Brussels, 28/04/2009 (Agence Europe) - European Ombudsman Nikiforos Diamandouros presented his 2008 annual report in Brussels on 27 April. “An accountable and transparent EU administration is key to building citizens' trust in the EU. I therefore call on the European Commission to amend its proposals to reform the legislation on public access to documents in order to give the widest possible access to citizens and other stakeholders,” he said. The lack of transparency in the EU administration was the most common complaint investigated. Other types of alleged maladministration concerned late payments for EU projects, unfairness, abuse of power and discrimination. The Ombudsman received 3,406 complaints from EU citizens, companies, NGOs and associations in 2008, and he was able to help complainants in 80% of these cases. The number of cases from companies, associations, NGOs, regional offices and other organisations rose in 2008. “I am working hard to reach out to stakeholders who are in contact with the EU administration, for example, in the framework of EU projects. I am happy to see that they increasingly use my services to help solve problems they encounter,” the Ombudsman said.
Most of the inquiries in 2008 concerned the European Commission (66%), followed by the European Parliament, the European Personnel Selection Office, the Council and OLAF. The greatest number of complaints (16%) came from Germany, followed by Spain (10%), Poland (8%) and France (7%). Relative to the size of their population, most complaints came from Malta, Luxembourg, Cyprus and Belgium.
The Ombudsman was pleased to note that 36% of all investigations either were settled by the institution complained against or were resolved amicably. (H.D./transl.rt)