Skip to content
REPORT (2025/2153(DEC))

On discharge in respect of the implementation of the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2024, Section VIII – European Ombudsman

A-10-2026-0054

Committee on Budgetary Control · Rapporteur: Pasquale Tridico

Official HTML ↗ PDF DOCX
✦ In shortFull textProcedure & committee votes
✦ In short · AI summary of this text, generated 4 Sept 2026

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 2024 budget and adopts a resolution with observations on budget management, performance, ethics, and other areas. The resolution notes the Ombudsman's budget of EUR 13,843,160, a 97.55% implementation rate, and improvements in case handling, while raising concerns about delays in access-to-documents cases and the selection of the Secretary-General. It calls for proportionate fees for shared systems, realistic budget forecasting, and action to address delays and perceived conflicts of interest.

Committee position. The Committee on Budgetary Control proposes to grant discharge to the European Ombudsman for the 2024 financial year, with observations in the accompanying resolution.

Key points

  1. Grants the European Ombudsman discharge for implementing its 2024 budget.
  2. Notes the Ombudsman's budget was EUR 13,843,160 in 2024, up 4.77% from 2023, with a budget implementation rate of 97.55%.
  3. Calls for a transparent, proportional cost model for access to shared financial systems like SUMMA, as the Ombudsman is asked to pay EUR 200,000, double its budget for such services.
  4. Notes increased energy costs due to Russia's war in Ukraine, with energy expenditure up 75% to EUR 295,400, and stresses the need for realistic cost assessments.
  5. Calls for more realistic initial budget forecasting for missions to reduce reliance on mid-year transfers.
  6. Notes the Ombudsman handled 2,264 new complaints, opened 411 inquiries, and closed 421 inquiries in 2024, with an 82% acceptance rate of its proposals.
  7. Regrets the increase in average time to close public access cases to 85 days and recommends refining KPIs and redirecting AI savings to inquiry teams.
  8. Calls for a plan to address delays in access-to-documents cases and for the Ombudsman to inform Parliament of undue delays on RRF-related documents.
  9. Notes the Secretary-General post was vacant for over two years; the selection process ended in 2025, but Parliament urges safeguards against perceived conflicts of interest.
  10. Urges the Ombudsman to provide all documents related to the Secretary-General selection procedure, as Parliament has a right to information for discharge.
  11. Calls for targeted recruitment to address overrepresentation of one nationality and for a strategy to address the absence of men in management roles.
  12. Welcomes AI use in translation, which cut costs by over 65%, but stresses human oversight and data protection in AI deployment.

Who is affected

  • The European Ombudsman: receives discharge and is called to improve budget forecasting, case handling, and transparency in appointments.
  • The Commission: invited to find a proportionate price for SUMMA access and to avoid delays in access-to-documents cases.
  • Union institutions, offices, bodies and agencies: expected to accept Ombudsman's proposals and improve transparency.
  • Citizens: benefit from improved access to documents and transparency, but face delays in some cases.

Figures and deadlines

  • EUR 13,843,160: Ombudsman's 2024 budget, an increase of EUR 630,713 (+4.77%) from 2023.
  • 97.55%: budget implementation rate in 2024, up 2.16% from 2023.
  • EUR 200,000: amount the Ombudsman is asked to pay for SUMMA access rights.
  • 75%: increase in energy expenditure in 2024, from EUR 168,900 to EUR 295,400.
  • 2,264: new complaints handled in 2024; 411 inquiries opened; 421 closed.
  • 82%: acceptance rate of Ombudsman's proposals in 2024.
  • 85 days: average time to close public access cases in 2024, up from 42 days in 2023.
  • 65%: reduction in translation costs from 2022 to 2024.

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