Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2003-09-25-Speech-4-014"
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"en.20030925.2.4-014"2
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". – Mr President, I would like to respond very briefly. Let me begin by thanking the Commissioner, the Chairman of the Committee on Petitions and the Members of this House for their remarks, and particularly for their very warm words for Jacob Söderman and for the office that he built up and left behind.
Thank you very much for these suggestions.
Let me very quickly say, in reply to Lord Stockton, that the Ombudsman has always extended invitations to Members, and has always had series of meetings with national ombudsmen. We had a meeting in Athens in April 2003, and we will be having another meeting of national ombudsmen in The Hague in 2005. So there are regular meetings being held on a biennial basis.
At the Athens meeting the Chairman of the Petitions Committee, Mr Gemelli, was invited and attended and made a very valuable contribution. We intend to continue this pattern in the future as well. I also agree that it is vital that individuals feel there is someone going in to bat for them and we intend to do so and will continue to do so, as we have done in the past.
With respect to the Commissioner's remarks, I would like to thank her for her kind words. In my position as Ombudsman I am very eager to work closely with the Commission in trying to promote the eventual adoption of what I would call 'a European administrative law'. I appreciate the fact that this has to be done in time so that what will come out will be applicable and will be best practice. I would urge the Commission to do this as quickly as possible. Certainly the IGC is important; we can start doing a number of things in preparation for that, so we can complete this task which would be a very welcome one. It would also complete the whole process of creating uniform administrative law as early as possible.
I thank Mr Gemelli again for his remarks from which I retain the need for cooperation at all levels. It is very much my intention to work with people at the regional and local level. I have already been to Mr Gemelli's home country, I have also met with the original ombudsman and petitions committee of the Federal Republic of Germany. I have also been in Spain during the past week. Therefore, I have already visited three of the six countries in which there are a large number of regional and local ombudsmen, and I intend to continue to do so.
I also very much welcome Mr Gemelli's strong endorsement of the idea that the IGC might deem it advisable to include in Part III of the draft Constitution an explicit recognition of non-judicial means of redress to complement the judicial means which, of course, are already explicitly recognised in that particular document.
Let me also say with respect to the very important point that Mrs Thors made – and I would like to thank her again for her remarks – that I agree there is a legal vacuum and it needs to be examined. I would very much hope to be able to work with the Petitions Committee to improve this.
The Statute also needs to be looked at again after the IGC and I will ensure that this is done. I am always on the lookout for areas where the Ombudsman may take initiatives to defend the rights of citizens. I also wish to take a judicious approach in this kind of matter; I particularly do not wish to compete with Parliament when it comes to issues which pertain to its own political competence which ought to be left to the House itself to decide.
Leaving that aside, I am very eager to work with Parliament in taking initiatives designed to strengthen the rights of citizens throughout the Union."@en1
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