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Discharge 2023: EU general budget - European Ombudsman

TA-10-2025-0084 · P10_TA(2025)0084 · PE764.991

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Parliament grants the European Ombudsman discharge for the 2023 budget and adopts a resolution with observations on budget management, performance, ethics, and transparency. The resolution notes the Ombudsman's budget of EUR 13,212,447, a 95.39% implementation rate, and increased workload, while calling for improvements in payment execution, transparency, and accessibility.

Key points

  1. Grants discharge to the European Ombudsman for the financial year 2023.
  2. Notes the Ombudsman's budget was EUR 13,212,447 in 2023, up 8.1% from 2022, with a budget implementation rate of 95.39%.
  3. Regrets the lower execution rate of automatic carry-overs (73.27% in 2023 vs 92.59% in 2022) and calls for improvement.
  4. Notes the Ombudsman handled 2,392 new complaints, opened 398 inquiries, and closed 372 inquiries in 2023, with efficiency gains.
  5. Calls on the Ombudsman to improve compliance with its findings and recommendations, noting an 81% acceptance rate by institutions in 2023.
  6. Expresses concern over Commission delays in access to documents and RRF transparency, urging the Commission to address shortcomings and the Ombudsman to monitor.
  7. Calls for swift implementation of the Ombudsman's recommendation on systemic delays in processing access to documents requests.
  8. Notes the vacancy of the Secretary-General post since 1 September 2022 and calls on the next Ombudsman to keep vacancies short.
  9. Urges the Ombudsman to achieve balanced geographical distribution and gender representation among staff.
  10. Calls for publication of all high-level meetings with external actors and introduction of mandatory financial interest declarations for senior staff.
  11. Calls on Parliament to improve accessibility to the building rented to the Ombudsman in Brussels.
  12. Encourages the Ombudsman to establish a formalized annual dialogue with Parliament's CONT and LIBE committees.

Who is affected

  • European Ombudsman: receives discharge and must implement recommendations on transparency, accessibility, and staff diversity.
  • European Commission: urged to address delays in access to documents and improve RRF transparency.
  • 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 budget for 2023, an increase of 8.1% from 2022.
  • 95.39%: budget implementation rate in 2023, down 1.58% from 2022.
  • 73.27%: execution rate of automatic carry-overs in 2023, compared to 92.59% in 2022.
  • 2,392 new complaints handled in 2023, up from 2,223 in 2022.
  • 81%: acceptance rate of Ombudsman's proposals by institutions in 2023.
  • 85%: percentage of cases where Commission misses deadlines for confirmatory requests.

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