European Parliament resolution on the annual report on the activities of the European Ombudsman (C5-0302/2001 - 2001/2043(COS))
Date: 2001-09-06
Institutions: European Parliament
Subjects: European Ombudsman, activity report, administration of the Institutions, appeal to the European Ombudsman, dissemination of EU information, petition

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(n)

the Council and the Commission open a broad dialogue and intensify the existing exchange with the
United States, with the aim of finding a common strategy or at least reducing the differences in the
approaches to fighting cybercrime as outlined in this recommendation; in tEhis context, the transatlan-
tic dialogue on legislative matters must be improved, and enquiries should be made about the possi-
bility of sending EU representatives to informal US bodies working against cybercrime, such as the
Partnership for Critical Infrastructure Security (PCIS), and an invitation to corresponding EU bodies
should be made to US representatives;

2.

Instructs its President to forward this recommendation to the Council and the Commission.

*

*

*

9. European Ombudsman(cid:146)s annual activity report 2000

A5-0280/2001

European Parliament resolution on the annual report on the activities of the European Ombuds-
man (C5-0302/2001 (cid:129) 2001/2043(COS))

The European Parliament,

(cid:129) having regard to the Annual Report of the European Ombudsman for the year 2000 (C5-0302/2001),

(cid:129) having regard to Article 43 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union,

(cid:129) having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community and, in particular, Articles 21 and

195 thereof,

(cid:129) having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Coal and Steel Community and, in particular,

Article 20 thereof,

(cid:129) having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community, and, in particular,

Article 107 thereof,

(cid:129) having regard to its resolution of 17 November 1993 and, in particular, the part thereof concerning
the regulations and general conditions governing the performance of the European Ombudsman(cid:146)s
duties (1),

(cid:129) having regard to its decision 9 March 1994 on the regulations and general conditions governing the

performance of the European Ombudsman(cid:146)s duties and, in particular, Article 3(8) thereof (2),

(cid:129) having regard to its resolution of 14 July 1995 on the role of the European Ombudsman (3),

(cid:129) having regard to its resolution of 6 July 2000 on the Annual Report for 1999 of the European

Ombudsman (4),

(cid:129) having regard to its resolution of 6 July 2000 on the deliberations of the Committee on Petitions

during the parliamentary year 1999-2000 (5),

(cid:129) having regard to Rule 47(1) of its Rules of Procedure,

(cid:129) having regard to the report of the Committee on Petitions (A5-0280/2001),

(1) OJ C 329, 6.12.1993, p. 132.
(2) OJ L 113, 4.5.1994, p. 15.
(3) OJ C 249, 25.9.1995, p. 226.
(4) OJ C 121, 24.4.2001, p. 468.
(5) OJ C 121, 24.4.2001, p. 465.

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A. whereas the Charter of Fundamental Rights (Chapter V, Citizens(cid:146) Rights) states (Article 43, Ombuds-
man) that (cid:145)any citizen of the Union and any natural or legal person residing or having its registered
office in a Member State has the right to refer to the Ombudsman of the Union cases of maladminis-
tration in the activities of the Community institutions or bodies, with the exception of the Court of
Justice and the Court of First Instance acting in their judicial role(cid:146),

B. whereas the most important duty of the Ombudsman is to protect the rights of the European Union(cid:146)s

citizens against maladministration by the Community authorities,

C. whereas close cooperation between the Ombudsman, the European Parliament and its committee
responsible for petitions has proved its worth, both as regards the lodging of complaints that can
legally be classified as petitions, and as regards the submission of special reports, in particular the
special report on the Code of Good Administrative Conduct in the different institutions and bodies
of the Community (C5-0438/2000),

D. whereas the Ombudsman(cid:146)s special reports provide indispensable and valuable contributions to Parlia-

ment(cid:146)s legislative work in the interests of the European citizen,

E. whereas the policies of Community bodies on providing information to European Union citizens in
relation to petitions to the European Parliament (general competence) and complaints to the European
Ombudsman (special competence for maladministration) must be improved,

F. whereas in those cases of maladministration investigated by the Ombudsman that have been con-
cluded with critical remarks, the Ombudsman must in particular be able to guarantee that the admin-
istrative department thereby reprimanded will respond within a reasonable deadline to the said critical
remarks,

1. Welcomes the Annual Report for the year 2000 submitted by the Ombudsman, as containing a
highly informative summary of cases referred to the Ombudsman or investigated by him on his own
initiative;

Considers it appropriate, in the interests of the readability of this highly informative report, that it be
2.
drafted more succinctly and in simpler language and that a summary be published which is targeted at the
general public, since members of the public are known to access this report especially frequently on the
Internet;

Considers it necessary for the information policy of Community bodies in relation to the right of
3.
citizens to petition the European Parliament (cf. Article 44 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the
European Union) and complaints to the Ombudsman (cf. Article 43 of the said Charter) to be improved;

Considers it necessary to work towards the incorporation of the Charter of Fundamental Rights into
4.
the Treaty with a view to enhancing the rights of the citizens of Europe to petition the European Parlia-
ment and to make complaints to the European Ombudsman;

Shares the Ombudsman(cid:146)s view that specialist cooperation with Parliament(cid:146)s Committee on Petitions,
5.
on which the protection of citizens(cid:146) rights anchored in Community law crucially depends, must be further
strengthened, possibly by active input from the Ombudsman in those cases where the Community institu-
tions and bodies are involved;

6.
Points out that the Ombudsman(cid:146)s always meticulously prepared specialist reports promote and facili-
tate Parliament(cid:146)s legislative work, in particular the special report on selection procedures for European
Union officials (C5-0082/2000) (1) or that on the Code of Good Administrative Conduct (C5-0438/2000);

7.
Considers that the Ombudsman should apply the principles in the code of good administrative
behaviour in examining whether there is maladministration, so as to give effect to the citizens(cid:146) right to
good administration in Article 41 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union;

(1) OJ C 371, 22.12.1999, p. 12.

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8.
Notes that the majority of the Ombudsman(cid:146)s investigations have been against the Commission,
although the number of complaints must objectively be considered as small when set against the European
Commission(cid:146)s function as the administrative body of the Union responsible for processing the full range of
Community policies;

9.
Draws attention to the need, having regard specifically to the small number of complaints that the
Ombudsman concludes with critical remarks, to ensure that the competent Community authorities act
within a reasonable deadline to correct the maladministration for which they have been reprimanded;

Calls on the Ombudsman to continue the welcome trend set in previous years by further reducing

10.
the response-time for processing complaints;

11.
Urges the Ombudsman to cooperate with Parliament in the matter of the re-drafting of the Inter-
Institutional Agreement with the Commission and the Council on the processing of petitions and com-
plaints;

12. Would welcome agreement by the Ombudsman to submit a special report on the confidentiality of
documents in the possession of Community authorities, having due regard to the procedure laid down in
Annex VII to the European Parliament(cid:146)s Rules of Procedure (cid:145)for the consideration of confidential docu-
ments communicated to the European Parliament(cid:146);

Encourages the Ombudsman to work towards ensuring that those countries that seek accession to

13.
the European Union will establish their own offices of Ombudsman to penalise maladministration;

14.
Instructs its President to forward this resolution and the report of the Committee on Petitions to the
European Ombudsman, all bodies and institutions of the European Union, the governments and parlia-
ments of the Member States and national Ombudsmen or equivalent counterparts.

10. Code of Good Administrative Behaviour

A5-0245/2001

European Parliament resolution on the European Ombudsman(cid:146)s Special Report to the European
Parliament following the own-initiative inquiry into the existence and the public accessibility, in
the different Community institutions and bodies, of a Code of Good Administrative Behaviour
(C5-0438/2000 (cid:129) 2000/2212 (COS))

The European Parliament,

(cid:129) having regard to the Special Report from the European Ombudsman (C5-0438/2000),

(cid:129) having regard to Article 195 of the EC Treaty on the duties of the European Ombudsman,

(cid:129) having regard to Rule 47(1) of its Rules of Procedure,

(cid:129) having regard to the report of the Committee on Petitions and the opinions of the Committee on
Citizens(cid:146) Freedoms and Rights, Justice and Home Affairs and the Committee on Legal Affairs and the
Internal Market (A5-0245/2001),

A. whereas it is of the utmost importance that the same Code of Good Administrative Behaviour applies

to all European institutions, bodies and agencies,

B. whereas provisions should be introduced to cover special situations and derogations (most notably for
preserving security for actions of bodies or institutions where those actions depend on maintaining a
higher level of security),

1.
Calls on the European Commission to submit an appropriate proposal for a regulation containing a
Code of Good Administrative Behaviour based on Article 308 of the Treaty establishing the European
Community;