Top inquiries
Showing 1 - 10 of 415 results
The use by the European Personnel Selection Office (EPSO) of remote testing only for the 'pre-selection' tests in a selection procedure to recruit EU civil servants (Assistants AST3 - EPSO/AST/154/22)
Inquiry OI/1/2023/VS - Latest document added: Correspondence - Wednesday | 17 May 2023
The Ombudsman received a considerable number of complaints concerning the use of remote testing only for the 'pre-selection tests' in a selection procedure for recruiting EU civil servants (Assistants AST3 - EPSO/AST/154/22), organised by the European Personnel Selection Office (EPSO). The complaints concerned the practical implications of the decision that the tests should take place only remotel...
The Council of the EU's refusal to give full public access to a legal opinion on the proposed EU directive on adequate minimum wages
Inquiry 1834/2022/NH - Latest document added: Correspondence - Tuesday | 16 May 2023
The complainant asked the Council of the EU to give public access to an opinion of its 'legal service' on the proposed EU directive on adequate minimum wages. The Council granted access to only parts of the opinion in May 2021. It invoked an exception under the EU legislation on public access to documents to justify redacting information in the document, arguing that full disclosure could undermin...
Ombudsman holds public consultation on transparency in EU environmental decision making
Inquiry SI/5/2022/KR - Latest document added: Correspondence - Thursday | 11 May 2023
The Ombudsman has launched a public consultation to assess the transparency and public participation in EU environmental decision making. The aim is to evaluate whether citizens have access to up-to-date information in an area of high public interest. The consultation is available in all 24 of the EU’s official languages and runs until 15/12/2022. Find more background information on this issue her...
How the European Commission ensures that there are no conflicts of interest with external experts involved in evaluating project proposals under the European Defence Fund
Inquiry SI/6/2022/KR - Latest document added: Correspondence - Friday | 05 May 2023
The Ombudsman opened an initiative to look into how the European Commission ensures that external experts involved evaluating project proposals under the European Defence Fund do not evaluate, advise or assist on matters that could give rise to conflicts of interest. According to the applicable legislation, the Commission should have a system in place to this end. The Ombudsman wrote to the Commis...
How the European Commission dealt with concerns about how it is carrying out an impact assessment of new genomic techniques in relation to the application of EU rules on genetically modified organisms
Inquiry 346/2023/MIK - Latest document added: Case description - Thursday | 27 April 2023
The complainants, two non-governmental organisations, were dissatisfied with how the European Commission replied to concerns they raised about the impact assessment of new genomic techniques in relation to the application of EU rules on genetically modified organisms. The complainants were concerned that the Commission failed to follow the applicable rules on impact assessments, including with reg...
How the secretariat of the EU Transparency Register assessed the information provided by two entities on the register concerning their links to the food industry
Inquiry 532/2023/FA - Latest document added: Case description - Thursday | 27 April 2023
The complainant, a non-governmental organisation, raised concerns with the secretariat of the EU Transparency Register about two entities that are included in the register. In particular, the complainant was concerned that the entities failed to disclose their links with the food industry, and that this had not been properly assessed by the secretariat, which administers the Transparency Register ...
Improving the European Parliament’s ethics and transparency framework
Inquiry SI/1/2023/MIK - Latest document added: Correspondence - Monday | 24 April 2023
In response to allegations of corruption by current and former members of the European Parliament, the Parliament's President set out draft proposals to improve the oversight and enforcement of the Parliament’s ethics rules. Following this, the European Ombudsman wrote to the Parliament's president, welcoming her initiative and sharing some observations on how to further improve the Parliaments et...
The European Commission’s refusal to give full public access to documents concerning a Horizon 2020 mineral exploration research project
Inquiries 1132/2022/OAM, 1374/2022/OAM - Latest document added: Decision - Wednesday | 19 April 2023
The complainant is an environmental non-governmental organisation that asked the European Commission to give public access to documents concerning a mineral exploration research project that received EU funds under the Horizon 2020 programme. The Commission identified five documents as falling under the scope of the complainant's request. It refused to disclose one document and granted partial acc...
The transparency of the European Commission’s interactions with representatives of the tobacco industry
Inquiry OI/6/2021/KR - Latest document added: Correspondence - Tuesday | 18 April 2023
The Ombudsman launched an own-initiative inquiry to examine the transparency of meetings between the European Commission and representatives of the tobacco industry, as well as to assess how the Commission complies with the relevant provisions of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control of the World Health Organization. The Ombudsman inquiry team inspected certain documents held by the Commissi...
The information provided by the European Commission to unsuccessful applicants in the context of public procurement and grant procedures
Inquiry SI/1/2022/LM - Latest document added: Correspondence - Monday | 17 April 2023
The Ombudsman wrote to the European Commission to draw attention to the information it provides to unsuccessful applicants in the context of public procurement and grant procedures. In particular, the Ombudsman is seeking to draw the Commission's attention to the need to provide accurate information on how unsuccessful applicants can appeal or seek redress, to avoid creating false expectations and...