European Parliament resolution on the annual report on the activities of the European Ombudsman for the year 2003 (2004/2091(INI))
Date: 2004-11-18
Institutions: European Parliament
Subjects: European Ombudsman, access to EU information, activity report, administrative transparency, appeal to the European Ombudsman, interinstitutional relations (EU), provision of documents

18.8.2005

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P6_TA(2004)0064

Election of the Commission (decision)

European Parliament decision electing the nominated Commission

The European Parliament,

— having regard to Article 214(2) of the EC Treaty and Article 127(2) of the Euratom Treaty,

— having regard to Rule 99 of its Rules of Procedure,

— having regard to Decision 2004/536/EC (1) of the Council, meeting in the composition of Heads of
State or Government, of 29 June 2004 nominating Mr José Manuel Durão Barroso as President of the
Commission,

— having regard to its decision of 22 July 2004 (2) electing Mr Durão Barroso as President of the Com-

mission,

— having regard to Council Decision 2004/642/EC, Euratom (3) of 13 September 2004, taken by common
intends to

accord with the President-elect of the Commission, on the persons whom the Council
appoint as Members of the Commission,

— having regard to Council Decision 2004/753/EC, Euratom (4) of 5 November 2004, taken by common
intends to

accord with the President-elect of the Commission, on the persons whom the Council
appoint as Members of the Commission,

— having regard to the hearings of the Commissioners-designate before the competent parliamentary
committees, held from 27 September to 11 October 2004 and from 15 to 16 November 2004,

— having regard to the discussions held between the Conference of Presidents and the President-elect of

the Commission on 21 October 2004 and 5 November 2004,

— having regard to the discussions held at the meeting of the Conference of Presidents of 16 November

2004,

— having regard to the statements made in plenary sitting by the President-elect of the Commission on

26 and 27 October 2004 and on 17 and 18 November 2004,

1.

2.

Elects the Commission for the term of office running from 22 November 2004 to 31 October 2009;

Instructs its President to forward this decision to the Council.

(1) OJ L 236, 7.7.2004, p. 15.
(2) Minutes of that date, P6_PV(2004)07-22, Item 8.2.
(3) OJ L 294, 17.9.2004, p. 30.
(4) OJ L 333, 9.11.2004, p. 12.

P6_TA(2004)0065

European Ombudsman — Annual Report 2003

European Parliament resolution on the annual report on the activities of the European Ombudsman
for the year 2003 (2004/2091(INI))

The European Parliament,

— having regard to the annual report on the activities of the European Ombudsman for the year 2003,

— having regard to Article 195 of the EC Treaty,

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— having regard to its resolution of 17 November 1993 on democracy, transparency and subsidiarity and
the Interinstitutional Agreement on procedures for implementing the principle of subsidiarity; the regu-
lations and general conditions governing the performance of the Ombudsman' s duties; the arrange-
ments for the proceedings of the Conciliation Committee under Article 189b EC (1), and, in particular,
the part thereof concerning the regulations and general conditions governing the performance of the
Ombudsman's duties,

— having regard to its Decision 94/262/ECSC, EC, Euratom of 9 March 1994 on the regulations and
general conditions governing the performance of the Ombudsman's duties (2) and, in particular, Arti-
cle 3(8) thereof,

— having regard to Article 43 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union,

— having regard to Rule 112(1) and Rule 195(2) of its Rules of Procedure,

— having regard to the report of the Committee on Petitions (A6-0030/2004),

A. whereas the Charter of Fundamental Rights forms part of the Treaty establishing a Constitution for
Europe, which was signed by the Heads of State or Government and Ministers of Foreign Affairs of
the 25 Member States of the European Union in Rome on 29 October 2004,

B. whereas Article 41 (Right to good administration) in Chapter V (Citizens' Rights) of the Charter pro-
vides that every person has the right to have his or her affairs handled impartially, fairly and within a
reasonable time by the institutions and bodies of the Union,

C. whereas Article 42 (Right of access to documents) provides that every citizen of the Union and every
natural or legal person residing or having its registered office in a Member State has a right of access to
European Parliament, Council and Commission documents,

D. whereas Article 43 (Ombudsman) of the Charter provides: ‘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 maladministration 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’,

E. whereas the Ombudsman's Annual Report was formally presented to the President of the European
Parliament on 19 April 2004, and the Ombudsman, Mr Nikiforos Diamandouros, presented the report
to the Committee on Petitions on 26 April 2004,

F. whereas in 2003 there has once again been a substantial

increase in the number of complaints

addressed to the Ombudsman, and a further increase is expected following the recent enlargement,

G. whereas the number of complaints to the Ombudsman where citizens have had justified reason to seek
a remedy for lack of openness and transparency in the functioning of the European institutions is a
matter of concern with respect to the democratic accountability of the Union,

H. whereas the Annual Report cites examples of individual cases where no maladministration was found,
where European authorities have agreed to comply with the Ombudsman's recommendations once they
have been made aware of the complaint, or a friendly solution has been achieved, but also highlights a
number of complaints which the Ombudsman has had to close with a critical remark,

I. whereas the Ombudsman has also acted proactively by means of own-initiative enquiries,

J. whereas in its Resolution of 6 September 2001 on the European Ombudsman'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, the
European Parliament (3) expressed its unanimous support for the European Union Code of Good
Administrative Behaviour recommended by the Ombudsman; and whereas the Commission has not
adopted the Code,

(1) OJ C 329, 6.12.1993, p. 132.
(2) OJ L 113, 4.5.1994, p. 15.
(3) OJ C 72 E, 21.3.2002, p. 331.

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K. whereas the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe contains a legal basis for a future law on good

administration,

L. whereas, in a contribution submitted on 23 January 2003 to the Convention, the Ombudsman stated
that ‘replacing the Treaty by a Constitution, especially a Constitution that includes fundamental rights,
requires profound reflection on the role of the guardian of the Treaty’,

M. whereas the Ombudsman has emphasised already in his Decision on complaint 995/98/OV that, whilst
the Commission enjoys discretionary powers with respect to the opening of infringement procedures,
these are nevertheless ‘subject to legal limits … established by the case law of the Court of Justice,
which requires, for example, that administrative authorities should act consistently and in good faith,
avoid discrimination, comply with the principles of proportionality, equality and legitimate expectations
and respect human rights and fundamental freedoms’,

N. whereas as long ago as December 1999 the European Parliament received a request from the Ombuds-
man which aimed to amend the provisions of the Statute of the Ombudsman concerning his right of
access to documents and the hearing of witnesses; whereas, although the European Parliament recom-
mended amending these provisions, they have still not been amended due to reservations on the part of
the Commission and the Council,

O. Whereas the Ombudsman, regretting the negative views on the proposal, suggested in a letter of
17 December 2002 to the President of the European Parliament that the services of the Ombudsman
and the European Parliament jointly examine the question of the revision of the Ombudsman's Statute,

P. whereas the Annual Report shows the efforts made by the Ombudsman to continue developing the
network of national and regional Ombudsmen, with particular emphasis on the applicant countries,

Q. whereas the Annual Report notes that both the former Ombudsman, Mr J. Söderman, and the present
Ombudsman, Mr Nikiforos Diamandouros, have pressed for express recognition in the Constitution of
the role of ombudsmen and other non-judicial remedies,

Approves the Annual Report for 2003 submitted by the European Ombudsman, which provides a

1.
comprehensive overview of the activities conducted during the year and a description of cases processed;

2.
Congratulates the first European Ombudsman, Mr J. Söderman on the completion of his successful
and challenging term of office on 31 March 2003; during his seven and a half years in office he fully
consolidated the foundations of the Institution and helped over 11 000 citizens find redress;

3.
Commends the efforts of Mr Nikiforos Diamandouros who, since taking office in April 2003, has
successfully pursued the objectives of enhancing the effectiveness of the European Ombudsman's Office
and promoting good public administration, respect for the rule of law and respect for human rights;

4.
Regards the role of the Ombudsman in enhancing openness and accountability in the decision-making
processes and administration of the European Union as an essential contribution towards a Union in which
decisions are truly taken ‘as openly as possible and as closely as possible to the citizen’, as required by
Article 1(2) of the Treaty of the European Union;

Recognises the Ombudsman's efforts in making his institution known to the public and informing

5.
citizens of their rights by means of distribution of materials, visits to the Member States and conferences;

6.
Notes that the Commission has responded positively to the Ombudsman's proposal that it should
systematically provide information to applicants for, and recipients of, grants and subsidies, about the possi-
bility of complaining about maladministration;

7.
Notes that there has been a substantial increase in the number of complaints, which highlights the
success achieved by the Ombudsman in making citizens who are in contact with EU institutions increasingly
aware of their rights in this respect;

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8.
Notes, however, that there is still a level of confusion amongst the public regarding the precise scope
of the Ombudsman's responsibility, since about 75 % of the complaints fall outside his mandate; but notes
with satisfaction that the Ombudsman tries in such cases to help the complainants by referring them to
other bodies, in particular the Committee on Petitions or national and local ombudsmen, while continuing
to stress the need for citizens to be kept properly informed through the various means mentioned above;

9.
Notes with satisfaction that in many cases European authorities have taken action to settle a complaint
once they are made aware of the problem concerned and that in other cases a friendly solution has been
achieved; continues to urge the relevant EU authorities to comply with the Ombudsman's draft recommen-
dations to remedy cases of maladministration following an inquiry and to follow up the Ombudsman's
further critical remarks in order to prevent similar cases of maladministration arising in the future;

10.
Notes with satisfaction that the Ombudsman has in four cases mediated successfully and achieved
friendly solutions, offering a positive outcome that satisfies both parties, and a further seven proposals for a
friendly solution were under consideration at the end of the year;

11.
Notes that, likewise in 2003, the Ombudsman presented a critical remark to institutions, in particular
to the Council, concerning complaints about difficulties in obtaining access to documents; recalls that the
Committee on Petitions dealt with this problem in a report concerning a complaint from the NGO ‘State-
watch’, and that the Council had in that context given its assurance that it would in future respect the rules
on access to documents;

12.
Calls on all EU institutions and bodies to fully implement Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 of the
European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2001 regarding public access to European Parliament,
Council and Commission documents (1) in a spirit of recognition that access to documents held by the
European institutions and bodies is a fundamental right pursuant to Article 42 of the Charter of Fundamen-
tal Rights and with the sincere objective of taking decisions as ‘openly as possible and as closely as possible
to the citizen’; stresses that the institutions and bodies of the EU should examine each request extremely
carefully and on a case by case basis before the provisions on derogations from the principle of free access
are possibly applied;

13. Welcomes the Ombudsman's decision on public access to the agendas and minutes of the Praesidium
following the end of the work of the European Convention; although Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 is not
applicable,
the principles of sound administration are
observed;

the Ombudsman is successfully ensuring that

Recalls its resolution of 14 March 2002 on the implementation of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 (2),
14.
in which it expresses its regret that the Commission continues to withhold the entire infringement pro-
cedure, including the correspondence between Commission and Member States, from parliamentary scru-
tiny, to the detriment of the effectiveness of Community law;

Supports the call

15.
No 1049/2001, especially in relation to access to legislative documents;

for the Commission to bring forward proposals to amend Regulation (EC)

16.
Notes that, likewise in 2003, there were a number of complaints concerning lack of openness and
transparency in the institutions' recruitment competitions, an area to which the Ombudsman has given high
priority over the years, since so many citizens come into contact with the institutions in the context of a
recruitment procedure; notes that some of these complaints have resulted in a critical remark from the
Ombudsman;

17.
Notes with satisfaction that the Council, after two complaints to the Ombudsman, decided to follow
the recommendation of the Ombudsman and give candidates in its recruitment competitions access to their
marked examination scripts, thus bringing it into line with the practice in the Parliament and the Commis-
sion;

(1) OJ L 145, 31.5.2001, p. 43.
(2) OJ C 47 E, 27.2.2003, p. 483.

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18.
Urges EPSO (European Communities Personnel Selection Office), the interinstitutional body that will
in future organise most of the recruitment competitions in the EU institutions, to respect the rules and
practices concerning openness and transparency in recruitment procedures that have been achieved over
the years, mainly thanks to complaints to the Ombudsman and the Ombudsman's recommendations;

19.
Notes that many complaints which have resulted in a critical remark from the Ombudsman concern
delays in answering correspondence, failure to answer or insufficient or discourteous answers; therefore
reminds the institutions and bodies that adequate and correct communication with citizens is in their own
interest;

20.
Notes with satisfaction that five own-initiative inquiries were launched during 2003, including one
on the integration of people with disabilities, to ensure that persons with disabilities are not discriminated
against in their relations with the European institutions, pursuant to Article 26 of the Charter of Fundamen-
tal Rights of the European Union;

21.
Recalls that Parliament adopted the above-mentioned resolution on a Code of Good Administrative
Behaviour for EU institutions and bodies, and that it has since then repeatedly insisted that this code be
applied by all institutions and bodies; regrets the failure by the Commission so far to fully adopt and apply
the Code;

22.
Recalls that on 25 September 2003 Mrs De Palacio, Vice-President of the Commission, when debat-
ing the Ombudsman's Annual Report for 2002 in plenary, referred to the fact that the draft Constitution for
Europe contained a legal basis for a future law on good administration, which should be compulsory for all
the institutions and bodies of the Union; agrees with the Ombudsman that the Commission should start
preparatory work aimed at the adoption of such a law;

23.
Invites the Ombudsman, pending the implementation of the law on good administration, to work
together with the Committee on Petitions in further developing, and ensuring implementation by the Com-
mission of the criteria for good administrative behaviour with respect to the infringement procedure estab-
lished in the Ombudsman's Decision on Complaint 995/98/OV;

24.
Is of the opinion that the Ombudsman should have unlimited access to documents in connexion
with his inquiries; notes that almost six years have elapsed since the Ombudsman proposed changes to
Article 3(2) of the Ombudsman's Statute concerning the Ombudsman's access to documents and his hearing
of witnesses, on which the European Parliament adopted a resolution on 6 September 2001 (1); regrets that
a qualified majority in the Council has not been able to give its approval to this resolution (2);

25.
Supports the need for a review of the Ombudsman's Statute, as adopted on 9 March 1994, in the
light of developments during the last decade, including the powers of investigation of the European Anti-
Fraud Office (OLAF) and the adoption of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001, as proposed by Mr Söderman in a
letter to President Pat Cox of 17 December 2002;

26.
Acknowledges the good working relationship between the Ombudsman's office and the Comittee on
Petitions, including a process of mutual transfer of cases where appropriate, which led to six complaints
being transferred directly to that Committee and a further 142 complainants being advised to submit peti-
tions;

Commends the setting up by the Ombudsman of a network of national and local ombudsmen and
27.
other bodies to whom complaints that fall outside the Ombudsman's mandate are transferred; is of the
opinion that it would be useful for the Committee on Petitions to have access to this network and to
establish a similar network of petitions committees in cooperation with the Ombudsman's office;

Encourages the Ombudsman to continue his efforts to establish, in cooperation with national and
28.
regional ombudsmen, a comprehensive and efficient system of non-judicial remedies for the benefit of
European citizens who consider that their rights under European law have been violated;

Instructs its President to forward this resolution, and the report of the Committee on Petitions, to the
29.
Council, the Commission, the European Ombudsman, the governments and parliaments of the Member
States and to the ombudsmen or equivalent bodies in the Member States.

(1) OJ C 72 E, 21.3.2002, p. 336.
(2) Council Note 14782/02 OMBUDS 29 of 26 November 2002.