madam president i wish to begin by congratulating the rapporteur on a very comprehensive report and also the ombudsman and his staff on the many positive steps that they took in two thousand and seven
what i find most encouraging is that the ombudsman works at so many different levels it is not just about processing complaints which is central to his work but also about how resolutions or solutions are arrived at
there is an increasing number of friendly solutions more informal procedures where relations with the institutions are such that a growing number of cases are solved rapidly
that is real progress and must be built on
citizen-friendly solutions are where we want to go
i am also pleased to see that better communication at all levels is central to the agenda of the ombudsman
the adoption of the european network of ombudsmen statement and increased cooperation in this area are vital and we look forward to the launch of the new website which will include an interactive guide to assist citizens
however this brings me to my final comment which concerns citizens and refers to the proposed oral amendment on paragraph twenty-three
that paragraph reads proposes that the ombudsman take measures to reduce the number of complaints a total of one twenty-one in relation to which no steps have been taken by him at all
the oral amendment seeks to change that final phrase in relation to which no steps have been taken by him at all to the statement in such cases where no action is possible
from the perspective of the ombudsman no action is possible but from the perspective of the citizen no action is taken and those are two very different perspectives
so i have a question is it made clear to the one twenty-one citizens that no action is possible by the ombudsman with a clear explanation given with further advice where possible or is it the case that simply no action is taken
if the former is true and citizens are given reasons i have no problem and indeed i am very pleased
but if the latter is true and no action is taken then citizens will be frustrated and angry
so i would like clarification on that point please
