The main way in which the European Ombudsman tries to resolve the case is by proposing a solution,[15] that is, a solution that both the complainant and the institution concerned would be willing to accept. While the Ombudsman can seek to encourage the EU administration to approach the right of access to documents in the most far-reaching and citizen-friendly manner possible, it is clear that the EU legislators could also reflect on the need to update Regulation 1049/2001. The European Ombudsman is an independent and impartial body that holds the EU's institutions and agencies to account, and promotes good administration. Citizens also require information on the topics under discussion during trilogues to be able to participate effectively in the legislative process. Footnote 101 In the European Ombudsman's words, 'independence is vital to my credibility as an Ombudsman'. - Public service principles for the EU civil service, Thank you in advance for your kind help and advice, The Ombudsman disagreed: In summary, she found that more openness would actually strengthen the decision-making process rather than weakening it. For instance, in 2014, the European Ombudsman published, after a formal inquiry, a final decision stating that the Commission's refusal to publish online details of all meetings which its services and its staff have with the tobacco industry constituted maladministration. The Ombudsman conducts an independent review of the institutions decision, in most cases after having inspected the documents in question. European Ombudsman can conduct inquiries following a complaint received and conduct inquiries on its own initiative. https://data.consilium.europa.eu/doc/document/ST-9493-2020-INIT/en/pdf. The recent Ombudsman inquiries concerning access to text and instant messages are a case in point. She therefore issued a recommendation that the Commission review the documents it holds containing this information with a view to disclosing them. The notion of a document is not the same that it was in 2001 and, as mentioned above, digitalisation has brought along new means of communication and different ways of recording, managing and storing information. To judge by the number of requests for materials and interviews that the office receives, particularly from students, academic lawyers are well aware of the existence of the European Ombudsman. 615/2021/TE https://www.ombudsman.europa.eu/en/case/en/59077. 17(1) of Regulation 1049/2001. 1219/2020/MIG https://www.ombudsman.europa.eu/en/case/en/57432. [5] O'Reilly was also a broadcaster on Raidi Teilifs ireann (RT) and Today FM. On 16 December 2014, Emily O'Reilly was re-elected as European Ombudsman by the European Parliament for a 5-year term. Figure 2. [3], It is a right of an EU citizen, according to the EU treaties, to take a case to the Ombudsman. The compliance rate of the European Commission was the same as the overall figure of 82%, while the European Personnel Selection Office (EPSO) scored 69%. Relative to population, however, the greatest proportion of complaints came from Luxembourg and Cyprus. The lack of transparency in the Councils work can be seen as one of the drivers of a blame Brussels culture, in which governments often take the credit for popular EU decisions, but blame the EU for unpopular decisions which they themselves agreed to as part of the EU. The Ombudsman opened 370 inquiries in 2020 (compared to 458 inquiries in 2019) of which 210 for the Commission (compared to 274 in 2019). The Commission did not accept this solution proposal. Recommendations: On a total of 25, 13 concerned the Commission and the Commission responded in a satisfactory manner to 3. http://en.wikimediation.org/index.php?title=European_Ombudsman. Making the legislative process more transparent is an important way to strengthen public trust in the EU and its institutions. The Ombudsman welcomed this and encouraged the EBA to do so proactively in future. The European Ombudsman is an independent and impartial body that holds the EUs institutions and bodies to account, as well as promoting good administration. Where the Ombudsman finds maladministration, she refers it to the institution concerned and, where necessary, submits draft recommendations to which the institution must reply within 3 months. If an institution has rejected a request fully or partially, or if it has failed to reply within the deadlines foreseen in Regulation 1049/2001,Footnote 6 applicants can turn to the European Ombudsman.Footnote 7 They can argue that the exceptions invoked do not apply or that there is an overriding public interest in the document(s) being disclosed. The current Ombudsman, Emily O'Reilly, took office on 1 October 2013. Cases could concern administrative irregularities, discrimination, abuse of power, or failure to act. The first European Ombudsman, JacobSderman, took office on 1 September 1995, following two decades of debate over the creation of such an EU body. For that, special attention is given to interest groups and their engagement and influence in EU institutions. The European Ombudsman investigates complaints about poor or maladministration by EU institutions or other EU bodies. The Ombudsman's suggestions and recommendations help maintain high . Indeed, according to well-established standards, independence is one of the prerequisites for the attribution of the 'ombudsman' title. The Council ended up agreeing to the European Ombudsman consideration and drew guidance for Member States indicating that they would no longer accept sponsorship in the context of their presidencies. In her decision, the Ombudsman set out the view that text and instant messages are covered by the rules on public access to documents, but also recognised that access could be provided only if the institution had retained text and instant messages, which had not been the case here. Committee on Budgetary Control of the Parliament, Economic and Financial Affairs configuration of the Council, Agencies, decentralised independent bodies and joint undertakings, European Institute of Innovation and Technology, Publications Office of the European Union, Post-Brexit United Kingdom relations with the European Union, Article 228 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU, European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, Association for Financial Markets in Europe, European Securities and Markets Authority, "The EU's 'invisible man' who has power over all our lives", "Report on responses to proposals for friendly solutions and draft recommendationsHow the EU institutions complied with the Ombudsman's suggestions in 2011", "Part Two: Non-Discrimination and Citizenship of the Union", "Decision concerning the European Commission's compliance with the Tobacco Control Convention (852/2014/LP)", "Looking Back the Impact of the European Ombudsman in 2020", "The European Ombudsman in the Framework of the European Union", "Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2021/1163 of the European Parliament of 24 June 2021 laying down the regulations and general conditions governing the performance of the Ombudsman's duties (Statute of the European Ombudsman) and repealing Decision 94/262/ECSC, EC, Euratom", "Putting it Right? While most EU institutions, bodies, offices and agencies apply Regulation 1049/2001, some, such as the European Central Bank, have their own internal rules, which may include different exceptions. ERA Forum 23, 253266 (2022). Toggle Main subjects of action subsection, Toggle Effectiveness, impact, and achievements subsection, Transparency in the right of accessing EU documents, Advice, complaints, and inquiries throughout the years, European Ombudsman's responsiveness to complaints, Cooperation and acceptance by EU institutions. For the principle on the widest possible public access, see Joint Cases C-39/05 P and C-52/05 P Sweden and Turco v. Council, EU:C:2008:374, para. The Ombudsman helps people, businesses and organisations facing problems with the EU administration by investigating complaints, as well as by proactively looking into broader systemic issues. The study uses the qualitative research method based on document analysis. https://www.ombudsman.europa.eu/en/document/en/138509. European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority board of supervisors, The Ombudsman looked into the question of public access to documents related to decisions taken by the board of supervisors of the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA).Footnote 23. The European Ombudsman investigates complaints about poor administration by EU institutions or other EU bodies. The Ombudsman issued a Special Report to the European Parliament in this case.Footnote 15 The Parliament endorsed the Ombudsmans findings. [21] It is active towards serving the wider public interest and one of its goals is to achieve tangible improvements for complainants and the public vis-a-vis the EU administration[22] On one hand, European Ombudsman is responsive towards complaints from individuals, companies and associations, replying to and resolving complaints related to administration problems in the EU institutions. Other 934, (representing 43,5%) received a response informing the complaint that all advice from European Ombudsman had already been provided. The Ombudsman stressed that there should be the widest possible, direct access to EU legislative documents.Footnote 14 She said that the Council should. However, the Ombudsmans role is also dependent on the overarching legislation and related case-law. 640/2019/TE https://www.ombudsman.europa.eu/en/case/en/54526. The Commission improved the appointment procedure as it had been suggested by the European Ombudsman, indicating a vacancy notice and a well-defined timeline in the procedure. She began her career as a journalist in the 1970s. 75% in 2019 of the European Ombudsmans proposals (proposals for a solution, suggestions for improvement and recommendations). The Ombudsmans assessment goes beyond that of a court, not only verifying the legality of institutions actions, but also verifying if they comply with the principles of good administration, which is a broader concept. The EBA agreed to implement the Ombudsman's recommendations. The Ombudsman can open an investigation on her own initiative or following a complaint, if an EU institution or body fails to respect: Any EU citizen, resident or enterprise or association in an EU Member State can lodge a complaint with the Ombudsman about maladministration. As both legislative documents and environmental information are subject to broader transparency,Footnote 21 she recommended that the Council should proactively publish documents related to the matter. In recent years, the Ombudsman conducted various inquiries into transparency issues in the Council. Report. In doing so, it invoked an exception provided for under the EUs rules on public access to documents, arguing that releasing these documents would seriously undermine its decision-making process and that there is no overriding public interest in disclosing the documents. In reply to the Ombudsmans recommendation, the Commission agreed to disclose significant additional information to the complainant. [11], O'Reilly was appointed European Ombudsman by the European Parliament in 2013, and re-appointed in 2014 and 2019. The guide puts an emphasis on proper record keeping, which is an important requirement for giving effect to the right of public access to documents, and proactive publication of documents. See as an example Case T-221/08, Strack v Commission, EU:T:2016:242, para. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) was founded in 1991 to create a new post-Cold War era in central and eastern Europe. Richard More OFerrall, Inquiries coordinator, European Ombudsman. The notion of an Ombudsman as a public Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative, The European Ombudsmans role in access to documents, https://doi.org/10.1007/s12027-022-00717-6, https://www.ombudsman.europa.eu/en/publication/en/3510, https://www.ombudsman.europa.eu/en/publication/en/156017, https://www.ombudsman.europa.eu/en/speech/en/142211, https://www.ombudsman.europa.eu/en/access-to-documents/fast-track, https://www.ombudsman.europa.eu/en/document/en/138509, https://www.ombudsman.europa.eu/en/decision/en/94896, https://data.consilium.europa.eu/doc/document/ST-9493-2020-INIT/en/pdf, https://www.europarl.europa.eu/thinktank/en/document/EPRS_BRI(2021)690614, https://www.ombudsman.europa.eu/en/decision/en/69206, https://www.ombudsman.europa.eu/en/case/en/54526, https://www.ombudsman.europa.eu/en/decision/en/122313, https://www.ombudsman.europa.eu/en/case/en/57775, https://www.ombudsman.europa.eu/en/case/en/59077, https://www.ombudsman.europa.eu/en/case/en/59322, https://www.ombudsman.europa.eu/en/case/en/57432, https://www.ombudsman.europa.eu/en/case/en/59777, https://www.ombudsman.europa.eu/en/case/en/59249, https://www.ombudsman.europa.eu/en/case/en/57742, https://www.ombudsman.europa.eu/en/doc/correspondence/en/149198.
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