On 27 May, Ombudsman announced that it has dealt with more than 30,000 complaints in the past ten years. Most of the investigations opened by the EU body concerned the European Commission (53 per cent) and the European Personnel selection office (17 per cent).
The European Ombudsman Nikiforos Diamandouros commented: “In the past ten years, the EU administration has become a lot more transparent, citizen-friendly, and service-minded. The independent and impartial work of the Ombudsman has hopefully contributed to this notable progress in the administrative culture of the EU civil service. As I never tire of saying, however, there is always room for improvement, especially when it comes to enhancing the capacity of the EU institutions and bodies to be proactive in promoting a culture of service towards citizens.”
Today Ombudsman published its Annual Report 2012. In the year 2012, 465 inquiries opened being up by 18 per cent compared with 2011. Moreover, the total number of complaints submitted to the office fell for the fourth consecutive year. According to the report, the decrease is a sign that the EU citizens are now better informed and they don’t complain to the Ombudsman for the wrong reasons. In 2012, most of the inquiries were completed in one-year time (69 per cent).
However, the number of maladministration cases rose in 2012. 56 cases were exposed by the EU body during the last year, being up from 47 in 2011.
In 2012, the Ombudsman received the greatest number of complaints from Spain (340), Germany (273), Poland (235), and Belgium (182). After analysis, approximately 1,500 complaints were referred to national or regional ombudsmen in the Member States, to the European Parliament's Petitions Committee, the European Commission, and to other problem-solving mechanisms, such as SOLVIT and Your Europe Advice.
