The European Ombudsman

Mixed texts in English and French
The European Ombudsman is one of the most important new institutions introduced by the Maastricht Treaty. Its origins can be traced back to the Spanish proposal on European Citizenship submitted in the framework of the Intergovernmental Conference on Political Union in 1991.
This book contains the papers presented at the colloquium organized by the European Institute of Public Administration's Antenna Luxembourg on the European Ombudsman. The colloquium was chaired by the Director-General of Research of the European Parliament, G.R. Ramsay.
The Conclusions by the EIPA Director-General, Spyros A. Pappas clearly pointed out the progress from national to European Ombudsman, which is an element indispensable for the deepening of the European integration.
The Ombudsmen of Sweden, Spain, Ireland, Portugal and of the Flemish Community are among the contributors.
The essays of this book focus on the office of Ombudsmen both at national and European Union level. They analyze the functioning and experiences of the national Ombudsmen and try to draw conclusions which can be of value for the functioning of the European Ombudsman.
The publication also examines the competences, privileges and immunities of the European Ombudsman as well as his future relations with the Committee on Petitions of the European Parliament.