THE EUROPEAN OMBUDSMAN ANNUAL REPORT 2004 EN THE EUROPEAN OMBUDSMAN _________________________ _______________________ P. NIKIFOROS DIAMANDOUROS Mr Josep BORRELL FONTELLES President European Parliament Rue Wiertz 1047 Brussels BELGIQUE Strasbourg, 8 March 2005 Mr President, In accordance with Article 195 (1) of the Treaty establishing the European Community and Article 3 (8) of the Decision of the European Parliament on the Regulations and General Conditions Governing the Performance of the Ombudsman's Duties, I hereby present my Report for the year 2004. Yours sincerely, P. Nikiforos DIAMANDOUROS The European Ombudsman 1, avenue du Président Robert Schuman – B.P. 403 – F-67001 STRASBOURG Cedex : +33 (0)3.88.17.23.13 – Fax : +33 (0)3.88.17.90.62 http://www.euro-ombudsman.eu.int –
[email protected] TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION.................................................................................................. 7 1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY......................................................................... 15 2 COMPLAINTS AND INQUIRIES............................................................ 29 2.1 THE LEGAL BASIS OF THE OMBUDSMAN'S WORK............................................ 31 2.2 THE MANDATE OF THE EUROPEAN OMBUDSMAN............................................ 31 2.2.1 Unauthorised complaints ..................................................................................................... 32 2.2.2 Community institutions and bodies ....................................................................................