EU Parliament prepares to select next European Ombudsman

Strasbourg (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – Six candidates will present their preferences for the European Ombudsman in a December 3, 2024, hearing.

The six contenders racing for the post of European Ombudsman will offer their preferences in a hearing arranged by the European Parliament Petitions Committee on 3 Dec 2024.  As reported by the press of the European Parliament, each of the six candidates will have around a one-hour hearing. The candidates are Ms Teresa ANJINHO, Mr Emilio DE CAPITANI, Mr Marino FARDELLI, Ms Julia LAFFRANQUE, Ms Claudia MAHLER and Mr Reinier VAN ZUTPHEN.

How will the European Parliament select the new Ombudsman?

EU Parliament President Roberta Metsola revealed the names of the six admissible candidates during the October plenary meeting in Strasbourg. The Petitions Committee is in charge of managing public hearings with the candidates. According to the EU Parliament, Political group coordinators will question a first round of queries (one minute per question, three minutes for answers). Subsequent queries will be posed by other MEPs. Each conversation will conclude with a short report by the candidate.

In the next steps, the EU Parliament is expected to select the new European Ombudsman by secret ballot during the December plenary meeting in Strasbourg. The Ombudsman is elected by the European Parliament at the beginning of each parliamentary term. The outgoing European Ombudsman, Emily O’Reilly, was re-elected for a second time in December 2019.

What is the role of the European Ombudsman in the eu?

The European Ombudsman performs inquiries into cases of maladministration by EU institutions, bodies, offices and agencies, working on his or her own initiative or on the grounds of complaints from EU citizens. The European Ombudsman is an autonomous and impartial body that holds the EU’s institutions and agencies to account and boosts good administration. The Ombudsman allows people, businesses, and organisations to confront problems with the EU’s administration by examining complaints about maladministration by EU institutions and bodies, as well as by proactively examining broader systemic issues.