THE EUROPEAN OMBUDSMAN ANNUAL REPORT 2006 EN THE EUROPEAN OMBUDSMAN _________________________ _______________________ P. NIKIFOROS DIAMANDOUROS Prof. Dr. Hans-Gert PÖTTERING MEP President European Parliament Rue Wiertz 1047 Brussels BELGIQUE Strasbourg, 12 March 2007 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 2006. 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.ombudsman.europa.eu –
[email protected] TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION...................................................................................................7 1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY..........................................................................13 2 COMPLAINTS AND INQUIRIES.............................................................31 2.1 THE LEGAL BASIS OF THE OMBUDSMAN'S WORK ............................................33 2.2 THE MANDATE OF THE EUROPEAN OMBUDSMAN ............................................33 2.2.1 Complaints and own-initiative inquiries ..............................................................................34 2.2.2 Community institutions and bodies......................................................................................34