<base href="http://t3urednik.sigov.si/varuh-rs/typo3/" />

European Union, European Ombudsman

Announcements

1. The 1999 Annual Report

Mr SÖDERMAN formally handed over his 1999 annual report to the President of the European Parliament, Mrs Nicole FONTAINE, on 11 April 2000. He will present the report to the plenary session of the European Parliament in July. The report will then be available in all the EU official languages on the European Ombudsman's website:
http://www.euro-ombudsman.eu.int

2. Next Seminar for Liaison Officers

The next seminar for liaison officers of the EU national Ombudsmen will take place in Strasbourg on 22-23 September 2000. The seminar will focus on the theme of Human Rights and in particular on the draft Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. A Representative of the French Presidency will speak about the developments in the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice after the Amsterdam Treaty.

The seminar will also be the opportunity for the liaison officers to put forward their ideas about the future of the network.

The European Ombudsman will be pleased to welcome newcomers in the liaison network: Norway and Iceland. Both countries have been invited to appoint liaison officers in line with the Agreement concluded with the Council of the EU in the framework of Schengen.

Contact for the seminar: Xavier DENOEL, E-mail: xdenoel(at)europarl.eu.int, tel: +33 (0)3 88 17 25 41, fax: +33 3 88 17 90 62. 
 

Special Reports by the European Ombudsman

Article 3 (7) of the Statute of the European Ombudsman allows him to submit a Special Report to the European Parliament at any time. A Special Report may include recommendations. The Parliament's Rules of Procedure provide for Special Reports to be dealt with by the same committee that deals with the Ombudsman's Annual Reports; in practice, the Committee on Petitions.

The Ombudsman presented his first Special Report, concerning rules on public access to documents, in December 1997. The second and third Special Reports are described below.
 

Special Report on secrecy in the Commission's recruitment procedures

After a series of complaints alleging lack of transparency in the Commission's recruitment procedures, the Ombudsman launched an own-initiative inquiry (1004/97/(PD)GG) in which the Commission accepted three out of the Ombudsman's four proposals. It agreed to let candidates keep a copy of the question paper, to provide better information about the evaluation criteria and to let candidates know the names of the people who interview them. However, the Commission was unwilling to accept that a candidate should be able to see his or her own marked examination script.

The Ombudsman's view is that citizens should receive a positive first impression of the European institutions. Citizens who wish to work for the institutions receive a bad impression if they are left in doubt as to whether their written examinations have been assessed fairly and correctly or, indeed, at all. To dispel such doubts, it is essential that each candidate should have the possibility to see his or her own marked examination script on request.

The own-initiative inquiry revealed nothing to prevent the Commission from taking the necessary action now, as a matter of good administration, to improve the transparency of its recruitment competitions.

The Ombudsman therefore sent a special report on the matter to the European Parliament on 18 October 1999. The Commission has accepted the formal recommendation in the special report that, from July 2000, it should give candidates in recruitment competitions access to their own marked examination scripts upon request.

For further information, please contact Gerhard GRILL, principal legal officer, Office of the European Ombudsman, E-mail: GGrill(at)europarl.eu.int, tel. + 33 (0)3 88 17 23 13.
 

Special Report on the Code of Good Administrative Behaviour

This Special Report follows the European Ombudsman's own initiative inquiry (OI/1/98/OV) into the existence and the public accessibility, in the different Community institutions and bodies, of a Code of good administrative behaviour.

The inquiry was launched in November 1998. In July and September 1999, the Ombudsman made draft recommendations to 18 Community institutions and bodies to adopt rules concerning good administrative behaviour for their officials in their relations with the public. For adopting these rules, the Ombudsman stated that the institutions and bodies could take guidance from the provisions contained in the European Ombudsman's Code of good administrative behaviour. The Ombudsman stressed that, in order to be efficient and accessible to citizens, the rules should be adopted in the form of a decision and be published in the Official Journal.

From the responses to the draft recommendations, it appears that only two bodies, namely the European Agency for the Evaluation of Medicinal Products (EMEA) and the Translation Centre for the Bodies of the European Union have adopted, respectively on 1 December 1999 and on 10 February 2000, the Code of good administrative behaviour proposed by the Ombudsman. These two agencies have correctly implemented the draft recommendations.

The European Commission presented a draft Code, but has not yet adopted it. Neither the European Parliament nor the Council has adopted a Code of good administrative behaviour. No other institution or, body had adopted a Code by 1 March 2000.

The European Parliament has stressed the urgent need to draw up as soon as possible Codes of good administrative behaviour which should be as identical as possible for all European institutions and bodies. However, only two out of the 18 institutions, bodies and decentralised agencies concerned by the inquiry have implemented the Ombudsman's draft recommendations. The Ombudsman therefore concludes the Special Report with a recommendation to enact rules of good administrative behaviour as a European administrative law, in the form of a Regulation.

The European Parliament, in its capacity as the only European institution democratically representing all European citizens, could consider using the procedure referred to in Article 192 (2) of the EC Treaty in order to initiate the adoption of a European administrative law in this form.

For further information, please contact Olivier VERHEECKE, legal officer, Office of the European Ombudsman, E-mail: Overheecke(at)europarl.eu.int, tel. + 32 (0)2 284 20 03.

European Union, European Ombudsman

Announcements

1. The 1999 Annual Report

Mr SĂ–DERMAN formally handed over his 1999 annual report to the President of the European Parliament, Mrs Nicole FONTAINE, on 11 April 2000. He will present the report to the plenary session of the European Parliament in July. The report will then be available in all the EU official languages on the European Ombudsman's website:
http://www.euro-ombudsman.eu.int

2. Next Seminar for Liaison Officers

The next seminar for liaison officers of the EU national Ombudsmen will take place in Strasbourg on 22-23 September 2000. The seminar will focus on the theme of Human Rights and in particular on the draft Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. A Representative of the French Presidency will speak about the developments in the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice after the Amsterdam Treaty.

The seminar will also be the opportunity for the liaison officers to put forward their ideas about the future of the network.

The European Ombudsman will be pleased to welcome newcomers in the liaison network: Norway and Iceland. Both countries have been invited to appoint liaison officers in line with the Agreement concluded with the Council of the EU in the framework of Schengen.

Contact for the seminar: Xavier DENOEL, E-mail: xdenoel(at)europarl.eu.int, tel: +33 (0)3 88 17 25 41, fax: +33 3 88 17 90 62. 
 

Special Reports by the European Ombudsman

Article 3 (7) of the Statute of the European Ombudsman allows him to submit a Special Report to the European Parliament at any time. A Special Report may include recommendations. The Parliament's Rules of Procedure provide for Special Reports to be dealt with by the same committee that deals with the Ombudsman's Annual Reports; in practice, the Committee on Petitions.

The Ombudsman presented his first Special Report, concerning rules on public access to documents, in December 1997. The second and third Special Reports are described below.
 

Special Report on secrecy in the Commission's recruitment procedures

After a series of complaints alleging lack of transparency in the Commission's recruitment procedures, the Ombudsman launched an own-initiative inquiry (1004/97/(PD)GG) in which the Commission accepted three out of the Ombudsman's four proposals. It agreed to let candidates keep a copy of the question paper, to provide better information about the evaluation criteria and to let candidates know the names of the people who interview them. However, the Commission was unwilling to accept that a candidate should be able to see his or her own marked examination script.

The Ombudsman's view is that citizens should receive a positive first impression of the European institutions. Citizens who wish to work for the institutions receive a bad impression if they are left in doubt as to whether their written examinations have been assessed fairly and correctly or, indeed, at all. To dispel such doubts, it is essential that each candidate should have the possibility to see his or her own marked examination script on request.

The own-initiative inquiry revealed nothing to prevent the Commission from taking the necessary action now, as a matter of good administration, to improve the transparency of its recruitment competitions.

The Ombudsman therefore sent a special report on the matter to the European Parliament on 18 October 1999. The Commission has accepted the formal recommendation in the special report that, from July 2000, it should give candidates in recruitment competitions access to their own marked examination scripts upon request.

For further information, please contact Gerhard GRILL, principal legal officer, Office of the European Ombudsman, E-mail: GGrill(at)europarl.eu.int, tel. + 33 (0)3 88 17 23 13.
 

Special Report on the Code of Good Administrative Behaviour

This Special Report follows the European Ombudsman's own initiative inquiry (OI/1/98/OV) into the existence and the public accessibility, in the different Community institutions and bodies, of a Code of good administrative behaviour.

The inquiry was launched in November 1998. In July and September 1999, the Ombudsman made draft recommendations to 18 Community institutions and bodies to adopt rules concerning good administrative behaviour for their officials in their relations with the public. For adopting these rules, the Ombudsman stated that the institutions and bodies could take guidance from the provisions contained in the European Ombudsman's Code of good administrative behaviour. The Ombudsman stressed that, in order to be efficient and accessible to citizens, the rules should be adopted in the form of a decision and be published in the Official Journal.

From the responses to the draft recommendations, it appears that only two bodies, namely the European Agency for the Evaluation of Medicinal Products (EMEA) and the Translation Centre for the Bodies of the European Union have adopted, respectively on 1 December 1999 and on 10 February 2000, the Code of good administrative behaviour proposed by the Ombudsman. These two agencies have correctly implemented the draft recommendations.

The European Commission presented a draft Code, but has not yet adopted it. Neither the European Parliament nor the Council has adopted a Code of good administrative behaviour. No other institution or, body had adopted a Code by 1 March 2000.

The European Parliament has stressed the urgent need to draw up as soon as possible Codes of good administrative behaviour which should be as identical as possible for all European institutions and bodies. However, only two out of the 18 institutions, bodies and decentralised agencies concerned by the inquiry have implemented the Ombudsman's draft recommendations. The Ombudsman therefore concludes the Special Report with a recommendation to enact rules of good administrative behaviour as a European administrative law, in the form of a Regulation.

The European Parliament, in its capacity as the only European institution democratically representing all European citizens, could consider using the procedure referred to in Article 192 (2) of the EC Treaty in order to initiate the adoption of a European administrative law in this form.

For further information, please contact Olivier VERHEECKE, legal officer, Office of the European Ombudsman, E-mail: Overheecke(at)europarl.eu.int, tel. + 32 (0)2 284 20 03.