The European Ombudsman has a key role when it comes to ensuring transparency and accountability of the EU administration.
This PETI annual report is the last under the outgoing Ombudsman Emily O’Reilly, whom I want to thank for the remarkable and tireless work of the past eleven years.
Accountability, transparency, compliance with fundamental and human rights obligations are some of the elements investigated by the Ombudsman in 2023. Such values are the cornerstone of our Union and I am glad that the Ombudsman’s recommendations helped to improve the functioning of our institutions with tangible results.
Citizens expect an “open, modern, and service-minded” EU administration, but unfortunately, a lot still has to be done to achieve the highest possible standards.
Particularly worrying are the systemic and significant delays in how the Commission handles requests for public access to documents. Regrettably, other EU institutions have been facing the same issue, which is a sign of widespread structural problems.
I also welcome the assessment regarding ethical issues in the EU institutions and the concerns on the implementation of the new rules on transparency.
Transparency lies at the basis of the citizens’ trust and we need to maintain high accountability and ensure proper enforcement.
