The European Ombudsman settles problems with the EU administration
The European Ombudsman investigates complaints against the institutions and bodies of the European Union (EU).
You can complain to the Ombudsman about maladministration in the activities of these institutions and bodies.
What is maladministration?
Maladministration occurs if an institution fails to act in accordance with the law, fails to respect the principles of good administration, or violates human rights.
Some examples are:
administrative irregularities
unfairness
discrimination
abuse of power
failure to reply
refusal of information
unnecessary delay
Who can complain?
If you are a citizen of a Member State of the Union or reside in a Member State, you can make a complaint to the European Ombudsman.
Businesses, associations or other bodies with a registered office in the Union may also complain to the Ombudsman.
What he does cannot investigate?
The European Ombudsman cannot investigate complaints against national, regional or local administrations in the Member States, even when the complaints are about EU matters.
The European Ombudsman is not an appeals body for decisions taken by national courts or ombudsmen.
Neither can he investigate complaints against businesses or private individuals.
Since 1995
The European Ombudsman is P. Nikiforos Diamandouros, former national ombudsman of Greece. He was elected by the European Parliament and has held office since 1 April 2003.
The Parliament elected the first European Ombudsman in 1995.
The first incumbent of the office was Jacob Söderman, who had formerly been the Parliamentary Ombudsman in Finland.
Read more
The European Ombudsman's website
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