The European Ombudsman has found a friendly solution to the dispute between the European Commission and the NGO Migration Policy Group (MPG) concerning an EU project launched as part of the "European Migration Dialogue". The NGO will receive €70,000 from the Commission.

The European Commission eventually accepted a friendly solution proposal from the European Ombudsman, P. Nikiforos Diamandouros and refunded €70,000 to the NGO Migration Policy Group (MPG). The dispute between the Commission and the NGO concerned its participation in an EU project launched as part of the "European Migration Dialogue".

The non-profit NGO Migration Policy Group carried out an EU-funded project on "European Migration Dialogue - linking the national and European debates on integration" from 2004 to 2005. The project involved more than 20 partner NGOs and its total costs amounted to more than €600,000. The Commission made the final payment for the project in August 2006. In October 2009, an audit of the project resulted in a recovery order for more than €130,000 because supporting documents for staff costs had been delivered too late. The complainant justified the delay by referring to difficulties it had experienced in obtaining the relevant documents from more than 20 partner NGOs on time.

In the end, both parts, agreed in the friendly solution proposed by the Ombudsman. He invited the Commission to explain why its conclusions from the audit report could not have been modified after it received the missing documents; and the Commission accepted the Ombudsman's proposal and refunded €70,000 to MPG.