What changed between the draft committee report and the plenary report

Changed:7. Notes that the budget implementation rate was 96.97%96,97 % in 2022, which is higher compared to the previous year, when the implementation rate was 88.888,8 % due to restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic;

Changed:8. Notes that in the course of the 2022, the Ombudsman made 6 budget transfers pursuant to Article 29 of the Financial Regulation, representing a total of EUR 344,460344 460 or 2.8 % of the appropriations for that financial year; notes further that the budget nomenclature for item ‘2000’ was split in four subcategories in order to increase transparency of information required for the Ombudsman’s buildings in both places of work; acknowledges that the appropriations transferred from the rent budget item were unused because the Ombudsman paid all costs incurred for the fitting out works of the new Ombudsman’s building through the 2021 budget instead of spreading them over six years;

Changed:9. Appreciates that, despite increasing the time for payments from 11.3511,35 to 13 days from 2021 to 2022, the average time for payments continues to be relatively short; believes that the implementation of an electronic invoicing system as of 2023 can only improve the efficiency of the payment process;

Changed:11. Notes that the budget for staff missions decreased from EUR 135,000135 000 in 2021 to EUR 120,000120 000 in 2022 as a result of savings based on the lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic and the wide use of videoconferencing facilities for internal and external meetings in both places of work;

Removed:13. Notes that the Ombudsman received 2,223 complaints in 2022, compared to 2,192 in 2021, 35% of which were within the Ombudsman’s mandate; notes further that the Ombudsman opened 348 inquiries, including 60 inquiries of public importance, and closed 330 inquiries in 2022 compared to opening 338 inquiries in 2021 and closingand 305;

Added:13. Underlines that in 2022, noticing the flagrant absence of public information, the Ombudsman anticipatorily asked the European Commission how it will ensure transparency in the negotiations of national recovery plans, how it will guarantee public scrutiny of milestones reached by Member States, and how it will supervise the audits ;

Removed:14. Welcomes the development of a streamlined process for dealing with “failure to reply” inquiries; welcomes equally the rolling-out of a simplified procedure for the handling of “outside the mandate” complaints, thus reducing the time for dealing with such requests from 15 days to 3 days; is worried, nevertheless, that the average time for dealing with a complaint within the mandate increased from 61 to 91 days and the average time for dealing with an inquiry from increased from 112 to 166 days between 2021 and 2022;

Added:14. Notes that the Ombudsman received 2,223 complaints in 2022, compared to 2,192 in 2021, 35 % of which were within the Ombudsman’s mandate; notes further that the Ombudsman opened 348 inquiries, including 60 inquiries of public importance, and closed 330 inquiries in 2022 compared to opening 338 inquiries in 2021 and closing 305;

Changed:17.20. Notes that the composition of the staff in terms of status and job profiles has remained stable in recent years, with a total of 74 staff members at the end of 2022, the same number as in 2021; notes further that, in 2022, 39 officials were employed by the Ombudsman, compared to 37 and 38 in 2020 and 2021 respectively, 28 temporary staff, compared to 28 and 30 in 2020 and 2021 respectively and 7 contract agents, compared to 8 and 6 in 2020 and 2021 respectively; notes that, in 2022, an equal proportion of around 40%40 % of staff dealt with administration (HR, finance, process management) on the one hand and 40%40 % dealt with complaints and inquiries on the other hand;

Changed:18.21. NotesRegrets that the post of the Secretary-General has been vacant since 1 September 2022;

Changed:19.22. Notes that, in 2022, the Ombudsman launched a call for expressions of interest with the aim of establishing a pool of candidates, in order to recruit temporary agents more swiftly; is interested in following-up on the efficiency gains brought about by this procedure;

Changed:20.23. Notes that, despite being a small institution,that the Ombudsman has managed to have 18 nationalities represented in its staff, thanks to proactive communication and outreach to more diverse audiences, notably through social media channels; urges the Ombudsman to continue its efforts to achieve a balanced geographical distribution of nationals from all Member States within its staff;

Changed:21.24. Notes that, in terms of gender balance, the Ombudsman employs more women than men in all categories of staff, in particular at management level, with an overall representation of 67%67 % women and 33%33 % men, compared to 68%68 % women and 32%32 % men in 2021; encourages the Ombudsman to continue its efforts in achieving a gender balanced representation of staff, taking into account the small size of the institution;staff;

Changed:22.25. Notes that, in 2022, the Ombudsman rolled out its new policy on working time and hybrid work that was adopted in October 2021, which includes provisions, for example, on teleworking, including from abroad, provision of ergonomic equipment for working from home, part-time work, parental leave, flexitime and the right to disconnect and welcomes that it applies to all categories of staff; welcomes the overall result of a staff survey carried out in 2023 showing a general satisfaction rate of 97%97 % of staff towards the hybrid and flexible working arrangements;

Removed:23. Appreciates that no harassment cases were reported in 2022; encourages the Ombudsman to continue its efforts in ensuring a working environment free from sexual and psychological harassment, notably through awareness raising and training; notes with satisfaction that a survey carried out in the context of an internal audit on the ethical framework has shown that, at the beginning of 2023, 90% of staff were aware of the policy and guidelines regarding harassment;

Added:26. Acknowledges that managers have a good overview of the staff’s workload, monitor work distribution regularly, and fine-tune it, when necessary; notes that the medical service of the European Parliament, which handles medical matters relating to the Ombudsman’s staff, did not alert the Ombudsman to any long term sickness that originated in burnout;

Removed:24. Notes that the Ombudsman welcomed 18 paid trainees in 2022, compared to 16 in 2021, who enjoy a remuneration package and the same working arrangements as the rest of the staff and; encourages the Ombudsman to launch, as planned for 2023, a traineeship scheme intended for young people with disabilities;

Added:27. Appreciates that no harassment cases were reported in 2022; encourages the Ombudsman to continue its efforts in ensuring a working environment free from sexual and psychological harassment, notably through awareness raising and training; notes with satisfaction that a survey carried out in the context of an internal audit on the ethical framework has shown that, at the beginning of 2023, 90 % of staff were aware of the policy and guidelines regarding harassment;

Changed:26.30. Notes that the anti-fraud strategy of the Ombudsman is largely based on the ethical framework in place and the principle of the segregation of duties for financial functions; notes with satisfaction that no cases of conflicts of interest and no cases of whistle-blowing were reported in 2021;2022;

Changed:27.31. NotesRegrets that the Ombudsman did not formally join the EU transparency register set up by the interinstitutional agreement of 20 May 2021 between the European Parliament, the Council of the European Union and the European Commission on a mandatory transparency register but has aligned its practices on the principles of the transparency register, checking that speakers or interlocutors in events or meetings organised by the Ombudsman are registered therein; welcomes the high degree of transparency achieved by the Ombudsman by the publication on its website of information on inquiries, missions, meetings and events in which the Ombudsman takes part;

Added:32. Calls on the Ombudsman to periodically inform the budgetary authority about the difficulties encountered in its work on the transparency and accountability of the Recovery and Resilience Facility;

Added:33. Welcomes that the Ombudsman published a guide in 2022 for the public on the right of public access to documents, with information on how to best exercise this right;

Changed:28.34. Congratulates the Ombudsman for actively promoting digitalisation to reduce the use of paper and facilitate the exchange and storage of documents; notes that IT expenditure in 2022 decreased by 48%48 % compared to 2021 as no specific investment was needed to enhance digitalisation; welcomes the generalised use of videoconferencing and webstreaming, which have reduced the need for travel;

Added:36. Encourages the Ombudsman to work closely in cooperation with ENISA (European Union Agency for Cybersecurity); suggests to offer regularly updated cybersecurity -related training programmes for all staff within the Ombudsman;

Added:39. Welcomes the fact that an electronic invoicing system is currently being implemented in collaboration with the European Commission (DG DIGIT); asks the Ombudsman to detail a timeline for the full implementation of the electronic invoicing system;

Changed:33.41. Notes that the Ombudsman returned 20.5%20,5 % of the surface rented by Parliament in Strasbourg at the request of the latter and that its rent was subsequently reduced;

Changed:34.42. Recalls that the Ombudsman does not own its own buildings but rents a building in Brussels and office space in Strasbourg; notes with satisfaction that the Havel building in Strasbourg is fully accessible to persons with reduced mobility or other disabilities and strongly regrets that accessibility to the building rented in Brussels needs improvement; calls on Parliament to improve accessibility to the building rented to the Ombudsman in Brussels;

Changed:38.46. Recognises the importance of maintaining a high level of exchanges and coordination with the European Network of Ombudsmen (ENO); welcomes the organisation of the ENO annual conference and thematic webinar as important discussion fora on topical issues having an impact ofon the work of ombudsmenOmbudsmen across Europe in 2022;

Changed:39.47. Welcomes the cooperation that the Ombudsman maintains with the EPPO, the ECA and OLAF aiming to avoid duplication of investigations and discussing topics of mutual interest, such as the improvement of the Union’s oversight framework; welcomes equally the cooperation channels put in place with the EDPS to ensure swift cross-consultation in the everyday work of both institutions and the Memorandum of Understanding delineating the respective competences of each institution aiming to avoicavoid duplication of procedures;

Changed:41.49. Notes that the overall budget for communication and promotional activities increased from EUR 92,10092 100 to EUR 132,400,132 400, i.e. 43.8%,43,8 %, between 2021 and 2022; congratulates the Ombudsman for developing a comprehensive communication strategy which has contributed to increasing outreach to specialised audiences and to the general public; notes that European media issued 60%60 % more press articles on the Ombudsman compared to 2021;

Removed:43. Notes that the Ombudsman has social media accounts on Instagram, LinkedIn, X (ex-twitter), where the growth in followers and the engagement rates were higher in 2022 than in previous years; welcomes the participation of the Ombudsman in a pilot project led by the EDPS aimed at bringing Union institutions on EU-Voice and EU-Video, which are two free, open-source social media networks, based on Mastodon software, allowing Union institutions to interact with the public by sharing texts, images, videos and podcasts.

Added:51. Appreciates the Ombudsman's use of an automated tool for translating cases on the website and asks the Ombudsman to ensure a seamless and timely translation of their cases in all languages;

Added:52. Notes that the Ombudsman has social media accounts on Instagram, LinkedIn, X (ex-twitter), where the growth in followers and the engagement rates were higher in 2022 than in previous years; welcomes the participation of the Ombudsman in a pilot project led by the EDPS aiming to bring Union institutions on EU-Voice and EU-Video, which are two free, open-source social media networks, based on Mastodon software, allowing Union institutions to interact with the public by sharing texts, images, videos and podcasts.