The European Ombudsman
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THE EUROPEAN OMBUDSMAN ANNUAL REPORT 2005 EN THE EUROPEAN OMBUDSMAN _________________________ _______________________ P. NIKIFOROS DIAMANDOUROS Mr Josep BORRELL FONTELLES President European Parliament Rue Wiertz 1047 Brussels BELGIQUE Strasbourg, 13 March 2006 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 2005. 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.............................................................33 2.1 THE LEGAL BASIS OF THE OMBUDSMAN'S WORK ............................................35 2.2 THE MANDATE OF THE EUROPEAN OMBUDSMAN ............................................35 2.2.1 Unauthorised complaints......................................................................................................36 2.2.2 Community institutions and bodies......................................................................................36 2.2.3 "Maladministration".............................................................................................................37 2.2.4 The European Code of Good Administrative Behaviour.....................................................39 2.3 ADMISSIBILITY AND GROUNDS FOR INQUIRIES ................................................39 2.4 ANALYSIS OF COMPLAINTS EXAMINED IN 2005 .................................................40 2.5 TRANSFERS AND ADVICE ...........................................................................................41 2.6 THE OMBUDSMAN'S PROCEDURES .........................................................................43 2.6.1 Starting an inquiry................................................................................................................44 2.6.2 Fair procedure ......................................................................................................................44 2.6.3 Inspection of the files and hearing of witnesses...................................................................44 2.6.4 Open procedure....................................................................................................................45 2.7 THE OUTCOMES OF INQUIRIES ................................................................................45 2.7.1 No maladministration...........................................................................................................46 2.7.2 Cases settled by the institution and friendly solutions .........................................................46 2.7.3 Critical remarks and draft recommendations .......................................................................46 2.7.4 Special reports to the European Parliament .........................................................................47 2.8 DECISIONS CLOSING CASES IN 2005........................................................................48 2.8.1 Openness, public access and the protection of personal data...............................................48 2.8.2 The Commission as guardian of the Treaty .........................................................................51 2.8.3 Tenders, contracts and grants...............................................................................................53 2.8.4 Personnel matters .................................................................................................................55 2.8.5 Other matters........................................................................................................................56 3 DECISIONS FOLLOWING AN INQUIRY..............................................59 3.1 CASES WHERE NO MALADMINISTRATION WAS FOUND..................................61 3 TABLE OF CONTENTS 3.1.1 The European Commission..................................................................................................61 FAILURE TO ACT ON A COMPLAINT ABOUT DISCRIMINATION ON GROUNDS OF SEXUAL ORIENTATION................................................................................................................................................... 61 TERMINATION OF A CONTRACT.................................................................................................................... 62 USE OF EU FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE ............................................................................................................ 63 ARTICLE 226 COMPLAINT RELATING TO FOOD LAW ................................................................................ 64 ALLEGEDLY DISCRIMINATORY JOB ADVERTISEMENTS............................................................................ 65 MANAGEMENT OF EUROPEAN REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT FUNDS....................................................... 66 EVALUATION OF A PROJECT PROPOSAL (1)............................................................................................... 67 HANDLING OF AN ARTICLE 226 COMPLAINT.............................................................................................. 68 EVALUATION OF A PROJECT PROPOSAL (2)............................................................................................... 69 APPLICATION OF THE HUMAN RIGHTS CLAUSE IN THE CO-OPERATION AGREEMENT WITH VIETNAM................................................................................................................................................. 70 CONSULTATION ON THE FUTURE OF THE STRUCTURAL FUNDS........................................................... 71 THE EUROPEAN EMERGENCY CALL NUMBER 112..................................................................................... 72 PHASING OUT OF LANGUAGE SECTIONS IN A EUROPEAN SCHOOL...................................................... 73 ALLEGED IMPROPER CONTACTS DURING A TENDER PROCEDURE ...................................................... 73 ONLINE AVAILABILITY OF DOCUMENTS ..................................................................................................... 74 ACCESS TO A MISSION REPORT IN THE FRAMEWORK OF AN ARTICLE 228 PROCEDURE.................. 75 REPLACEMENT OF PROJECT DIRECTOR IN HONDURAS.......................................................................... 76 3.1.2 The European Commission and the Council of the European Union ..................................77 ALLEGED LACK OF PARKING SPACES FOR DISABLED PEOPLE NEAR COMMISSION AND COUNCIL BUILDINGS ..................................................................................................................................... 77 3.1.3 The European Personnel Selection Office (EPSO)..............................................................78 CANDIDATES' ACCESS TO EVALUATION CRITERIA.................................................................................... 78 ADMISSION TO SELECTION TESTS................................................................................................................ 80 3.1.4 The European Central Bank.................................................................................................81 INFORMATION CONCERNING A POSSIBLE INTERVENTION BY THE ECB............................................... 81 3.2 CASES SETTLED BY THE INSTITUTION..................................................................82 3.2.1 The European Parliament.....................................................................................................82 TRANSFER OF PENSION RIGHTS ................................................................................................................... 82 3.2.2 The Council of the European Union ....................................................................................83 TERMINATION OF EMPLOYMENT CONTRACT AT EU POLICE MISSION ................................................. 83 3.2.3 The European Commission..................................................................................................84 UNJUSTIFIED DELAY AND FAILURE TO REPLY TO PUBLIC ACCESS REQUEST.................................... 84 REFUSAL OF A REQUEST FOR ACCESS TO DOCUMENTS ......................................................................... 84 REIMBURSEMENT OF TRAVEL AND ACCOMMODATION EXPENSES....................................................... 85 REIMBURSEMENT OF TRAVEL EXPENSES ................................................................................................... 85 ALLEGED LATE PAYMENTS TO COMMISSION EVALUATORS.................................................................... 86 3.3 FRIENDLY SOLUTIONS ACHIEVED BY THE OMBUDSMAN ..............................86 3.3.1 The European Parliament.....................................................................................................86 ACCESS TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT'S PREMISES ........................................................................... 86 REIMBURSEMENT OF LEGAL COSTS ............................................................................................................ 87 PROVISION