Type: Acts of the European Union: European Parliament on the annual report on the activities of the European Ombudsman 2011

Authority: European Authorities - European Union: European Parliament

Date: 10/26/2012

Subject: The European Parliament notes the fact that in recent years the total number of complaints submitted to the Ombudsman has gradually decreased, in particular the number of complaints falling outside his mandate; the Parliament is following this phenomenon with interest in order to assess whether there is a direct link between this decrease and the introduction of the interactive guide, which has been available on his website since January 2009; it highlights the fact that, despite some progress in recent years, the proportion of processed complaints which actually fell within the Ombudsman's remit in 2011 was once again relatively low (approximately 27 %), and that consideration should therefore be given to more comprehensive and proactive public awareness-raising – particularly in close cooperation with national and regional ombudsmen, Parliament and the Commission – about the Ombudsman's sphere of responsibility; moreover it notes that the main types of alleged maladministration investigated by the Ombudsman in 2011 concerned issues of lawfulness (28 % of inquiries), requests for information (16,2 %), fairness (13,6 %), grounds for decisions and possibilities for appeal (8,1 %), reasonable time limits for taking decisions (7,3 %), requests for public access to documents (7,1 %), absence of discrimination (86,8 %) and the obligation to reply to letters in the language of citizens and to indicate the competent official (5,8 %); finally it commends the Ombudsman for having published and distributed to staff in all EU institutions, bodies, offices and agencies The European Ombudsman's Guide to complaints, with a view to encouraging the EU administration to improve its performance by deepening its commitment to the principles of a culture of service to citizens.

Classification: Citizens’ rights - Art. 41 Right to good administration by the bodies of the union - Art. 43 Ombudsman of the union

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