Eén op de vijf klachten bij Europese Ombudsman betreft gebrek transparantie bij EU-organen (en)

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - The highest proportion of inquiries carried out by the European Ombudsman concerns a "lack of transparency" in the EU institutions, it has emerged.

Marking the tenth anniversary of the institution on Tuesday (6 December), ombudsman Nikiforos Diamandouros has revealed that over one-fifth of all inquiries to his office was about access to information.

Increasing transparency and accountability have been a priority for the European Ombudsman over the past ten years.

"But it is clear that there is still work to do in terms of promoting a genuine culture of transparency in the institutions. Sometimes the institutions could go further, but choose not to", he said.

Since its launch in 1995, the European Ombudsman has dealt with more than 20,000 complaints and opened more than 2,750 inquiries.

More than 70 percent of complaints received fell outside the Ombudsman's mandate, as many complainants are not aware it is limited to dealing with cases concerning EU institutions and bodies.

Only a very small percentage of complaints came from companies, NGOs and associations (5%). Journalists also tended not to go to the Ombudsman, with less than one percent of complaints coming from the press.

Derk-Jan Eppink, working at administrative affairs commissioner Siim Kallas i ' office, said that a lot had been done in the area of EU transparency since he first came to Brussels twenty years ago.

"The DGs [Directorates-General] were then considered close to God, and there was an attitude towards voters of 'we do the ruling, you do the voting', so to speak", he explained, adding that internet access for the public and more openness had changed this.

But communications commissioner Margot Wallström i offered another explanation.

"We have to remember that there are different views on how open we should be; many people simply do not want more transparency", she said at a workshop held in relation to the celebrations.

"Coming from a country where everything I do is public - every single letter I have ever written as a minister, every receipt or paper - transparency is perfectly normal to me, but I know that this is not the case in other countries in the EU", she added.

Disappointment in parliament

While the Ombudsman is set to fight on for openness in the EU institutions, disappointment was great in the European Parliament.

An initiative to open EU ministers' debates to the public, launched by five MEPs in September, did not gain enough support.

Of the 367 signatures needed to get the initiative report adopted, only 207 MEPs had signed when the deadline was passed on Monday (5 December).

"At a time when the leaders of Europe are clearly neglecting their leadership, the idea launched by the UK Presidency to open the Council was a gleam of hope", stated Jan Seifert, President of the Young European Federalists (JEF-Europe).

"The fact that the European Parliament, which has often been the forerunner in the democratisation process of the EU, now ignores this valuable proposal, is a real slap in the face for all those who fight for democracy across Europe", he concluded.