In most cases, the EU institutions reply positively to the European Ombudsman. P. Nikiforos Diamandouros, the European Ombudsman, however, has expressed his concern about the high number of unsatisfactory follow-up replies (10 out of 33) which the European Commission provided in response to his critical remarks.

Among the results of a new study on the follow-up given by the EU administration to the European Ombudsman's critical and further remarks for the year 2010, there are findings such as a positive reply from the EU institutions in 78% of cases where he issued critical remarks and made suggestions for improvement in 2010. However, the European Ombudsman, P. Nikiforos Diamandouros, remained concerned about the high number of unsatisfactory follow-up replies (10 out of 33) which the European Commission provided in response to his critical remarks. Mr Diamandouros was re-elected as European Ombudsman in January 2010.

With regard to the responses concerning cases on call for tenders, the Ombudsman considered them as constructive in 2010. In his previous follow-up report, the Ombudsman had criticised the institutions' defensive approach when it came to cases concerning calls for tenders regarding EU programmes and projects. This year's report, on the other hand, contains highly constructive responses to such cases. Furthermore, the Ombudsman also stressed that he would monitor the way the Commission deals with sub-contractors to ensure that their fundamental right to good administration is respected.

In 2010, the Ombudsman issued a total of 21 further remarks (20 of which led to positive replies). Both types of remark aim to help the EU administration to improve its services. The Ombudsman's critical and further remarks concerned matters such as unjustified refusal to give access to documents, problems with tender procedures, and infringement of the right to be heard. A further remark differs from a critical remark in that it is not based on a finding of maladministration.