Strasbourg, 19/06/2001 (Agence Europe) - The European Ombudsman, Jacob Söderman, decided to open an investigation into the possible existence of racism in the recruitment of personnel by the Community institutions. He called on the European Commission to provide him, before 31 October 2001, with statistics on the proportion of European citizens from ethic minorities and on those of civil servants and other agents of the European Communities from an ethnic minority.
This investigation follows on from a compliant filed last 16 May by a Dutch citizen, who noted that, though more than 30 million people from an ethnic minority live in the European Union, a tiny minority of these persons work within the EU institutions. In a Communiqué, the Ombudsman recalls that the failure to respect by a Community institution or body of the rights contained within the Charter of Fundamental Rights may constitute a case of mismanagement. The combined reading of Articles 15 and 21 of the Charter ban any form of discrimination, notably based on race, colour and ethnic origin, in access to work.