EP Rules of procedure, rule 159: appointment of the Ombudsman

Adopting the second report by Mr Ben FAYOT by 16 votes in favour and 3 abstentions, the Committee on Rules of Procedure approved the amendments to the provisions of the Rules of Procedure of the European Parliament on the appointment of the ombudsman (Rule 159). The report recommends the following amendments: - a notice calling for nominations to be published in the Official Journal of the EC; - nominations to be supported by at least 29 members and to include all the supporting documents needed to show conclusively that the nominee fulfils the conditions required by the Regulations on the Ombudsman; - the committee responsible to select three to five nominees to be put to the vote in Parliament in alphabetical order; - if no candidate is elected after the first ballot, only the two candidates obtaining the largest number of votes may continue to stand. In the event of a tie after the second ballot, the elder candidate to be elected; - the candidate's solemn undertaking not to engage in any other professional activity required in paragraph 2 to be deleted. Similarly, paragraph 8 of the Rule to be deleted (new call for nominations in the event of a negative vote). Finally, the transitional provisions applicable to the nomination of the first ombudsman have been added in an annex VIII to the Rules of Procedure: valid nominations received following publication of a notice calling for nominations in the Official Journal on 30 July 1994 will be automatically admitted to the selection process, unless the nominee in question expressly renounces his nomination.�