Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-10-27-Speech-4-013"
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".
Mr President, I thank Mr Diamandouros for the cooperation which we enjoyed throughout the preparation and drafting of this report. My sincere thanks also to the Committee on Petitions, Mr Libicki, all my colleagues here today, Sir Robert Atkins and everyone else who helped with this report.
The finding that 69% of complaints were against the Commission is particularly interesting. For its part, the European Commission should examine the complaints which concern infringements within a reasonable time, in order to ensure that citizens' complaints are examined immediately and effectively.
Finally, a reference point for the preparation of my report was also last year's De Rossa report on the European Ombudsman's 2003 report. Comparing the Ombudsman's 2003 and 2004 reports, the result was positive and guides us to focus on the points of particular interest to the Committee on Petitions. In addition, in this way we can see the material progress made within a year.
To close, I should like to thank all of you and the secretariat of the Committee on Petitions, of course, and all my honourable friends who helped with their amendments in the drafting of this report.
Commissioner, Mr Diamandouros, ladies and gentlemen, the Ombudsman is an independent institution and a mechanism for controlling the administration of the European Union. The report presented to us by Mr Diamandouros at the meeting of the Committee on Petitions in Strasbourg constitutes a basic source for the drafting of the annual report by the European Parliament on the activities of the European Ombudsman.
It is a fact that complaints increased by 53% in 2004, compared with the previous year. Although it was assumed that enlargement would be the main cause for the increase in complaints to the European Ombudsman, only 51% of the increase was accounted for by the 10 new states. Nonetheless, the increase in complaints does not necessarily mean that there are more cases of maladministration by the institutions of the European Union; it means that the citizens are better informed about their rights. This is due mainly to the intense activity of the Ombudsman. His numerous visits to Member States and third countries, public lectures, press interviews and other meetings in 2004 helped to inform citizens about his role and about the right of citizens to complain. However, despite Mr Diamandouros's activity to inform the public, confusion continues to reign as regards the sectors of competence of the European Ombudsman. To be specific, in 2004, 74.8% of complaints received by the European Ombudsman fell outside his mandate. Consequently, as the European Parliament, we too must contribute to the clear differentiation of the competences of the Community institutions to which European citizens can take recourse in order to exercise their rights.
I also wish to comment on certain statistics in the Ombudsman's annual report. In 2004, 251 enquiries were closed, of which 4 were opened on his own initiative. Twelve friendly solutions were proposed, 36 cases resulted in critical remarks, including one to Parliament for failing to take adequate measures to promote fundamental compliance with smoking rules on its premises, 17 draft recommendations were prepared and one special report was submitted.
An important factor in the efficacy of the institution of the Ombudsman is his cooperation with the institutions of the European Union and the European Parliament in general. I would refer, by way of example, to the regular briefings and meetings between Mr Diamandouros and the Committee on Petitions and its chairman, and his meeting on 25 May 2005 with the College of Commissioners. The conclusions of this meeting emphasise the genuine community of interests between the Commission and the European Ombudsman in ensuring that both the corrective and the interventionist aspect of the Ombudsman's job are carried out successfully.
It is a fact that most complaints concern cases of maladministration. A case of maladministration, in accordance with the Ombudsman's 1997 annual report, occurs when a public body fails to act in accordance with the rule or principle which is binding upon it. 22% of cases of maladministration were based on lack of transparency and refusal of information, 19% were based on discrimination and 12% were based on avoidable delay. In addition, 9% concerned unsatisfactory procedures, 7% unfairness or abuse of power, 6% negligence and 5% legal error.
Bearing these statistics in mind, therefore, the Ombudsman should define the concept of maladministration with reference both to the institutions and bodies to which it applies and to matters which may be the subject of complaints.
Mr President, Mrs Wallstöm, I should also like to point out, as I mention in my report, that it would be most helpful for the Ombudsman to be present in the Committee of Petitions of the European Parliament in order to discuss all forms of refusal on the part of the institution or to organise a friendly solution. The Ombudsman's annual report also demonstrates, among other things, the efforts being made by the Ombudsman to extend and energise the network of national and regional ombudsmen by developing exchanges of information and best practices.
Participation by the European Parliament's Committee on Petitions in this network could facilitate practical cooperation between the European institutions and national and regional ombudsmen and would allow regular contacts with the committees on petitions of the national parliaments and with the ombudsmen of the Member States to be increased."@en1
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