European Ombudsman. 1999 Annual report

2000/2063(COS)
The committee adopted the report by Astrid THORS (ELDR, FIN) on the 1999 annual report of the European Ombudsman. It congratulated the Ombudsman on his useful and effective work, including fruitful cooperation with Ombudsmen and similar bodies in both the Member States and the applicant countries, and the quality of the 1999 report. It reiterated its determination to introduce amendments to the Ombudsman's Statute so as to enable him to have access to all relevant documents he may need to consult in the course of his inquiries and to make public access to documents relating to complaints he receives a general rule. Confidentiality should therefore only apply to cases where the protection of complainants so required. The committee stressed that the interpretation of Community law as applied by the institutions formed part of the Ombudsman's mandate and that he had a duty to conduct inquiries into cases of maladministration. It also endorsed the principle formulated by the Ombudsman in his report that good administration required European institutions to explain the reasons for any decision affecting a particular citizen.�