European Ombudsman. 9th Annual report 2003

 The committee adopted the own-initiative report by Prionsias DE ROSSA (PES, IE) on the 2003 Annual Report of the Ombudsman. MEPs congratulated the Ombudsman on his good work and the good relations he had with the Petitions Committee. They regarded the role of the Ombudsman as a key contribution towards a European Union in which decisions are taken "as openly as possible and as closely as possible to the citizen", as required by Article 1(2) of the TEU. They confirmed the need for the Ombudsman's statute to be revised to take account of the investigative powers of OLAF and Regulation 1049/2001 on access to documents.

The committee also welcomed the creation by the Ombudsman of a network of ombudsmen and other national and local bodies to which complaints are transferred which do not fall within his sphere of competence. MEPs felt that it would be useful for the Petitions Committee to have access to this network. Lastly, the committee believed that a future law on sound administration, which would have a legal basis in the draft Constitution, should be binding on all EU institutions and bodies.