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European Ombudsman
European Ombudsman's website lastest published pages
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Report on the meeting of the European Ombudsman Inquiry team with representatives of the European Commission and the Uuropean Innovation Council and SMES Executive agency (EISMA)
Case title:How the European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency (EISMEA) and the European Commission ensure that the use of artificial intelligence (AI) by external experts is compatible with their tasks as evaluators of applications for Horizon funds
Date: Monday, 23 March 2026
Meeting at DG Research & Innovation’s office
Present
European Commission
• Head of Complaints and Litigation Sector. DG RTD.H1. Common Legal Support Service (CLSS)
• Legal Officer, DG RTD.H1. CLSS
• Administrative Assistant, DG RTD.H1. CLSS
• Policy Analyst, REGIO.G1
• Legal Officer, REGIO.B4
European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency (EISMEA)
• Team Leader Legal Team, EISMEA.Team.C-Legal Team
• Legal Manager, EISMEA.Team.C-Legal
• Legal Adviser, EISMEA.Team.C-Legal
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Decision on the refusal of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) to give public access to the conflict of interest declarations of its judges and advocates general (case 1150/2026/MIK)
The case concerned a journalist’s request for public access to the conflict of interest declarations submitted by judges and advocates general of the Court of Justice and the General Court since 1 January 2018. The declarations of currently serving members of the Court are published on its website, but they are removed once their term of office ends. The Court of Justice refused access to the requested declarations of former members saying that they constitute ‘judicial documents’, which do not fall under its decision on public access to the Court’s administrative documents.
The Ombudsman opened an inquiry into this complaint and sought clarifications on how the Court distinguishes between judicial and administrative documents among those in its possession. However, shortly after the inquiry had been opened, the Court informed the Ombudsman that it had changed its practice, and that it now grants access upon request to the declarations of interest, except for confidential ann -
Interinstitutional call for expression of interest for secondment to the Office of the European Ombudsman - OMB/5/2026 - Inquiries officer (AD 5/9)
Title of post
Inquiries officer
Function group and grade
AD5 to AD9
Legal basis
Secondment in the interest of service: Articles 37(a) and 38 of the Staff Regulations and Article 16(4) of the Statute of the European Ombudsman with a possibility of subsequent transferaccording to Article 8 of the SR
Duration of secondment
Two years with possible renewal
Place of work
Brussels or Strasbourg
Deadline for application
15 November 2026
Preferred starting date
As soon as -
Inquiries Officer in the Office of the European Ombudsman OMB/5/2026 - AD5/9
The inquiries officer in the Ombudsman's Office must necessarily have a very good command of English. The documents concerning the call for expression of interest are therefore only available in English.
Candidates are informed that they are not allowed to contact personally members of the Selection Committee and that doing so constitutes grounds for disqualification from the procedure.
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The European Commission's refusal to give public access to a study forming part of its ongoing impact assessment for VAT measures under the EU’s circular economy strategy
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Information
Justice
The Defensor del Pueblo is the High Commissioner of Parliament responsible for defending citizens’ fundamental rights and civil liberties by monitoring the activity of the Administration and public authorities. Any citizen may request the intervention of the Defensor del Pueblo, which is free of charge, to investigate any alleged misconduct by public authorities and/or the agents thereof. The office of the Defensor del Pueblo can also intervene ex officio in cases that come to their attention without any complaint having been filed.
The European Ombudsman is an independent and impartial body that holds the EU’s institutions and agencies to account, and promotes good administration. The Ombudsman helps people, businesses, and organisations facing problems with the EU’s administration by investigating complaints about maladministration by EU institutions and bodies, as well as by proactively looking into broader systemic issues.