Awaiting committee decision
2015/2231(INI) Report on the annual report on the activities of the European Ombudsman in 2014
Next event: Indicative plenary sitting date, 1st reading/single reading 2016/02/04
Lead committee dossier: PETI/8/04391
Legal Basis RoP 052
Next event: Indicative plenary sitting date, 1st reading/single reading 2016/02/04
Role | Committee | Rapporteur | Shadows |
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Lead | PETI | CABEZÓN RUIZ Soledad (S&D) | WAŁĘSA Jarosław (EPP), MARIAS Notis (ECR), WIKSTRÖM Cecilia (ALDE), VALLINA Ángela (GUE/NGL), AUKEN Margrete (Verts/ALE), EVI Eleonora (EFD) |
Legal Basis RoP 052
Subjects
Activites
-
2016/02/04
Indicative plenary sitting date, 1st reading/single reading
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2015/09/10
Committee referral announced in Parliament, 1st reading/single reading
Documents
Amendments | Dossier |
64 |
2015/2231(INI)
2015/11/10
PETI
64 amendments...
Amendment 1 #
Motion for a resolution Recital C a (new) Ca. whereas according to the Eurobarometer survey of May 2015, 40% of citizens trust the European Union and 46% do not; whereas the institutions’ ability to monitor one another is essential to improving the level of satisfaction among European citizens;
Amendment 10 #
Motion for a resolution Recital N N. whereas the institutions have been complying with 80
Amendment 11 #
Motion for a resolution Recital Na (new) Na. whereas the European Parliament’s Committee on Petitions, which received 2 714 petitions in 2014 alone, is an important cog in the institutional workings of the European Union, bringing Parliament closer to citizens; whereas a close relationship between the Ombudsman and the Committee on Petitions would improve the currently inadequate level of democratic oversight of the activity of the European institutions;
Amendment 12 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 2 – point 1 (new) (1) Welcomes the efforts made by the Ombudsman in 2014 of reorganising her office for greater efficiency;
Amendment 13 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 2 2. Congratulates Emily O’Reilly on her re- election as European Ombudsman and for her excellent work; supports her objective of assisting the EU institutions in their drive to provide the best possible service to the citizens and residents of Europe;
Amendment 14 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 3 3.
Amendment 15 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 3 3.
Amendment 16 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 3 3.
Amendment 17 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 3 a (new) 3a. Welcomes the Ombudsman’s more forward-looking approach and the adoption of the new five-year strategy ‘Towards 2019’;
Amendment 18 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 3 b (new) 3b. Welcomes that the Ombudsman introduced a more strategic approach to tackle systematic issues and promoting good administration, including a working group to review the inquiry procedure to enhance their efficacy and effectiveness, a revised inquiry document template and new internal rules on whistleblowing; welcomes that the changes of administrative procedures already has created significant efficiency gains;
Amendment 19 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 3 c (new) 3c. Welcomes the enhanced transparency by publishing of the Public Register of documents online;
Amendment 2 #
Motion for a resolution Recital D D. whereas Article 24 of the TFEU lays down that ‘every citizen of the Union may apply to the Ombudsman established in accordance with Article 228’; whereas Article 228 of the TFUE empowers the European 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; whereas Article 41 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 and bodies of the Union’;
Amendment 20 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 5 5. Recalls that, over the years, 20-30 % of complaints have concerned transparency and that the most common transparency
Amendment 21 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 5 5. Recalls that, over the years, 20-30 % of complaints have concerned transparency and that the most common transparency issues raised are the institutions’ refusal to grant access to documents and/or information; considers that openness and access to documents are an essential part of the system of institutional checks and balances, as required by Article 15 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and Article 42 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the Union;
Amendment 22 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 5 5. Recalls that, over the years, 20-30 % of complaints have concerned transparency and that the most common transparency issues raised are the institutions’ refusal to grant access to documents and/or information; considers that openness and access to documents are an essential part of the system of institutional checks and balances and strongly supports any initiative the Commission and the EU institutions wish to take to ensure fair, swift and simple access for all to EU documentation;
Amendment 23 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 5 a (new) 5a. Warns that not all the provisions related to the Aarhus Convention and its related regulations (1367/2006/EC and 1049/2001/EC) are duly complied with effectively yet; considers that there is still much room for improvement in the field of transparency from the European Commission side, particularly concerning the availability in terms of quantity and quality of the information provided to individual citizens and civil society organisations upon their request to access to documents; invites the Ombudsman to conduct an investigation on the basis of the extensive petition 0134/2012 on these matters, in view of identifying and redressing any possible maladministration concerning the implementation of these regulations by the concerned EU institutions;
Amendment 24 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 5a (new) 5a. Warns that the ‘revolving door’ is a common phenomenon in the European Union; points out that, according to its annual report, the Ombudsman investigated complaints from five NGOs and looked into 54 of the Commission’s files; deplores the fact that this sequence of events, and similar cases in many Member States such as Spain, undermines public confidence in the institutions;
Amendment 25 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 6 6. Notes that as a result of the Ombudsman’s inquiries the European Commission published documents on Greece’s entry into the Eurozone which should lead to investigate and clarify the role of certain international banks and European officials in the Greek public debt, the European Central Bank disclosed a letter to the Irish government on the financial crisis, and that the European Commission
Amendment 26 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 7 7. Welcomes the Ombudsman’s inquires in connection with the ongoing TTIP negotiations, with particular focus on their lack of transparency; notes that the Council has since published the Directives the EU is using to negotiate the TTIP and that the Commission has announced plans to increase transparency in lobbying and broaden access to TTIP documents;
Amendment 27 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 7 7. Welcomes the progress in transparency in the TTIP negotiation. Welcomes the Ombudsman’s inquires in connection with the ongoing TTIP negotiations; notes that the Council has since published the Directives the EU is using to negotiate the TTIP and that the Commission has announced plans to
Amendment 28 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 7 7. Welcomes the Ombudsman’s inquires in connection with the ongoing TTIP negotiations; notes that the Council has since published the Directives the EU is using to negotiate the TTIP and that the Commission has announced plans to increase transparency in lobbying and broaden access to TTIP documents; recalls that the Committee on Petitions receives many anonymous complaints from groups and citizens concerning the lack of transparency in the negotiations; applauds the success of the popular European Citizens’ Initiative Stop TTIP , which has received 3 284 289 signatures, showing the profound public concern on this issue at European level;
Amendment 29 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 7 a (new) 7a. Wonders whether the long delays in the decision-making of some legislative initiatives in the Council, such as the horizontal anti-discrimination directive which has been frozen for over six years, or the ratification of the Marrakech Treaty for the copyright exemption for blind people in the access to books, do not fall within the category of maladministration, since they create a lot of frustration on the concerned citizens towards the EU institutions; urges the Council and particularly the blocking minorities therein, to take the necessary steps to address these unbearable situations; suggests the Ombudsman to explore this issue within the scope of its competences;
Amendment 3 #
Motion for a resolution Recital D a (new) Da. whereas Article 43 of the Charter states: ‘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’; whereas this definition does not limit maladministration to cases where the rule or principle that is being violated is legally binding; whereas the principles of good administration go further than the law and 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’; 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;
Amendment 30 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 8 8. Welcomes the Ombudsman’s increased focus on transparency in lobbying activities and her work towards a mandatory Transparency Register, so that citizens may know who is trying to influence EU decision makers; welcomes her inquiry into the composition and transparency of expert groups at the Commission, in particular those advising on the Common Agricultural Policy where the EU spends more than a third of its budget; supports her approach and encourages her to continue monitoring transparency in the composition of these groups in order to guarantee a balanced representation in
Amendment 31 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 8 8. Welcomes the Ombudsman’s increased and necessary focus on transparency in lobbying activities and her work towards a mandatory Transparency Register, so that citizens may know who is trying to influence EU decision makers; takes the view, therefore, that the register should also state the human and financial resources lobbies dedicate in doing so; welcomes her inquiry into the composition and transparency of expert groups at the Commission, in particular those advising on the Common Agricultural Policy where the EU spends more than a third of its budget; supports her approach and encourages her to continue monitoring transparency in the composition of these groups in order to guarantee a balanced representation in all such groups in all policy areas; calls on the Ombudsman to fight for gender balance within these groups;
Amendment 32 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 9 9. Welcomes the Transparency Register, in which more than 7000 institutions have voluntarily registered; what reflects the variety of public and private stakeholders that the European institutions are constantly working with; welcomes the Ombudsman’s support for Vice President Timmermans’ plan to work towards a mandatory register and welcomes the Commission’s decision of 1 December 2014 obliging all members of the Commission and senior staff to publish all contacts and meetings with stakeholders and lobbyists;
Amendment 33 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 9 9. Welcomes the Transparency Register, in which more than 7000 institutions have voluntarily registered; welcomes the Ombudsman’s support for Vice President Timmermans’ plan to work towards a mandatory register and welcomes the Commission’s decision obliging all members of the Commission and senior staff to publish all contacts and meetings with stakeholders and lobbyists; welcomes the Ombudsman’s efforts to investigate revolving doors and encourages the Ombudsman to further define and investigate authorities’ conflicts of interest at the different levels of the EU institutions;
Amendment 34 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 9 9. Welcomes the Transparency Register, in which more than 7000 institutions have voluntarily registered; welcomes the Ombudsman
Amendment 35 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 9 9. Welcomes the Transparency Register, in which more than 7000 institutions have voluntarily registered; welcomes the Ombudsman’s support for Vice President Timmermans’ plan to work towards a mandatory register and welcomes the Commission’s decision obliging all members of the Commission and senior staff to publish all contacts and meetings with stakeholders and lobbyists: strongly encourages the Ombudsman to keep vigilance and full determination towards the phenomenon called ‘revolving doors’ which affects the highest EU officials as well as the entire hierarchy of their administration and of the 36 European agencies with obvious risks of conflict of interest; recommends to keep urging the European Commission to deliver full transparency regarding about 3094 experts Groups, its technology platforms (advising on research funding) and European agencies i.e., guarantees of independence, full list of the members with their CV and declaration of interests, membership conditions, agendas and reports of the meeting etc.;
Amendment 36 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 9 a (new) 9a. Reminds that the European Parliament had set in 2012 conditions when lifting the freeze of experts groups budget: no corporate dominance, no lobbyists sitting, open calls for participation, rules preventing a single interest having a majority of seats in any expert group, declaration of the interests, incomes and activities by the experts, publication on Internet of all the relevant documents related to experts group on the Experts Group Register Website;
Amendment 37 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 9 a (new) 9a. Considers that the notion of conflict of interests goes beyond a simple matter of transparency and that ensuring a conflict of interest-free European public administration is a primary concern when attempting to build a true European democracy; suggests that beyond the current definitions, more clear and detailed criteria and enforcement mechanisms should effectively be developed and put into place in order to prevent conflict of interest at any level of the European public function, in order to safeguard the trust of European citizens and between public servants themselves and across institutions; takes the view that particularly this should entail preventing certain persons suspected of being involved, or potentially, in a conflict of interests; encourages the Ombudsman to research upon these matters, taking into account the UNCAC provision, the OECD Guidelines for Managing Conflict of Interest in the Public Service, and also Transparency International’s specific recommendations, and to come up with some conclusions and concrete proposals in their regard;
Amendment 38 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 10a (new) 10a. Call on the Member States to be more diligent in their mandatory collaboration with the Ombudsman; warns that the highest numbers of complaints received in 2014 came from Spain (309), Germany (219) and Poland (208); notes with concern that the highest numbers of investigations opened were in Belgium (50), Germany (45), and Italy (38);
Amendment 39 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 11 11. Urges the Ombudsman to continue promoting
Amendment 4 #
Motion for a resolution Recital D a (new) Da. whereas Article 43 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights states 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 European 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 40 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 12 Amendment 41 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 12 Amendment 42 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 12 12. Asks the Ombudsman to
Amendment 43 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 12 12. Asks the Ombudsman to work closely with the European Patent Office, in particular with regard to potential breaches of the right to health and affordable healthcare due to restrictive patenting rules for innovative medicinal products; calls on the Ombudsman to continue her efforts in this regard and to promote a policy of openness in the granting of said patents;
Amendment 44 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 12 12.
Amendment 45 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 14 14. Notes that the Ombudsman opened an investigation into the protection of
Amendment 46 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 14 14.
Amendment 47 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 15 Amendment 48 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 15 15. Notes that Horizon 2020 is the third most important package of budget investments after the CAP and Structural Funds, with a budget of nearly 80 000 million euros, and that it is key to the economic and social development of the future; calls on the Ombudsman to take an interest by guaranteeing transparency in the whole process of analysis and awarding of projects under Horizon 2020, including by assessing whether projects respect human rights and are wholly civilian in their scope, with special attention to third countries covered under the European Neighbourhood Policy participating in the programme;
Amendment 49 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 15 15. Notes that Horizon 2020 is the third most important package of budget investments after the CAP and Structural Funds, with a budget of nearly 80 000 million euros, and that it is key to the economic and social development of the future; calls on the Ombudsman to
Amendment 5 #
Motion for a resolution Recital I I. whereas the Ombudsman transferred
Amendment 50 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 16 Amendment 51 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 16 16. Calls on Frontex to
Amendment 52 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 16 16. Calls on Frontex to ensure respect for the welfare of returnees during return flights and the way it implements its Code of Conduct for Joint Return Operations; welcomes the Ombudsman’s call on Frontex to establish an individual complaints mechanism for potential fundamental rights infringements; invites her to further investigate this matter in the current situation of increasing numbers of refugees
Amendment 53 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 16 – point 1 (new) (1) Welcomes the investigation she opened in October 2014 into whether the EU administration is living up to its obligation of introducing internal whistleblowing rules, in which she asked nine EU institutions, including the European Commission, Parliament, and Council, to inform her about the rules they have in place, or intend to introduce;
Amendment 54 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 17 17. Commends the Ombudsman on her investigations into the citizens’ right to participate in the EU decision-making process, in particular into the functioning of the European Citizens’ Initiative; notes that in 2014 she invited ECI organisers, Civil Society Organisations and other interested parties to provide feedback on the ECI with a view to its improvement; notes with concern that at the joint meeting with the Committee on Constitutional Affairs (AFCO) of 26 February 2015 on the ECI, representatives of petitioning organisations criticised the lack of harmonization and the administrative barriers to collecting and recording signatures, a serious breach of participatory rights of the citizens of the Union;
Amendment 55 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 17 17. Commends the Ombudsman on her investigations into the citizens’ right to participate in the EU decision-making process, in particular into the functioning of the European Citizens’ Initiative; notes that in 2014 she invited ECI organisers, Civil Society Organisations and other interested parties to provide feedback on the ECI with a view to its improvement; invites the Ombudsman to share her experience and contribute to the upcoming revision of the regulation on ECI;
Amendment 56 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 17 17. Commends the Ombudsman on her
Amendment 57 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 18 18. Welcomes the EU institutions’ 80 % compliance rate with the Ombudsman’s suggestions; is concerned at the 20% non- compliance; despite the fact that Ombudsman’s suggestions are not legally binding, urges the institutions to respond and react promptly to the Ombudsman’s critical remarks and
Amendment 58 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 18 18. Welcomes the EU institutions’ 80 % compliance rate with the Ombudsman’s
Amendment 59 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 19 a (new) 19a. Supports the Ombudsman in any possible future inquiry, within its remit, concerning the identification of loopholes in the transparency about the execution of the EU budget, also within this Parliament, in due cooperation with the Budgetary Control committee, OLAF and the Court of Auditors;
Amendment 6 #
Motion for a resolution Recital J J. whereas of the inquiries closed by the Ombudsman 21.5 % concerned requests for information and access to documents, 19.3 % the Commission’s role as guardian of the Treaties, 19.3 % competition and selection procedures and 16 % institutional and policy matters, 11,3% administration and staff regulations, 8,3% award of tenders or grants and 6% execution of contracts;
Amendment 60 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 20 20. Encourages the Ombudsman to continue to promote the European Network of Ombudsmen with a view to better informing EU citizens about the a
Amendment 61 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 20 20. Encourages the Ombudsman to continue to promote the European Network of Ombudsmen with a view to better informing EU citizens about the apportionment of responsibilities between the European Ombudsman, national ombudsmen and its Committee on Petitions; recognises the important contribution of the Network; notes that 59.3 % of complaints processed in 2014 fell within the competence of a member of the Network;
Amendment 62 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 20 20. Encourages the Ombudsman to continue to promote the European Network of Ombudsmen with a view to better informing EU citizens about the apportionment of responsibilities between the European Ombudsman, national and regional ombudsmen and its Committee on Petitions; recognises the important contribution of the Network, also in fostering the exchange of best practices and about the different prerogatives among these institutions; notes that 59.3 % of complaints processed in 2014 fell within the competence of a member of the Network; recalls that its Committee on Petitions is a full member of the Network; notes that in 2014 the Ombudsman transferred 86 complaints to this committee;
Amendment 63 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 20 a (new) 20a. Encourages the Ombudsman to investigate in coordination with the European Court of Auditors the programs and projects financed by the European Union, specially financing of projects intended to reduce development disparities;
Amendment 64 #
Motion for a resolution Paragraph 21a (new) 21a. Calls for the annual budget of the Office of the Ombudsman to be increased; notes with concern that the investigations conducted by the Ombudsman lasted on average 11 months, reflecting a lack of human resources unlikely to be alleviated with the meagre increase in its annual funding – EUR 9 857 002 euros in 2014 – for a staff of 67 people;
Amendment 7 #
Motion for a resolution Recital L L. whereas in 76 cases no maladministration was found; whereas in 39 cases maladministration was found, and in 13 cases another way to close the case was used; whereas in the cases where maladministration was found the Ombudsman issued critical remarks in 27 instances and draft recommendations in 12 instances; whereas the notion of good administration should be understood as an on-going continuous improvement process;
Amendment 8 #
Motion for a resolution Recital L L. whereas in 76 cases no
Amendment 9 #
Motion for a resolution Recital M M. whereas the length of the most of inquiries closed in 2014 was between 3 and 18 months; whereas the average time for closing an inquiry was 11 months;
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