– The institution of the European Ombudsman is the closest institution to all EU citizen, as is the Committee on Petitions.
The Ombudsman is simply a bridge between the Union citizen and the Union institutions. If the average citizen addresses either the European Ombudsman or the Committee on Petitions, then we intervene, search answers and help, for example, in the European Commission," stressed Bogdan Rzoniec, a associate of the European Parliament from the Law and Justice Party, a typical of the EKR Party. More and more citizens and businesses are utilizing the chance to complain about the European Union institutions. The European Ombudsman examines cases of maladministration in EU structures – from deficiency of transparency in decisions to delays in administrative procedures. The Ombudsman's office receives thousands of proposals on the functioning of the Union institutions all year.
In 2024, the European RPO office helped over 17,7 000 people who asked questions or complaints about the actions of the EU institutions
Established in 1995, the European Ombudsman's office examines cases of maladministration in EU institutions, bodies, offices and agencies, acting on its own initiative or in consequence to complaints from citizens of the Union, including entrepreneurs. It is an entirely independent body which promotes good administration and, if necessary, conducts investigations. – The European Ombudsman accepts complaints and complaints. For example, if local institutions or government in a given country harm a person, the company or natural individual can compose to a spokesperson and he then takes the case. The destiny of the petition, being in his hands, finds solutions through legal institutions, and the position of a spokesperson in the strategy of European institutions is serious adequate that he can dig into a problem in the European Commission to aid the petitioner, explains Bogdan Rzoniec.
In 2024, the European RPO office helped over 17,7 000 people who asked questions or complaints about the operation of the EU institutions. At that time, 415 fresh investigations were initiated and 427 proceedings were completed. The issues concerned, inter alia, transparency of the decision-making process, access to papers and the way the European institutions conduct administrative proceedings. In parallel with the activities of the European RPO in the European Parliament, there is besides a Committee on Petitions, which examines citizens' requests to apply EU law in the associate States. all year, thousands of petitions are sent to the European Parliament, including environmental protection, the functioning of the interior market, labour rights and business activities.
It is besides crucial to strengthen the position of control institutions in the EU organization system
– We have petitions from different countries, due to the fact that either people are fired, or companies fall, or there is information that in the European marketplace Chinese companies illegally buy out Polish companies, take over economical activity or do not apply European Union law. There are large reservations about what they produce and how they are reflected in petitions, including Polish ones – the Euro MP points out. According to Bogdan, it is besides crucial to strengthen the position of control institutions in the organization strategy of the European Union. It considers the transparency of EU bodies to depend on citizens' assurance in the Community as a whole.
– If we are serious about the importance and transparency of the EU institutions, the Commission, the Council, the European Parliament, the European RPO, the European Court of Auditors, these institutions must be credible in the European Union, he argues. 1 of the most well-known cases conducted by the European Ombudsman's office in fresh years was the issue of transparency of negotiations on the acquisition of COVID-19 vaccines by the European Commission. The then spokeswoman Emily O'Reilly asked the European Commission to supply papers and text messages related to the negotiation of vaccine contracts, which sparked a broad debate on access to EU papers and transparency standards.
We would like the European RPO to be strong to help
"If the European Ombudsman is informed that he will not get papers due to the fact that they are secret, then the European Commission in this case lowers his rank, which is why we are against in Parliament. We would like the spokesperson to be strong, to aid – says Bogdan Rzoniec.
