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

The committee adopted the second draft report by President Ben FAYOT amending Rule 159 of the Rules of Procedure of the European Parliament on the appointment of the European Ombudsman by a large majority (EP 211.013 and 212.409). The text adopted gives plenary the right to choose between all admissible nominations listed in alphabetical order. As far as the procedure for selecting candidates is concerned, the text makes provision for: 1) the notice calling for nominations to be published in the Official Journal of the European Communities; 2) nominations to include all the supporting documents needed to show conclusively that the nominee meets the conditions required by the Regulations on the Ombudsman (OJ L 113 of 4 May 1994); 3) the nomination to have the support of a minimum of 29 Members who are nationals of at least two Member States; 4) each Member may only support one nomination; 5) the Committee on Petitions may hear candidates. These hearings will be open to all Members. It will then submit a list of admissible nominations in alphabetical order on which Parliament will vote. As far as the nomination of the ombudsman by plenary is concerned, the text makes provision for: 1) the vote (in three rounds) to be held by secret ballot; the nomination with the most votes wins; 2) in the event of a third round, only the two candidates with the most votes will continue to stand; 3) whenever there is a tie, the older candidate wins. The text adopted contains a temporary provision whereby candidates who have already met the required conditions need not reapply when the new procedure is opened, provided that their nomination complies with the newly approved nomination requirements (cf. points 3 and 4 under the heading "procedure") and they have not expressly withdrawn their nomination. For the record, Mr Siegbert ALBER (D), Mr Juan Maria BANDRES-MOLET (E), Mr Alvaro GIL-ROBLES Y GIL-DELGADO (E), Mr Henry McCUBBIN (UK), Mr William F. NEWTON-DUNN (UK) and Mrs Marie-Claude VAYSSADE (F) submitted their nominations following the first call for nominations in August 1994.�