The European Ombudsman is a high-rank official of the European Union elected by the European Parliament for a renewable period of 5 years. The designation came into force following the Maastricht Treaty.
The European Ombudsman works to safeguard the fundamental rights of every European citizen by ensuring open and accountable administration at all levels of the EU. It is an impartial body and takes no orders from any government or other organizations. The Ombudsman investigates complaints on malpractices or maladministration by any individual, body, or institution that functions under the EU.
On receiving a complaint, the Ombudsman acts either by informing or making solution-oriented recommendations to the concerned institution.
A comprehensive report of all these activities is then produced before the European Parliament annually.
The office of the European Ombudsman is the Vaclav Havel building in Strasbourg, and the first European Ombudsman to serve the EU was Jacob Soderman in the year 1995. Emily O’Reilly of Ireland is the current European Ombudsman who took charge on October 1st, 2013.
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