The European Ombudsman received 2.510 complaints in 2011, a 18% more than in 2010.
In 2011, more than 18.000 citizens used the online interactive guide from the European Ombudsman to obtain advice on where to turn with their problems. In addition, P. Nikiforos Diamandouros, the European Ombudsman, received 2.510 complaints last year, and he opened a record number of 396 investigations into alleged maladministration by the EU administration.
According to the European Ombudsman, P. Nikiforos Diamandouros, he helped during the whole 2011 more than 22.000 citizens. In particular, he helped more European citizens, companies, NGOs, and associations, either by investigating complaints, answering information requests, or giving advice via his online interactive guide. In total, he opened a record number of 396 investigations into alleged maladministration by the EU administration.
Spain registered the greatest number of complaints (361) followed by Germany (308), Poland (233) and Belgium (190). Relative to population, however, the greatest proportion of complaints came from Luxembourg and Cyprus. On the other hand, the most common subject matter of the Ombudsman's inquiries in 2011 was lack of transparency in the EU administration, including refusal to release documents or information. A welcome development this year was that the percentage of transparency-related cases decreased from 33% in 2010 to 25%. In September 2011, the Ombudsman called for more pro-active transparency in the EU. Other cases concerned problems with the execution of EU contracts or calls for tender, unfairness, and discrimination.
Most of the inquiries opened in 2011 concerned the European Commission (58%), followed by the EU Agencies taken together (13%), the European Personnel Selection Office (11%), and the European Parliament (4%). In 66% of all inquiries closed in 2011 (212 cases), the Ombudsman was able to achieve a positive outcome, because the institutions concerned accepted a friendly solution proposal, settled a problem, or submitted a satisfactory reply. He found maladministration in 47 cases, a slight increase compared to 40 cases in 2010.