Four things to know from the hearings to be EU Ombudsman

On Tuesday, six candidates duked it out in their bid to become the EU’s next ombudsman, and investigate malpractice among Brussels bureaucrats. 

Hopefuls from Austria, Portugal, Estonia, the Netherlands and Italy (twice) each had over an hour to make their pitches to the European Parliament’s Petitions Committee, ahead of a series of secret ballots to be held in mid-December. 

Whichever of them succeeds in winning MEPs’ support will succeed Ireland’s Emily O’Reilly, who has been responsible for probing maladministration in EU institutions for over a decade.

Here’s four key points to take home. 

1. Few policy commitments

Eight hours of hearings gave little to show in terms of concrete policy promises. 

“In recent years, the European ombudsman has developed into an indispensable actor in the checks and balances” of the EU, and “must lead the way in passing on signals from citizens and businesses that have been squeezed by European rules and policies,” the Netherlands’ Reinier van Zutphen told MEPs. 

Portugal’s Teresa Anijnho spoke of the need for “meaningful reforms” of the EU’s freedom of information law which the ombudsman has to enforce, saying that the “data environment has changed” since it was agreed in 2001.

Italy’s Marino Fardelli had the natty suggestion of a smartphone app to help citizens track their ombudsman cases. Rather more ambitiously, he also proposed creating a universal right to cybersecurity, and sanction powers for the EU ombudsman, who currently only gets to make non-binding recommendations.

But ultimately — unlike the EU Commissioner hearings held in the Parliament just a few weeks ago — there was little in the way of firm policy promises, and perhaps for good reason. 

The incumbent is broadly popular in the European Parliament — “this is the fan group of Emily O’Reilly here,” as Jana Toom (Estonia/Renew Europe) said — and the candidates may have sought to emphasise continuity.

Plus, the core of the EU ombudsman’s duties is managing casework — individual complaints received from aggrieved citizens — rather than drafting laws.

Candidates largely sidestepped discussing individual cases, despite attempts by individual MEPs to bait them with talk of controversial issues such Commission President von der Leyen’s vaccine contract negotiations with Pfizer.

2. Some very different backgrounds

While van Zutphen, Anjinho and Fardelli all have direct national experience as ombudsmen, the other three have more eclectic backgrounds. 

Italy’s Emilio De Capitani laid out his experience of over 25 years working in the administration of the European Parliament, and litigating for greater transparency in the EU courts.

Julia Laffranque is a supreme court justice in Estonia, and appears to have switched tack since she last stood for the ombudsman post.

In 2019, Laffranque castigated O’Reilly for departing from her legal mandate, but this time praised O’Reilly’s “excellent work”, and emphasised the extra experience she’s gained in the meantime at the EU’s anti-fraud office, OLAF. 

Meanwhile, Austria’s Claudia Mahler, currently an advisor at the UN, pitched her lack of EU experience as a bonus.

“Sometimes it’s really good if you’ve not been part of the institutions, it highlights things differently and gives a new fresh insight,” Mahler told MEPs, stressing that she’d also have an office of 70 staff to support her work.

3. Politics will come into play

Though the ombudsman is supposed to be apolitical, politics is never far from the surface of any decision taken by MEPs.

Today’s public hearings will be followed by a series of more private meetings— as candidates attempt to sway the seven political groupings who’s views can prove critical in reaching an outcome.

Some were happy to set out their political views.

“I have advocated all my life for a better, stronger European Union … you will allow me not to share the same objectives,” De Capitani told Pál Szekeres of Hungary’s Fidesz party, when asked why he hadn’t sought any meeting with the right-wing nationalist Patriots grouping.

Others claim cross-party support. 

“I’m constantly asked: are you right-wing, are you left-wing,” said Laffranque. “In order to fly, one needs two wings; I do have support from both.”

For others still, political backing can both blessing and curse.

Anjinho, a former member of parliament and justice minister for the Portuguese centre-right CDS-PP party, was asked by numerous MEPs from the socialist, green and left groups how she’d keep her political independence. 

She was keen to brush that off, citing the backing she’d received from outside her own European People’s Party, and emphasising her experience more neutral roles such as academia and as Portugal’s deputy ombudsman.

“My independence and impartiality, even from the signatures and the support of other political parties, makes this question a non-question … my career attests the exact opposite,” Anjinho told Euronews, when asked if her political ties would prove an obstacle.

4. They spoke English (sort of)

Fardelli, who has previously told Euronews (in English) his English is “very bad”, opted for a thundering Italian. (“He was screaming at us,” Euronews heard from one MEP, leaving Fardelli’s hearing.)

All others opted to speak predominantly in English — fluently, but with some of the turns of phrase characteristic of the eurobubble dialect.

Anjinho promised “meaningful constructive dialogue”, “active citizenship” and “fostering intelligent partnerships”, while De Capitano reeled off countless references to EU treaties and regulations. 

When Gordan Bosonac (Croatia/Greens) asked Laffranque whether she believed, as she’d said in 2019, that the ombudsman should be a judge, Laffranqe gave an answer, of sorts.

“Speaking about European law and considering maladministration, two plus two may equal one, or may even equal zero, and on the other hand, may equal six or can even be eight, or create good administration; it depends how we apply the law and how we interpret the law,” Laffranque said, adding that inquiries had a better result when findings were followed. 

As many candidates pointed out, one of the ombudsman’s jobs is to build a bridge between distant EU institutions and the regular European citizen. They’re certainly fluent in the language of the former.