Brussels, 04/05/2007 (Agence Europe) - The European Ombudsman P. Nikiforos Diamandouros was sent 3,830 complaints from EU citizens, companies, NGOs and other associations in 2006. Presenting his annual report for 2006 in Brussels, the Ombudsman explained that the number of complaints was still at the record high reached in the past two years.
The Ombudsman has noted an increase in the number of criticisms he has had to make to the EU institutions in 2006. He said the change should be of concern to anyone wanting better relations between the EU and its citizens. The way the public administration reacts to complaints is a good indicator to measure the extent to which it is concerned about citizens, he said, along with how it is contributing to promoting a service culture. He announced a forthcoming study of how the EU administration reacted to the Ombudsman's criticisms. He said that the 2006 annual report highlighted for the first time cases of good practice by the EU institutions, including examples of institutions paying bills on times, paying interest on late payments, providing access to documents, rectifying injustices and ending discrimination.
A quarter of the investigations carried out in 2006 covered lack of transparency by the EU administration, including the refusal to provide information. Other types of alleged administrative malpractice include injustice, late payments for EU projects, abuse of power, discrimination and inappropriate procedures. In 2006 the European Ombudsman carried out a total of 582 investigations. The greatest number of complaints came from Spain (20%), followed by Germany (14%), France (9%) and Belgium (6%). In proportion to the size of their populations, the greatest number of complaints came from Luxembourg (which houses several EU institutions and bodies), Malta and Cyprus.
The full annual report will soon be available in the 23 official EU languages at: http: //http://www.ombudsman.europa.eu (oj)