European Parliament resolution on the annual report on the European Ombudsman's activities in 2005 (2006/2117(INI))
Date: 2006-11-16
Institutions: Committee on Petitions, European Parliament
Subjects: European Ombudsman, activity report

21.12.2006

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(bm)

a European Anti-Trafficking Network consisting of contact points designated by each Member State
including governmental and non-governmental agencies and covering
and by the Commission,
prevention, victims' assistance,
law enforcement and police and judicial cooperation, should be
established,

(bn)

(bo)

(bp)

(bq)

the Commission and the German government should collect and analyse information gained in rela-
tion to forced prostitution and other forms of exploitation related to trafficking in human beings
during the 2006 Football World Cup and share these experiences with a view to developing best
practices for future events,

the Commission should address the problem of child trafficking in the sports sector in the context of
Framework Decision 2002/629/JHA, paying particular attention to cases where some clubs might
consider giving contracts to very young children in order to circumvent the home-grown players rule,

calls on the Member States to consult and work closely with NGOs and associations which are active
in this field in countries of origin, transit or destination, especially by providing long-term financing
for their activities,

the Council and the Member States should encourage cooperation with NGOs working in the coun-
tries of origin, which should aim to collect data, implement activities, train social workers, and work
with the mass media in order to raise public awareness of human trafficking,

2.
Instructs its President to forward this recommendation to Council and,
Commission and the governments of the Member States and accession countries.

for information, to the

P6_TA(2006)0499

Ombudsman's 2005 annual report

European Parliament resolution on the annual report on the European Ombudsman's activities in
2005 (2006/2117(INI))

The European Parliament,

— having regard to the annual report on the European Ombudsman's activities in 2005,

— having regard to Article 195 of the EC Treaty,

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

— having regard to Decision 94/262/ECSC, EC, Euratom of the European Parliament of 9 March 1994 on
the regulations and general conditions governing the performance of the Ombudsman's duties (1),

— having regard to the Commission communication of 5 October 2005 on ‘Empowerment to adopt and
transmit communications to the European Ombudsman and authorise civil servants to appear before
the European Ombudsman’ (SEC(2005)1227),

— having regard to its previous resolutions on the European Ombudsman's activities, in particular, its
resolution of 4 April 2006 on the special report from the European Ombudsman following the draft
recommendation to the Council of the European Union in complaint 2395/2003/GG concerning the
openness of the meetings of the Council when acting in its legislative capacity (2),

— having regard to Rule 195(2), second and third sentences, of its Rules of Procedure,

— having regard to the report of the Committee on Petitions (A6-0309/2006),

(1) OJ L 113, 4.5.1994, p. 15. Decision amended by Decision 2002/262/EC, ECSC, Euratom (OJ L 92, 9.4.2002, p. 13).
(2) Texts Adopted, P6_TA(2006)0121.

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A. whereas the annual report on the European Ombudsman's activities in 2005 was formally submitted to
the President of Parliament on 13 March 2006 and the Ombudsman, Nikiforos Diamandouros, pre-
sented his report on 3 May 2006 to its Committee on Petitions,

B. whereas the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union was proclaimed at the Nice Euro-
pean Council on 7 December 2000 and whereas the political will exists to give it binding force in law,

C. whereas Article 41 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights provides 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’,

D. whereas Article 195 of the EC Treaty and Article 43 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights provide that
‘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 it is essential that the Community institutions and bodies be equipped with the necessary
budgetary resources in order to fulfil their obligations to ensure that citizens receive prompt and sub-
stantive responses to their enquiries, complaints and petitions,

F. whereas the Ombudsman has advocated that all Community institutions and bodies pursue a common
approach with regard to the Code of Good Administrative Behaviour and its resolution of 6 September
2001 (1) thereon,

G. whereas 2005 saw the highest number of complaints to the European Ombudsman received so far (2),
and whereas in 2005 the Ombudsman provided effective assistance in over 75 % of all cases referred to
him, including inadmissible complaints, either by opening an inquiry into the case, transferring it to a
competent body, or giving advice on where to turn for a prompt and effective solution to the problem;

H. whereas, however, almost 70 % of all complaints received still fall outside the terms of reference of the
Ombudsman and, in 93,7 % of cases, this is due to the fact that, in terms of content, they do not fall
within those terms of reference since they are not directed against a Community institution or a Com-
munity body,

I. whereas the activities of the Ombudsman and its Committee on Petitions may overlap, in particular,
where the Ombudsman is examining whether the conduct by the Commission of infringement pro-
ceedings against a Member States has complied with general principles of EC law and good administra-
tion, and its Committee on Petitions, at the same time, is examining petitions that allege infringements
of Community law by that Member State on the same subject,

J. whereas in 2005 the Ombudsman dealt with a total of 627 inquiries; and whereas the findings of the
completed inquiries show that in 114 cases no maladministration could be ascertained; whereas
89 cases were settled by the institution or body itself following a complaint to the Ombudsman and
22 friendly solutions were proposed;

K. whereas the Ombudsman's inquiries often produce positive results for complainants and help to
improve the quality of administration through the adoption and implementation of suitable measures
by the institutions and bodies concerned,

L. whereas the Ombudsman submitted to Parliament three special reports in 2005; whereas submitting a
special report to Parliament represents a valuable means by which the Ombudsman can seek the pol-
itical support of Parliament and its Committee on Petitions in order to bring satisfaction to citizens
whose rights have been infringed, and promotes the improvement of standards of European adminis-
tration,

M. whereas the largest number of inquiries into complaints concerned alleged lack of transparency; and

whereas this is a matter of concern with respect to the democratic accountability of the Union;

(1) OJ C 72 E, 21.3.2002, p. 331.
(2) A total of 3 920 or an increase of 5 % over the previous year. However, 335 concerned the same subject and were

dealt with in a single joint inquiry.

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N. whereas 68 % of the Ombudsman's inquiries concerned the Commission; whereas the Commission
adopted new internal procedures on 4 October 2005 for responding to the Ombudsman's inquiries,

O. whereas in 2005 the Ombudsman continued to build constructive working relations with other Com-
munity institutions and bodies through meetings and joint events; whereas in 2005 the Ombudsman
continued to extend and energise the European Network of Ombudsmen by developing information
exchanges and the sharing of best practice; whereas its Committee on Petitions participates in this
Network;

P. whereas in 2005, the institution of

the Ombudsman marked its tenth anniversary; whereas the
Ombudsman's communication activities on the occasion of that anniversary had the objective of raising
citizens' awareness of their rights and of how to exercise those rights and of the terms of reference of
the Ombudsman,

1.
Considers that the Ombudsman has continued successfully to pursue the objectives of enhancing the
effectiveness of his institution towards promoting good administration and respect for the rule of law and
human rights;

2.
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 taken ‘as openly as possible and as closely as possible to the citizen’, as provided for by
Article 1(2) of the Treaty on European Union;

3. Would welcome a tightening up of internal parliamentary procedures in order to guarantee in future
swifter processing of the Ombudsman's annual report by its Committee on Petitions;

4.
Calls upon all Community institutions and bodies to be equipped with the necessary budgetary
resources in order to ensure that citizens receive prompt and substantive responses to their enquiries,
complaints and petitions;

5.
Repeats its call as expressed in previous resolutions for all Community institutions and bodies to adopt
a common approach with regard to a Code of Good Administrative Behaviour on the basis of its above-
mentioned resolution of 6 September 2001;

6.
Agrees with the Ombudsman that the manner and method by which an administration responds to
legitimate complaints are the yardstick for the degree of proximity to the citizen of the institutions and
bodies and that there is still much room for improvement;

7. Welcomes the fact that, even in cases where no maladministration could be ascertained, the complai-
nants were provided with assistance and the inquiry was at the same time used as an opportunity to
improve the quality of administration;

8.
Declares its satisfaction with the public profile of the Ombudsman, whose aim is to provide the public
with information, and considers that information of quality may help to reduce the number of complaints
which do not fall within the Ombudsman's terms of reference; at the same time, calls on the Ombudsman
to forward immediately those complaints which do not fall within his terms of reference by way of the most
appropriate network, from the subsidiarity point of view, at national and local level;

9. Welcomes the generally constructive cooperation between the Ombudsman and the Community insti-
tutions and bodies and endorses him in his role of external control mechanism and,
in addition, as a
valuable source of ongoing improvement to European administration;

10.
Notes that the Ombudsman has submitted three special reports, two of which have already been
considered by Parliament, while consideration of the remaining report can now commence on the conclu-
sion of judicial procedures;

11.
Is convinced that the necessary adaptation of the Ombudsman's Statute of 9 March 1994, as already
called for in its Committee on Petitions' last report on the Ombudsman's annual report for 2004, should be
carried out as soon as possible; welcomes the Ombudsman's submission to the President of Parliament of a
substantive proposal for such adaptation on 11 July 2006;

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12.

Appreciates the Ombudsman's good cooperation with its Committee on Petitions;

13.
Stresses the need, however, for a clear definition and demarcation of the role of the European
Ombudsman vis-à-vis the role of its Committee on Petitions and urges the Ombudsman to continue to
remain within his terms of reference when seeking to assist citizens;

14.
Considers, nevertheless, that when the Ombudsman and its Committee on Petitions, acting within
their respective mandates and competences, investigate overlapping issues, such as, respectively, the manner
in which the Commission has conducted infringement proceedings and the alleged infringement itself, they
can achieve useful synergy through close cooperation;

Calls on the European Ombudsman to exercise ex officio his powers of scrutiny with a view to
15.
ensuring transparency and the proper functioning of all recruitment procedures, whether carried out
through the European Personnel Selection Office (EPSO) or directly through a European body, including
the Ombudsman's own personnel service;

16. Welcomes the special report on the openness of meetings of the Council when acting in its legisla-
tive capacity and calls on the Council to comply with its abovementioned resolution of 4 April 2006 and,
in future, for all the meetings in which it acts in its legislative capacity to be open and accessible to the
public;

17.
Calls on future Council presidencies, as part of the efforts to boost transparency, to do their best to
provide Internet pages in all the official languages of the EU (in accordance with Annex I to the conclusions
of the European Council meeting in Brussels on 15-16 June 2006) in order to allow and facilitate access to
its activities for as many citizens as possible;

18.
Proposes also, as part of the efforts to achieve greater proximity to the citizen, that the entry portal
http://europa.eu be established as the uniform entry page for all Community institutions in order to ensure
a better overview for citizens of institutional arrangements, allocation of responsibilities and decision-mak-
ing procedures within the European Union through as clear and simple a structure as possible and to avoid
unnecessary confusion from sites existing in parallel;

19. Welcomes the introduction of new internal procedures at the Commission as the main body con-
cerned with answering inquiries from the Ombudsman, whereby individual Commissioners assume sponsor-
ship for a specific case, and calls on the Commission to introduce this kind of procedure for the processing
of petitions as well;

20. Welcomes the European Network of Ombudsmen and the collaboration between the European
Ombudsman and ombudsmen and similar bodies at national, regional and local levels in the Member States
and urges further strengthening of the exchange of best practice;

Calls on the Ombudsman to inform its Committee on Petitions at regular intervals about his activ-

21.
ities in the Member States and his contacts with the national Ombudsmen;

22. Welcomes,
in particular, the special written procedure whereby national or regional ombudsmen
receive written answers to queries about Community law and its interpretation via the European Ombuds-
man as a valuable contribution towards better transposition and application of Community law;

23.
Encourages the European Ombudsman to continue to place great emphasis on events involving
citizens and, hence, potential complainants, since clearly the demarcation of responsibilities and decision-
making processes between the European, national and regional levels are still too hard to grasp for many
citizens and businesses;

24.
Acknowledges the efforts of the Ombudsman to enhance the citizens' awareness of their rights to
lodge a complaint with the Ombudsman; however, urges him in the light of the large number of complaints
falling outside his terms of reference to intensify his efforts to provide clear information about those terms
of reference on a more regular basis;

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25. Welcomes the increasing participation of the media in publicising the work of the Ombudsman;

26.
Approves the annual report for 2005 presented by the European Ombudsman and appreciates, in
particular, the detailed breakdown of complaints by procedure adopted, nature of alleged maladministration,
institution concerned, etc;

27.
Instructs its President to forward this resolution and the report of its Committee on Petitions to the
Council, the Commission, the European Ombudsman, the governments and parliaments of the Member
States and their ombudsmen or similar competent bodies.

P6_TA(2006)0500

European communication policy

European Parliament resolution on the White Paper on a European communication policy
(2006/2087(INI))

The European Parliament,

— having regard to the communication from the Commission ‘White Paper on a European communica-

tion policy’ (COM(2006)0035),

— having regard to Part II of the EC Treaty,

— having regard to Articles 195, 211 and 308 of the EC Treaty,

— having regard to Articles 11, 41, 42 and 44 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European

Union,

— having regard to 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),

— having regard to the communication to the Commission entitled ‘Action Plan to improve communicat-

ing Europe by the Commission’ (SEC(2005)0985),

— having regard to the communication from the Commission entitled ‘The Commission's contribution to
the period of reflection and beyond: Plan-D for Democracy, Dialogue and Debate’ (COM(2005)0494),

— having regard to its resolution of 13 March 2002 on the Commission communication on a new
framework for cooperation on activities concerning the information and communication policy of the
European Union (2),

— having regard to its resolution of 10 April 2003 on an information and communication strategy for

the European Union (3),

— having regard to its resolution of 12 May 2005 on the implementation of the European Union's infor-

mation and communication strategy (4),

— having regard to Rule 45 of its Rules of Procedure,

— having regard to the report of the Committee on Culture and Education and the opinions of the
Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs and the Committee on Constitutional Affairs
(A6-0365/2006),

(1) OJ L 145, 31.5.2001, p. 43.
(2) OJ C 47 E, 27.2.2003, p. 400.
(3) OJ C 64 E, 12.3.2004, p. 591.
(4) OJ C 92 E, 20.4.2006, p. 403.