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Home | Citizen’s Rights | Request to the European Ombudsman | Description

Request to the European Ombudsman

Legal Basis: Article 228 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Parliament (former 195 TEC).

Year this role was established:This post was created by the TEU and established in 1995.

Number of Complaints:: in 2011 the Ombudsman received 2510 complaints and 1 284 information requests. 18 274 advises were given through the Interactive Guide on the Ombudsman’s website.

Some statistics:in 2011 61% of the complaints were submitted via internet. 396 inquires were opened and 318 completed. 58% of the inquiries concerned the European Commission, 11% the EPSO and 4% the European Parliament. The main types of alleged maladministration which the Ombudsman investigated in 2011 concerned lawfulness of inquiries), requests for information (16.2%), fairness (13.6%), stating the grounds of decisions and the possibilities of appeal (8.1%), reasonable time limits for taking decisions (7.3%), requests for public access to documents (7.1%), absence of discrimination (6.8%), as well as replying to letters in the language of citizens and indicating the competent official (5.8%).

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Do you believe a European Authority or Institution has failed to act in accordance with proper administrative procedures? Have you previously notified the relevant authority, but continue to be dissatisfied? Then you should submit a complaint to the European Ombudsman.
   

Making a complaint to the European Ombudsman is straightforward, but you must make sure to do it within two years from date of facts. You can make your complaint by either writing a letter or completing an electronic form which is available on the Ombudsman’s website. Your complaint will then be assessed and if the Ombudsman finds that it within his competence, he will forward his opinion and recommendation to the institution concerned.

Although the Ombudsman’s remit is limited to investigating complaints of the EU institutions and his recommendations are not binding, his role is very effective. A good working relationship has developed between the European Institutions and the Ombudsman, meaning a compromise is generally found.

At citizenshouse.eu we recommend this course of action. The process is fast, generally results in a satisfactory reply and enhances the overall administrative process of the European Institutions.

The most typical complaint to the European Ombudsman concerns access to documents but other frequent complaints concern European documents being unavailable in all the official languages of the EU or the institutions failing to comply with time limits provided in the treaties.
The Ombudsman can only issue recommendations, but these are very powerful!


Remember: you have to contact the Ombudsman within two years from the facts!