended. The EMA's proactive transparency policy, which was launched in 2016 and temporarily suspended in 2018 due to the agency’s move to Amsterdam and the ensuing COVID-19 pandemic, was partially relaunched in October 2023 for products with new active substances.

Changes made by Commission to internal guidance on public procurement can help prevent conflicts of interest, says Ombudsman

As part of her analysis in a recent case, the Ombudsman welcomed changes made by the European Commission to its internal guidance on public procurement. If diligently applied, the new guidance can strengthen how the Commission deals with potential professional conflicts of interest in tenders. The Ombudsman assessed the changes as part of her investigation into potential conflicts of interest in the Commission’s award of a contract for a study on EU policy on business mergers to a competition law consultancy. The Commission terminated the contract in question during the Ombudsman’s inquiry.

European Investment Bank should improve conflict of interest rules, says Ombudsman

The Ombudsman has called on the European Investment Bank (EIB) to improve its conflict of interest rules following the move of its vice-president to become the CEO of a national promotional bank in Italy. The Ombudsman found maladministration after it emerged that the vice-president had participated in the approval of financing agreements between the EIB and the national promotional bank in the weeks before his appointment as its CEO. The Ombudsman recommended the EIB strengthen the oversight role of its ethics and compliance committee when it comes to the intended new jobs of management committee members.

Inquiry into how Commission prevents conflicts of interest in the evaluation of European Defence Fund proposals

The Ombudsman has opened an inquiry into how the European Commission ensures the absence of conflicts of interest among external experts evaluating European Defence Fund (EDF) project proposals. Contrary to the general practice for the evaluation of proposals meant to receive EU funding, the Commission is not required to make public the names of the experts it consults for these projects. The inquiry follows previous correspondence with the Commission, which indicated that it mainly relies on experts' self-declarations to prevent conflicts of interest.  

Ombudsman investigates how Commission ensures EU funds do not contribute to rights violations at Greek border

The Ombudsman is looking into how the European Commission ensures EU funds allocated to Greece for border management do not contribute to fundamental rights violations. The inquiry follows a complainant from civil society organisations who allege the Commission has failed to investigate persistent claims of rights violations on the Greece-Türkiye border resulting from the inappropriate use of EU money from the Internal Security Fund by Greek recipients.

Inquiry into Commission decision to remove online contact details of staff other than senior managers

The Ombudsman has opened an inquiry into the European Commission's decision to restrict publication of contact details in the ‘Whoiswho’ online EU staff directory to senior managers (Head of Unit level and above). The inquiry follows a complaint from civil society organisations, who say the Commission’s decision raises accountability concerns.

European Network of Ombudsmen conference on protecting human rights

The European Network of Ombudsmen met in Brussels on 9 November to discuss the protection of human rights. The conference’s first session, which focused on ‘migration and fundamental rights’, featured a lecture by Sally Hayden, author of My Fourth Time, We Drowned: Seeking Refuge on the World’s Deadliest Migration Route, which was followed by a panel discussion. The second session looked at ‘lessons from public administrators using artificial intelligence’ and included an opening speech by Michael O'Flaherty, Director of the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights.

Conference report

Video of the event 

The European Ombudsman in a geopolitical age: protecting fundamental rights and accountability

“When it comes to the kind of decision making inspired by geopolitical thinking, our role must be to remind the institutions that the values of trust, transparency, accountability and fundamental rights are the pole stars that should light the way.”

Full speech of European Ombudsman Emily O’Reilly at the University of Warsaw on 27 September.

Ombudsman delivers speech on ethical lobbying at HETHICO annual summit

“In the work that you do, it is crucial that to not compartmentalise your duty to your company or institution as separate from your duty to society and to our increasingly fragile planet. Rather, I encourage you to act as agents of change who can steer the role of business in the direction of the public good and of the protection of the environment.”

Full speech of European Ombudsman Emily O’Reilly at the HETHICO annual summit on 5 October.