RESOLUTION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT  
of 10 May 2012  
with observations forming an integral part of the decision on the discharge for implementation of 
the European Union general budget for the financial year 2010, Section VIII — European 
Ombudsman  
THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT,  
— having regard to the European Union general budget for the financial year 2010 (  1 ), 
— having regard to the annual accounts of the European Union for the financial year 2010 (COM(2011) 
473 – C7-0263/2011) (  2 ), 
— having regard to the European Ombudsman’s annual report to the discharge authority on internal audits 
carried out in 2010,  
— having regard to the Annual Report of the Court of Auditors on implementation of the budget 
concerning the financial year 2010, together with the institutions’ replies (  3 ), 
— having regard to the statement of assurance (  4 ) as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and 
regularity of the underlying transactions provided by the Court of Auditors for the financial year 2010 
pursuant to Article 287 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,  
— having regard to Article 314(10) and Articles 317, 318 and 319 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the 
European Union,  
— having regard to Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 of 25 June 2002 on the Financial 
Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Communities (  5 ), and in particular Articles 
50, 86, 145, 146 and 147 thereof,  
— having regard to Rule 77 of, and Annex VI to, its Rules of Procedure,  
— having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgetary Control (A7-0089/2012),  
1. Stresses that in point 7.31 of its 2010 annual report the Court of Auditors stated that it ‘has no 
observation to make on the European Ombudsman’; points out, none the less, that the Court of 
Auditors had asked the European Ombudsman (the Ombudsman) to draft provisions on the procedures 
for recruitment of temporary staff; considers that the Court of Auditors should have notified it of the 
outcome;  
2. Notes that in 2010 the Ombudsman had commitment appropriations available amounting to a total of 
EUR 9 332 275 (as against EUR 9 000 000 in 2009) and that the utilisation rate for those appropri ­
ations was 89,65 %, which was below the average for the other institutions and two percentage points 
lower than the utilisation rate for the previous year (91,98 %); points out, however, that the lower 
utilisation rate is due mainly to a fluctuation in staff numbers and stresses that the Ombudsman has a 
purely administrative budget, 79 % of which is accounted for by expenditure relating to persons 
working with the institution, 15 % by buildings, furniture, equipment and miscellaneous operating 
expenditure, and 6 % by expenditure resulting from general functions carried out by the institution;  
3. Calls for better financial planning ensuring more efficient budget implementation;  
4. Welcomes the fact that the Ombudsman included key performance indicators in the 2010 action plan, 
together with a scoreboard, thus enabling performance to be measured using a benchmarking system; 
welcomes the progress made throughout the year;EN L 286/118 Official Journal of the European Union 17.10.2012  
( 1 ) OJ L 64, 12.3.2010.  
( 2 ) OJ C 332, 14.11.2011, p. 1.  
( 3 ) OJ C 326, 10.11.2011, p. 1.  
( 4 ) OJ C 332, 14.11.2011, p. 134.  
( 5 ) OJ L 248, 16.9.2002, p. 1.
5. Calls, however, for the number and proportion of cases in which decisions on admissibility are taken 
within one month to be further increased; notes that the current proportion is 66 %;  
6. Calls also for the number and proportion of inquiries that are completed within less than 12 months to 
continue to increase; notes that the current proportion is 66 %;  
7. Welcomes the fact that a new procedure has been introduced for the recruitment of temporary staff and 
the calculation of individual entitlements;  
8. Welcomes the audit carried out by the Internal Audit Service in 2010, which took account of obser ­
vations made in 2009 and concluded that, subject to implementation of the agreed measures, the 
management and control system is effective;  
9. Points out that Parliament adopted an own-initiative report on the annual report on the European 
Ombudsman’s activities in 2010 only recently, on 27 October 2011 (  1 ), and therefore does not wish to 
add to the observations made therein;  
10. Calls for the annual report on the European Ombudsman’s activities in 2011 to contain a section on 
any action taken in response to Parliament’s discharge resolution, together with a comprehensive table 
of all the human resources available to the Ombudsman, broken down by category, grade and gender, 
participation in professional training and nationality.EN 17.10.2012 Official Journal of the European Union L 286/119  
( 1 ) Texts adopted, P7_TA(2011)0467.