Lack of transparency 'main concern' for EU watchdog

Lack of transparency in EU institutions is "by far the most common" allegation examined by the European ombudsman in the past year, according to his annual report.

The report, unveiled at a news conference in parliament on Monday, said the issue accounted for some 36 per cent of all complaints.

Strasbourg-based Nikiforos Diamandouros said these included the refusal of information or documents, late payments for EU projects and "unfairness, abuse of power and discrimination".

Presenting the report, Diamandouros said: "An accountable and transparent EU administration is key to building citizens' trust in the EU.

"I therefore call on the European commission to amend its proposals to reform the legislation on public access to documents in order to give the widest possible access to citizens and other stakeholders."

His concern about transparency is particularly timely, with the revision of a commission regulation on access to documents in the three main institutions currently making its way through the legislative loop.

Parliament last week adopted its report on the issue by UK Socialist MEP Michael Cashman, and the matter is due to be discussed by the civil liberties committee today.

In 2008, the Greek official said he received 3,406 complaints from EU citizens, companies, NGOs and associations. In almost 80 per cent of cases, he said he was able to help the complainant by opening an inquiry into the case, transferring it to a competent body, or giving advice on where to turn.

The ombudsman closed a record number of inquiries in 2008 – 355 in total – and, after his intervention, the EU 'administration' settled bills, paid interest, released documents, remedied injustices and put an end to discrimination, he said.

He said there had been an increasing number of complaints from companies, associations, NGOs, regional offices and other organisations in 2008.

"I am working hard to reach out to stakeholders who are in contact with the EU administration, for example, in the framework of EU projects. I am happy to see that they increasingly use my services to help solve problems they encounter."

Most of the inquiries in 2008 concerned the commission (66 per cent), followed by parliament, the European Personnel Selection Office, member states and OLAF.

Germany produced the greatest number of complaints (16 per cent), followed by Spain (10 per cent), Poland (8 per cent) and France (7 per cent). But relative to the size of their population, most complaints came from Malta, Luxembourg, Cyprus and Belgium.

The ombudsman said he was pleased to note that 36 per cent of all investigations were either settled by the institution complained against or resulted in a friendly solution. In 44 cases, he issued a critical remark, and one special report was sent to parliament concerning age discrimination in the commission.

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