The European Parliament (EP) today re-elected P. Nikiforos Diamandouros (foto) as European Ombudsman, with 340 votes out of a total of 648 valid votes cast. The other candidates, Pierre-Yves Monette (Belgium) and Vittorio Bottoli (Italy), received 289 and 19 votes respectively.
After the election, Diamandouros commented in a statement, “I am very grateful for the support of the European Parliament and for this vote of confidence in my work. I look forward to continuing my efforts to improve the quality of the EU administration and to promote a culture of service in the EU institutions for the benefit of European citizens.”
Diamandouros has stated his priorities for his mandate, which runs until 2014. They are to ensure that the EU delivers the benefits for citizens promised by the Lisbon Treaty; strengthen constructive dialogue with EU institutions and bodies; and improve service to citizens, by using resources more efficiently.
He also plans to step up co-operation with national and regional ombudsmen and communicate more effectively with citizens.
The role of the European Ombudsman – as established in 1995 – is to investigate cases of maladministration by the EU institutions, including lack of transparency and refusal to provide information or documents.
The European Ombudsman is elected by the EP for five years. Diamandouros has served as European Ombudsman since April 1, 2003.
Diamandouros was elected in January 2003 for the remainder of the 1999-2004 legislative term, following the retirement of the first European Ombudsman, Jacob Söderman. He was re-elected in January 2005. Before becoming European Ombudsman, he was, from 1998 to 2003, the first National Ombudsman of Greece.
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