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having regard to the annual report on the European Ombudsman’s activities in 2018,

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having regard to Articles 15, 24, third paragraph, and 228 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU),

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having regard to Articles 11, 41, 42 and 43 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (‘the Charter’),

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having regard to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCPRD),

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having regard to Decision 94/262/ECSC, EC, Euratom of the European Parliament of 9 March 1994 on the regulations and general conditions governing the performance of the Ombudsman’s duties (1),

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having regard to the European Code of Good Administrative Behaviour, as adopted by Parliament on 6 September 2001,

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having regard to the Framework Agreement on Cooperation concluded between Parliament and the European Ombudsman on 15 March 2006, which entered into force on 1 April 2006,

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having regard to its resolution of 17 January 2019 on Ombudsman’s strategic inquiry OI/2/2017 on the transparency of legislative discussions in the preparatory bodies of the Council of the EU (2),

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having regard to its resolution of 13 February 2019 on the outcome of the Committee on Petitions’ deliberations during 2018 (3),

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having regard to its previous resolutions on the European Ombudsman’s activities,

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having regard to Rules 54 and 232(1) of its Rules of Procedure,

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having regard to the letter from the Committee on Constitutional Affairs,

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having regard to the report of the Committee on Petitions (A9-0032/2019),

A.

whereas the annual report on the activities of the European Ombudsman in 2018 was formally submitted to the President of Parliament on 2 October 2019 and the Ombudsman, Emily O’Reilly, presented it to the Committee on Petitions in Brussels on 4 September 2019;

B.

whereas Articles 24 and 228 of the TFEU empower the European Ombudsman to receive complaints concerning instances of maladministration in the activities of the Union institutions, bodies, offices or agencies, with the exception of the Court of Justice of the European Union acting in its judicial role;

C.

whereas Article 10(3) of the Treaty on European Union establishes that ‘every citizen shall have the right to participate in the democratic life of the Union’ and that ‘decisions shall be taken as openly and as closely as possible to the citizen’;

D.

whereas Article 15 of the TFEU states that ‘in order to promote good governance and ensure the participation of civil society, the Union's institutions, bodies, offices and agencies shall conduct their work as openly as possible’ and that ‘any citizen of the Union, and any natural or legal person residing or having its registered office in a Member State, shall have a right of access to documents of the Union's institutions, bodies, offices and agencies’;

E.

whereas Article 41(1) of the Charter states that ‘every person has the right to have his or her affairs handled impartially, fairly and within a reasonable time by the institutions, bodies, offices and agencies of the Union’;

F.

whereas Article 43 of the Charter states that ‘any citizen of the Union and any natural or legal person residing or having its registered office in a Member State has the right to refer to the European Ombudsman cases of maladministration in the activities of the institutions, bodies, offices or agencies of the Union, with the exception of the Court of Justice of the European Union acting in its judicial role’;

G.

whereas in 2018 the Ombudsman opened 490 inquiries, of which 482 were complaint-based and 8 own-initiative, while closing 545 inquiries (534 complaint-based and 11 own-initiative); whereas the greater part of the inquiries concerned the Commission (285 inquiries or 58,2 %), the next largest number concerned the EU agencies (43 inquiries or 8,8 %), and the rest were distributed as follows: Parliament (30 inquiries or 6,1 %), the European Personnel Selection Office (EPSO) (23 inquiries or 4,7 %), the European External Action Service (EEAS) (23 inquiries or 4,7 %), the European Investment Bank (16 inquiries or 3,3 %), the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) (14 inquiries or 2,8 %), and other institutions (56 inquiries or 11,4 %);

H.

whereas the top three concerns in the inquiries closed by the Ombudsman in 2018 were: transparency, accountability and public access to information and documents (24,6 %), culture of service (19,8 %), and proper use of discretion (16,1 %); whereas other concerns included respect of procedural rights such as the right to be heard, respect of fundamental rights, recruitment, ethical issues, public participation in EU decision-making, including in infringement procedures, sound financial management of EU tenders, grants and contracts, recruitment, and good management of EU personnel issues;

I.

whereas the 76 % compliance rate of the Ombudsman’s recommendations for good administration by the European Commission in 2018 represents a continuous decrease from 82 % in 2016 and 77 % in 2017 levels, respectively;

J.

whereas 17 996 citizens called on the Ombudsman’s services for help in 2018; whereas 14 596 were given advice through the interactive guide on her website; whereas 1 220 requests were forwarded elsewhere for information; whereas the Ombudsman took action on 2 180 complaints received;

K.

whereas in its strategic work in 2018, the Ombudsman’s office opened five new strategic inquires, respectively on treatment of persons with disabilities under the Joint Sickness Insurance Scheme, on accessibility of Commission websites for persons with disabilities, on pre-submission activities of the European Medicines Agency (EMA), on the Commission’s management of ‘revolving door’ situations concerning EU staff, and on the accountability of the Council’s legislative work; whereas in 2018 the Ombudsman opened ten strategic initiatives on, among other subjects, the use of languages in the EU civil service, anti-harassment policies in the EU civil service, and the protection of children in migration;

L.

whereas the Ombudsman has a crucial role to play in making the EU legislative process more open and accountable to citizens, so as to enable them to exercise their right to participate in the democratic life of the Union and thus increase citizen engagement and trust;

M.

whereas the Ombudsman has a crucial role to play in ensuring the accountability of the EU institutions and the maximum transparency and impartiality of the EU administration and decision-making processes in order to protect citizens’ rights, thereby increasing their trust, engagement and participation in the democratic life of the Union;

N.

whereas the main priority of the European Ombudsman is to ensure that citizens’ rights are fully respected;

O.

whereas in 2018 the Ombudsman launched a new website, which includes a revised and user-friendly interface for potential complainants; whereas the Ombudsman’s ‘fast-track’ procedure for dealing with complaints about public access to documents reflects the Ombudsman’s commitment to provide assistance and to take decisions within 40 days for those seeking assistance, in all 24 official languages of the EU; whereas this new initiative is part of a strategy to improve the effectiveness of her office;

P.

whereas the Ombudsman’s strategic inquiry OI/2/2017/TE found that the Council lacks transparency regarding public access to its legislative documents and regarding its current practices in its decision-making process — and more specifically during the preparatory stage at the Committee of Permanent Representatives (COREPER) and working-group level; whereas following the Council’s reluctance to implement her recommendations, on 16 May 2018, the Ombudsman submitted Special Report OI/2/2017/TE on the transparency of the Council legislative process to Parliament; whereas on 17 January 2019. Parliament adopted its report on the Ombudsman’s strategic inquiry, which fully endorses the Ombudsman’s recommendations; whereas the Finnish Presidency has expressed its commitment to enhancing the openness and legislative transparency of the Council;

Q.

whereas on 12 February 2019, Parliament approved a draft regulation of the European Parliament laying down the regulations and general conditions governing the performance of the Ombudsman’s duties (Statute of the European Ombudsman) and repealing Decision 94/262/ECSC, EC, Euratom (4), for which it has the primary legislative responsibility; whereas Council’s approval of this this new regulation is pending;

R.

whereas greater openness and transparency on positions taken by Member States’ governments in the Council will improve trust in the EU and reduce Euroscepticism and populism;

S.

whereas greater transparency in the decision making process in trilogues will enhance citizens’ trust in the EU institutions;

T.

whereas in 2018, the Ombudsman launched an anti-harassment strategic initiative checking the anti-harassment policies the EU administration has in place; whereas the Ombudsman decided to write in 2018 to 26 EU institutions and agencies asking for details of the policies and how they are implemented;

U.

whereas in 2018, the Ombudsman launched an inquiry regarding gender discrimination and equal opportunity concerns at the European Investment Bank (EIB); whereas the EIB followed Ombudsman recommendations and suggestions regarding equal opportunities and gender parity;

V.

whereas the Ombudsman is part of the EU framework under the UNCPRD tasked with protecting, promoting and monitoring the implementation of that convention at the level of the EU institutions;

W.

whereas a conference bringing together the European Network of Ombudsmen and the European Parliament's Committee on Petitions was held in March 2018 and one of the main points of the discussion was on how ombudsmen could strengthen their cooperation;

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