Strasbourg, 03/07/2013 (Agence Europe) - The current ombudsman in Ireland will take over the post of European ombudsman from Nikiforos Diamandouros from Greece on 1 October.
In a secret ballot in Strasbourg on Wednesday 3 July, the European Parliament appointed - 359 votes in her favour - Emily O'Reilly from Ireland to the post of European ombudsman. Elected in the third round of voting against Ria Oomen Ruijten (EPP, Netherlands), O'Reilly was initially up against six candidates for the post, including two other MEPs - Dagmar Roth-Behrendt (S&D, Germany) and Francesco Speroni (EFD, Italy). A former political journalist and currently ombudsman in Ireland since 2003, O'Reilly will be the first woman in this post - a post which was created in 1995. Speaking to press, O'Reilly mentioned her intention to show authority, respect and efficiency so as to ensure that the action of the European institutions is up to the high values written into the EU's charter of fundamental rights.
The European ombudsman is responsible for investigating complaints from citizens about maladministration of the EU institutions. Over the last six years, the European ombudsman has handled over 30,000 complaints and opened nearly 3,500 investigations into allegations of maladministration. (EH/transl.fl)