Annual report 2002 - EOI

RELATIONS WITH OMBUDSMEN AND SIMILAR BODIES 227
5 RELATIONS
WITH
OMBUDSMEN
AND SIMILAR
BODIES
5.1 RELATIONS
WITH
NATIONAL AND
REGIONAL
OMBUDSMEN
On 23 January, Mr Anton CAÑELLAS, Sindic de Greuges (Regional Ombudsman) of
Catalunya and President of the European Ombudsman Institute paid a visit to Mr
SÖDERMAN. The meeting dealt with the cooperation between the two institutions, the
Spanish presidency activities as well as EOI related issues.
On 30 May, Mr SÖDERMAN visited the British Parliamentary Ombudsman, Sir Michael
BUCKLEY in London. He presented the European Code of Good Administrative
Behaviour to Sir Buckley’s staff. Questions raised concerned the powers of the European
Ombudsman, dealing with dissatisfied complainants, the interference of courts in the work
of ombudsmen and the implementation of the Code.
On 30 May, Mr SÖDERMAN attended the Annual General Meeting of the British and
Irish Ombudsman Association (BIOA) in London. This was followed by a presentation by
the European Ombudsman on the European Code of Good Administrative Behaviour.
Participants questioned the Ombudsman about his work, asking about the resources available
to his office, the instruments at his disposal to remedy cases of maladministration and
how he has used the Code to date.
On 14 November, Mr Olivier VERHEECKE and Mr Ben HAGARD had a meeting with
Mr Philippe BARDIAUX and Mrs Valérie FONTAINE from the office of the French
Médiateur de la République. They discussed several issues concerning the reciprocal experiences
of the offices of the European and French Ombudsman.
5.2 THE
LIAISON
NETWORK
The liaison network was created in 1996 to promote a free flow of information about
Community law and its implementation and to make possible the transfer of complaints to
the body best able to deal with them.
Through seminars, newsletters and day-to-day contact, the liaison network has steadily
developed itself into an effective collaboration tool for the national ombudsmen and their
staff throughout the European Union. Experiences and best practice have been shared by
the members of the network to enable a better service for the citizens. In particular, matters
relating to the implementation of Community law at the Member State level have been
discussed.
Towards the end of 2000, the online version of the liaison network, entitled EUOMB, was
set up to further facilitate communication between members of the liaison network.
EUOMB consists of a website and an Internet Summit where interactive discussions and
sharing of documents can take place. In April 2002, membership of the EUOMB Summit
was extended to the national ombudsmen in the applicant countries for EU membership.
In November 2001, a new section of the Summit was created entitled ‘Ombudsman Daily
News’. This virtual newspaper has proved a very big success with the members of the
liaison network and has made it possible for each to be kept informed of the activities of
ombudsmen and similar bodies throughout the EU and beyond. Most of the liaison
network members now consult the Daily News on a regular basis and are thus kept
informed about the ways that other bodies have dealt with matters that they too may be
dealing with.
5.3 RELATIONS
WITH LOCAL
OMBUDSMEN
On 28 May, during his visit to Cardiff, Mr SÖDERMAN discussed his work with the
Commissioner for Local Administration in Wales, Elwyn MOSELEY. Mr MOSELEY
announced his readiness to help raise awareness of the work of the European Ombudsman.
The two ombudsmen then discussed the future of the public sector ombudsmen in Wales.