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REPORT (2024/2027(DEC))

On discharge in respect of the implementation of the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2023, Section VIII – European Ombudsman

A-10-2025-0055

Committee on Budgetary Control · Rapporteur: Joachim Stanisław Brudziński

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Written by a language model from the full text only; every figure comes from the text. The paragraph links open the paragraph a statement rests on — check the text itself before relying on it.

Parliament grants the European Ombudsman discharge for the 2023 budget and adopts a resolution with observations on the Ombudsman's financial management, performance, staff, ethics, buildings, digitalisation, environment, cooperation and communication.

Key points

  1. Notes the Ombudsman's 2023 budget of EUR 13 212 447, an increase of 8.1% from 2022, with a budget implementation rate of 95.39% and payment execution rate of 97.58%.
  2. Regrets the lower execution rate of automatic carry-overs (73.27% in 2023 vs 92.59% in 2022) and calls for improvement.
  3. Notes the Ombudsman handled 2 392 new complaints, opened 398 inquiries, and closed 372 inquiries in 2023; calls for more targeted communication to reduce complaints.
  4. Calls on the Commission to address delays in replying to access to documents requests, especially regarding the Recovery and Resilience Facility, and on the Ombudsman to maintain monitoring.
  5. Calls on the next Ombudsman to keep vacancies of management positions as short as possible, noting the Secretary-General post has been vacant since 1 September 2022.
  6. Urges the Ombudsman to improve geographical balance among staff, noting overrepresentation of some nationalities and underrepresentation of others.
  7. Calls for publication of all high-level meetings of the Ombudsman's office with external actors and for a mandatory declaration of financial interests for senior staff.
  8. Calls on Parliament to improve accessibility to the building rented to the Ombudsman in Brussels, as it currently needs improvement.
  9. Encourages the Ombudsman to ensure compulsory training on safe and ethical use of AI tools and to keep the discharge authority informed on AI progress.
  10. Calls on the Ombudsman to establish a formalized annual dialogue with Parliament's CONT and LIBE Committees on transparency, governance and fundamental rights.

Who is affected

  • The European Ombudsman: receives discharge for 2023 and is called on to improve budget execution, staff diversity, transparency and cooperation.
  • The European Commission: urged to address delays in access to documents requests and improve transparency of the Recovery and Resilience Facility.
  • The European Parliament: called on to improve accessibility to the building rented to the Ombudsman in Brussels.

Figures and deadlines

  • EUR 13 212 447: Ombudsman's 2023 budget, an increase of EUR 990 339 (+8.1%) from 2022.
  • 95.39%: budget implementation rate in 2023; 97.58%: payment appropriations execution rate.
  • 73.27%: execution rate of automatic carry-overs in 2023, down from 92.59% in 2022.
  • 2 392 new complaints, 398 inquiries opened, 372 inquiries closed in 2023.
  • 81%: acceptance rate of Ombudsman's proposals by institutions in 2023, up from 79% in 2022.
  • 85%: share of cases where the Commission misses deadlines for confirmatory access requests.
  • 82 staff in 2023, up 11% from 74 in 2022; staff occupation rate 95%, turnover rate 5.2%.
  • EUR 155 200: communication budget in 2023, up 17.20% from EUR 132 400 in 2022.

Legal basis: Article 314(10) and Articles 317, 318 and 319 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union