Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2003-09-25-Speech-4-007"
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"en.20030925.2.4-007"2
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". – Mr President, thank you for giving me the opportunity to address this House for the first time as European Ombudsman and to present the Ombudsman's Annual Report for 2002. The report covers the last full year in office of the first European Ombudsman, Mr Jacob Söderman, who is present today and who retired in March 2003. I would like to pay tribute to his many achievements on behalf of European citizens.
The main purpose of the European Ombudsman institution as I see it is to help strengthen the democratic life of the Union by promoting the rule of law, good administration and respect for human rights in the existing and future Members States of the European Union.
As well as reacting to the complaints that are received, the Ombudsman should also have a proactive role in promoting democratic values, empowering citizens and widening the choices available to them.
Building on what has already been achieved and making full use of the possibilities offered by new technologies, I intend to work closely with the network of national and regional ombudsmen to enhance the role of non-judicial remedies, to increase the institutional presence of the Ombudsman and to reach out to all European Union citizens, old and new, to inform them of their rights under Union law and how to exercise and defend those rights. The resolution adopted by this House yesterday in the Gil-Robles/Tsatsos report will greatly assist these efforts and I am very appreciative of that.
For the Constitution also to include a reference to the system of non-judicial remedies would be a real and visible achievement for citizens, who too often seem to be left on the sidelines of European integration. I commit myself to pursuing this goal vigorously.
I would like to thank Lord Stockton for his excellent report and the constructive proposals which it contains. I would also like to thank the Chairman of the Committee on Petitions, Mr Gemelli, for the encouragement and support which the committee has shown and continues to show for the work of the European Ombudsman. Since taking office, I have experienced the willingness of many Union institutions and bodies to cooperate with the Ombudsman. I would especially like to mention the positive approach shown by the President of this House, Mr Cox, and by the Commissioner responsible, Mrs de Palacio.
I look forward to continuing close cooperation with all the institutions and bodies in order both to enhance the quality of the European Union's administration and to reach out to citizens.
Finally, I would like to thank all the Members of this august House for their confidence and offer them my full cooperation in the often unrecognised work that they perform in helping citizens who have problems.
Foremost among Mr Söderman's achievements is the establishment of the European Ombudsman as an effective and well-known institution, promoting openness, accountability and good administration. Other important achievements include the Code of Good Administrative Behaviour approved by a resolution of this House in 2001, a procedural code for complainants under the Article 226 infringement procedure adopted by the Commission last year, and the abolition of age limits in recruitment to the institutions and bodies. As an observer at the convention that drafted the Charter of Fundamental Rights, Mr Söderman successfully proposed that the Charter should include the right to good administration. As an observer at the European Convention, he succeeded in ensuring that the draft Constitution properly mentions the Ombudsman, provides a legal basis for a law on good administration and informs citizens of their right to a remedy in national courts. He also gave me vital advice and support in the establishment of the Ombudsman institution in Greece. I will try to live up to the expectations generated by his achievements and to carry on his work by maintaining and further developing the capacity of the institution to serve all Union citizens as efficiently and effectively as possible.
The Annual Report for 2002 records the progress that has been made in handling complaints, promoting good administration and making the institution better known to citizens. In 2002, the total number of complaints rose to 2211, making it the first year in the history of the European Ombudsman that the total rose above 2000. The proportion of complaints sent through the website and e-mail continued to rise. About half of the complaints received in 2002 were sent this way. In addition, over 3700 electronic requests for information were received and answered.
The Ombudsman opened more inquiries in 2002 than ever before – 8% more than in 2001, including two own-initiative inquiries – and dealt with them more effectively. At the end of the year, I am happy to report, all but four inquiries had been closed within the one-year target. I am committed to maintaining and enhancing our service to citizens by using the resources as effectively as possible and, when needed, seeking a realistic additional level of resources.
The Ombudsman also needs the cooperation of other institutions to answer complaints rapidly, fully and correctly. The 2002 Report contains many examples of cases in which institutions and bodies took prompt action to settle the matter once a complaint was made, or responded positively to the Ombudsman's proposals and recommendations. The Ombudsman also worked hard in 2002 to increase public awareness of citizens' rights to complain – to complain in ways that made a difference. We produced a 'Guide for Citizens', published in 11 languages. We issued a press release every 10 days on average and there were numerous presentations of the Ombudsman's work at seminars and meetings in the Member States.
As a former national ombudsman I can testify that the European Ombudsman is certainly amongst the best-known ombudsman institutions in the world, and is probably
best known. For example, over 3000 websites now contain an active link to the European Ombudsman's site.
During 2002, the European Ombudsman also made essential preparations for the forthcoming enlargement of the Union and became one of the first EU institutions to reach out to citizens in the languages of the candidate countries, both on paper and electronically.
We are now intensifying preparations to manage the transition to handling complaints from 25 Member States as smoothly as possible. The preparations include recruitment of legal staff from the new Member States, as well as introduction of an improved computer database to assist in the management of complaints.
Ombudsman institutions exist in all ten of the states that will join the Union next year. They are now fully integrated into the network of cooperation between the European Ombudsman and the ombudsmen and similar bodies in the Member States. Cooperation through the network has been enhanced for all members, old and new. The online resources of the network now include, for example, a regular 'Ombudsman Daily News' service to members, and a lively internet forum for the exchange of information and ideas."@en1
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