Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2002-09-26-Speech-4-018"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20020926.1.4-018"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:spoken text |
"Madam President, the twin bodies of the Petitions Committee and the European Ombudsman form a key plank in bringing the European Union closer to its people. Much has been written about the democratic deficit and voter alienation in the European Union. As a directly elected representative of the people, I believe that we could go a long way to giving a more human face to the institutions of the European Union if we successfully promoted the work of these bodies to our constituents.
Much has been achieved over the past year through the close cooperation of the Ombudsman and the committee. I would like to offer Mr Söderman my fullest congratulations on an outstanding tenure of office. He came to Strasbourg with already considerable experience in defending citizens' rights in his own country. Indeed the notion of an ombudsman is originally a Nordic one. There is no doubt that in areas such as openness, transparency and creating a public service that really serves the people, the European Union has benefited greatly from the Nordic perspective.
Mr Söderman indicated to us some time ago that he would be stepping down early next year. He has done an outstanding job in establishing the role and function of the Ombudsman as the first person to hold this important post. Informing citizens about this important office naturally requires time and resources, and it is true that work remains to be done in increasing the profile of the European Ombudsman.
Whoever Mr Söderman's replacement might be, and we are all aware that the selection process is already under way, he will have a lot to live up to. Mr Söderman has been most assiduous in executing his brief on behalf of the citizens of Europe. He has not hesitated to tackle the European Union institutions head on at the highest level if he felt it right to overturn the decision resulting from bad administration.
I wish him well in his retirement and would like to assure him that if he is ever feeling depressed during the long, cold Finnish winters he would be most welcome to visit sunny Ireland."@en1
|
| lpv:spokenAs | |
| lpv:unclassifiedMetadata |
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples