PURPOSE: to grant discharge to the European Ombudsman for the financial year 2016.
NON-LEGISLATIVE ACT: Decision (EU) 2018/1333 of the European Parliament on discharge in respect of the implementation of the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2016, Section VIII — European Ombudsman.
CONTENT: the European Parliament decided to grant discharge to the European Ombudsman in respect of the implementation of the budget of the European Ombudsman for the financial year 2016.
This decision is accompanied by a resolution of the European Parliament containing the observations which form an integral part of the discharge decision in respect of the implementation of the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2016 (please refer to the summary dated 18.4.2018).
Parliament welcomed the Ombudsman's overall prudent and sound financial management in the 2016 budget period while expressing support for the successful paradigm shift towards performance-based budgeting in the Commission’s budget planning. The Ombudsman’s budget is purely administrative and amounted in 2016 to EUR 10 658 951 (EUR 10 346 105 in 2015) with a utilisation rate of 95.40 %.
Parliament encouraged the Ombudsman to pursue his strategic work to promote good governance of the Union institutions. It welcomed the fact that the Ombudsman's organisational chart had been clarified and was available on its website. It also welcomed the introduction of a new fast track procedure for access to case documents.
The results achieved in the handling of complaints in 2016 show that 84% of the Union institutions complied with the Ombudsman's decisions (the second highest rate of follow-up of the Ombudsman's decisions and recommendations to date). The resolution recommended that the Ombudsman continue its work with a view to analysing possible solutions to reach at least 88%. It also underlined the importance of raising awareness among EU citizens of the possibility of applying to the Ombudsman in cases of maladministration.
Parliament has expressed its concern at the ‘internal revolving door’ between the Ombudsman and other institutions. It encouraged the Ombudsman to strive for geographical balance in management positions in the long-term.