Activities of the European Ombudsman – annual report 2022

Wording as published by the EP, in English.

1. Amendment 1Rejected

   Recital O

   Tabled by Cristian Terheş · ECR

   … significant delays in how the Commission handles requests for public access to Removed: documents; Added: documents, including documents concerning the purchase of COVID-19 vaccines; whereas the Ombudsman found maladministration in the Commission’s way of handling such …

2. Amendment 2Rejected

   Recital P a (new)

   Tabled by Cristian Terheş · ECR

   Added: Pa. whereas in 2022 the Ombudsman continued to receive a large number of complaints related to the COVID-19 pandemic, predominantly concerning measures national authorities had put in place in response to the pandemic and the right to move freely within the EU; whereas the Ombudsman replied even to the complaints that were out of mandate and to all those seeking help in the language of their complaint or in the language of their preference by clarifying the Ombudsman’s mandate and, as far as possible, advising complainants to turn to other bodies1a; 1a European Ombudsman, ‘Annual Report 2022’, 25 April 2023.

3. Amendment 3Rejected

   Recital P b (new)

   Tabled by Cristian Terheş · ECR

   Added: Pb. whereas in 2022 the Ombudsman determined that the manner in which the Commission addressed a request for public access to documents related to the quality of medical masks distributed during the COVID-19 pandemic1a constituted maladministration; whereas this judgment is grounded in the Commission’s failure to grant complete access to three pending documents and the consequential issue that, due to the Commission’s stalling for nearly two years, the complainant is currently unable to utilise the disclosed information for its originally intended purpose; 1a European Ombudsman decision of 25 May 2022 on how the European Commission handled a request for public access to documents concerning the quality of medical masks distributed during the COVID-19 pandemic (case 790/2021/MIG).

4. Amendment 4Rejected

   Recital T a (new)

   Tabled by Cristian Terheş · ECR

   Added: Ta. whereas in 2022, noticing the flagrant absence of public information, the Ombudsman asked the Commission how it would ensure transparency in the negotiations of national recovery plans, how it would guarantee public scrutiny of milestones reached by Member States, and how it would supervise the audits1a; 1a European Ombudsman, ‘Ombudsman asks Commission how it will ensure accountability of recovery fund spending’, 28 February 2022.

5. Amendment 5Rejected

   Paragraph 2 a (new)

   Tabled by Cristian Terheş · ECR

   Added: 2a. Congratulates the European Ombudsman for her exemplary efforts during the pandemic years in safeguarding the rights of citizens against the unprecedented abuses by the Commission and in investigating the Commission’s refusal to provide access to documents and text messages related to the negotiation of COVID-19 vaccine purchase contracts using public funds;

6. Amendment 6Rejected

   Paragraph 14 a (new)

   Tabled by Cristian Terheş · ECR

   Added: 14a. Calls on the Ombudsman to persist in urging the Commission to immediately publish the unredacted contracts related to the procurement of COVID-19 vaccines;