Activities of Sylvie GUILLAUME related to 2020/2125(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
Activities of the European Ombudsman – annual report 2019 (debate)
Reports (1)
REPORT on the activities of the European Ombudsman – annual report 2019
Amendments (32)
Amendment 8 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas the European Ombudsman’s main priority is to ensure that citizens’ rights are fully upheld and that the right to good administration reflects the highest standards expected of the institutions, bodies, offices and agencies of the Union; whereas the Ombudsman plays a vital role in helping EU institutions become more open, effective and citizen-friendly with the aim of strengthening citizens’ confidence in the Union;
Amendment 12 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)
Recital C a (new)
Ca. whereas, according to the Eurobarometer survey conducted in June 2019, 44% of citizens trust the European Union and 46% do not; whereas it is essential for the institutions to be accountable so as to increase the level of satisfaction of European citizens;
Amendment 14 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C b (new)
Recital C b (new)
Amendment 15 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C c (new)
Recital C c (new)
Cc. whereas Article 24 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) provides that ‘every citizen of the Union may apply to the Ombudsman established in accordance with Article 228’;
Amendment 16 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C d (new)
Recital C d (new)
Cd. whereas Article 228 TFEU empowers the Ombudsman to conduct inquiries into maladministration in the activities of the Union institutions, bodies, offices, and agencies, with the exception of the Court of Justice of the European Union acting in its judicial role;
Amendment 17 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C e (new)
Recital C e (new)
Ce. whereas Article 41(1) of the Charter of Fundamental Rights states that ‘every person has the right to have his or her affairs handled impartially, fairly and within a reasonable time by the institutions, bodies, offices and agencies of the Union’;
Amendment 18 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C f (new)
Recital C f (new)
Cf. whereas Article 43 of the Charter provides that ‘any citizen of the Union and any natural or legal person residing or having its registered office in a Member State has the right to refer to the Ombudsman cases of maladministration in the activities of the institutions, bodies, offices or agencies of the Union, with the exception of the Court of Justice of the European Union acting in its judicial role’;
Amendment 19 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C g (new)
Recital C g (new)
Cg. whereas, according to the first European Ombudsman, ‘maladministration occurs when a public body fails to act in accordance with a rule or principle which is binding upon it’[1]; whereas this requires the institutions, bodies, offices and agencies of the Union not only to respect their legal obligations but also to be service-minded and to ensure that members of the public are properly treated and fully enjoy their rights; whereas the notion of good administration should be understood as an on-going continuous improvement process1a; _________________ 1aThe European Ombudsman – Annual Report 1999 (2000/C260/01), OJ C 260, 11.9.2000, p. 1.
Amendment 20 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C h (new)
Recital C h (new)
Ch. whereas 19 619 citizens requested assistance from the Ombudsman in 2019, and 16 045 were given advice via the interactive guide on the Ombudsman’s website; whereas in 2019 the Ombudsman registered 2 201 complaints and received 1 373 requests for information;
Amendment 21 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C i (new)
Recital C i (new)
Ci. whereas, of the 2 201 complaints dealt with by the Ombudsman, 879 fell within and 1 330 outside her remit;
Amendment 22 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C j (new)
Recital C j (new)
Cj. whereas, out of 2 201 complaints, the Ombudsman provided advice to the complainant or passed the matter on in 862 cases, in 883 cases the complainant was informed that no additional advice could be provided, and 456 complaints gave rise to an inquiry;
Amendment 23 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C k (new)
Recital C k (new)
Amendment 24 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C l (new)
Recital C l (new)
Cl. whereas, of the inquiries closed by the Ombudsman, 26.9% concerned requests for information and access to documents, 22% the service culture, for example kindness towards citizens, languages and time limits, 19.8% the appropriate use of discretionary powers, including in infringement proceedings, and 13.2% respect for procedural rights, including the right to be heard, 13% the proper management of administrative and staff matters, 12.3% recruitment and 8.4% respect for fundamental rights;
Amendment 25 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C m (new)
Recital C m (new)
Cm. whereas the length of most of the inquiries closed by the Ombudsman in 2019 ranged between three (43.4%) and 18 months (10.2%); whereas the average length of time needed to close an inquiry was less than seven months;
Amendment 26 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C n (new)
Recital C n (new)
Cn. whereas, as part of her inquiries, the European Ombudsman is entitled to submit proposals to EU institutions and bodies on how to address a problem or improve their administrative practices; whereas these proposals take the form of solutions, recommendations and suggestions;
Amendment 27 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C o (new)
Recital C o (new)
Amendment 28 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C p (new)
Recital C p (new)
Cp. whereas in her strategic work in 2019 the Ombudsman opened four new strategic inquiries: on transparency in the preparatory bodies of the Eurogroup, on the ‘revolving doors’ in the Commission, on the treatment of persons with disabilities under the EU Joint Sickness Insurance Scheme and on the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and the ‘activities prior to the submission’ of medicinal products with a view to their authorisation;
Amendment 29 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C q (new)
Recital C q (new)
Cq. whereas in 2019 the Ombudsman opened nine strategic initiatives, including on the effectiveness of the mechanisms put in place by the Member States for dealing with complaints relating to the Structural Funds, on the transparency of the Brexit negotiations, on the transparency of EU lobbying and the EU Transparency Register, on the EU procedure for food risk assessment, on the transparency of meetings between the President of the European Council and interest representatives, on the improvement of the European Citizens’ Initiative, on the integration of children with disabilities in the European Schools and on the right to leave of EU staff members who become parents through surrogacy;
Amendment 30 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D a (new)
Recital D a (new)
Da. whereas Article 19 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) provides that the parties ‘recognise the equal right of all persons with disabilities to live in the community, with choices equal to others, and shall take effective and appropriate measures to facilitate full enjoyment by persons with disabilities of this right and their full inclusion and participation in the community’;
Amendment 43 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Stresses the importance of the European institutions maintaining the highest possible level of transparency, in order to enable citizens to take an active part in decision-making and to strengthen their trust in and feeling of proximity to the institutions, while giving them a genuine capacity to hold the institutions accountable; stresses that such transparency must include citizens’ access to documents and information necessary to understand and follow debates;
Amendment 57 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Urges the Council to follow the European Ombudsman’s recommendations and to implement them as soon as possible; calls for the systematic identification of Member State governments which set out positions in the preparatory bodies;
Amendment 61 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7a. Urges Member States to be more diligent in meeting their obligation to cooperate with the Ombudsman;
Amendment 67 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Points out that for years transparency, and in particular access to documents, has been the main subject of complaints, and welcomes the fact that in connection with a number of inquiries the European Ombudsman has called for public access to be granted; deplores, however, the fact that the European Ombudsman’s recommendations are not always followed up and that OLAF’s report on the use of a loan granted to the German car manufacturer Volkswagen has still not been published; calls for EU legislation on access to documents (Regulation 1049/2001) to be updated in order to facilitate the European Ombudsman’s work; urges the Council to reopen its discussions on the basis of the position adopted by Parliament on 12 June 2013;
Amendment 68 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9a. Welcomes the more ambitious approach taken to the transparency of the bodies preparing meetings of the Eurogroup, which agreed, following a request from the Ombudsman, to publish the dates and draft agendas of Eurogroup meetings earlier than before, to provide more details in the letter summarising the meetings and to include more information on the Eurogroup website concerning its activities;
Amendment 74 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)
Paragraph 10 a (new)
10a. Notes the undertaking given by the Commission, following an inquiry by the Ombudsman, to publish the agendas and minutes of meetings of the ‘advisory bodies’ which influence EU policy- making and the comments made by the participants in the previous groups, and, for any future such group, to apply the same standards of transparency as those adopted by the groups of experts;
Amendment 79 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Notes that the Commission has committed itself to implementing many of the European Ombudsman’s proposals on the issue of ‘revolving doors’, and endorse, such as asking a person who switches to the private sector to provide additional information about the organisation they are joining and more details about the type of professional activity they are embarking on; strongly supports the Ombudsman’s other recommendations to the Commission to take a firmer approach to the issue of ‘revolving doors’;
Amendment 86 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Fully endorses the European Ombudsman’s confirmation of her finding that four instances of maladministration marred the appointment process of the most senior Commission official, and applauds the new Commission’s introduction in 2019 of a specific appointment procedure for its Secretary- General, which includes the publication of a vacancy notice and the inclusion of the appointment on the agenda of the weekly meeting of Commissioners, with sufficient time for it to be given proper consideration;
Amendment 89 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)
Paragraph 13 a (new)
13a. Notes that, following the own- initiative inquiry undertaken by the Ombudsman, the EMA introduced measures aimed at improving the independence and objectivity of the marketing authorisation process for medicinal products and increasing transparency in areas such as clinical trials; calls on the EMA to implement the Ombudsman’s new recommendations in order to ensure its independence and impartiality and avoid any conflict of interest;
Amendment 96 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 a (new)
Paragraph 17 a (new)
17a. Congratulates the Ombudsman for opening a necessary inquiry into the accessibility of online tools used by the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF), following a complaint by a person with a visual impairment;
Amendment 100 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 a (new)
Paragraph 19 a (new)
19a. Congratulates the Ombudsman on the inquiries opened in 2019 in which the following main topics could be identified: transparency in the EU institutions, transparency of lobbying activities, service culture, fundamental rights, ethical issues, citizens’ participation in EU decision-making, good management of staff issues and recruitment and sound financial management;
Amendment 102 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 b (new)
Paragraph 19 b (new)
19b. Notes that in 2019 the Ombudsman dealt with 1 300 complaints which did not fall within her mandate, mainly because they did not concern the activities of an EU institution or body; endorses the Ombudsman’s approach of replying to everyone seeking her assistance, explaining her mandate to them and providing advice, and redirecting them, as far as possible, to other bodies which may be able to help them, and encourages her to continue to do so;
Amendment 114 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22 a (new)
Paragraph 22 a (new)
22a. Endorses the efforts of the EU institutions to follow the Ombudsman’s recommendations (77 %) and encourages them to continue in this direction; remains concerned at the persistent rate of non-compliance (23%); is aware that the Ombudsman’s suggestions are not legally binding; urges the institutions, bodies and agencies to react promptly, effectively and responsibly to the Ombudsman’s recommendations and critical remarks;