Press Release: Ombudsman criticises Commission for language discrimination in EU project

The European Ombudsman, P. Nikiforos Diamandouros, criticised the European Commission for its refusal to accept applications for an external assistance project for torture victims in any of the official EU languages. This followed a complaint from a German NGO, that the Commission's call for proposals was restricted to English, French or Spanish.

The Commission refused to accept a recommendation from the Ombudsman in which he urged it to accept any EU language in the applications for this programme. According to the Commission, the use of all EU languages was not practical in the field of external assistance. Mr Diamandouros commented: 'The Commission's arguments are not convincing. NGOs have a right to use any of the EU languages when sending documents to the EU institutions. The Commission's refusal to comply with this legal obligation constitutes maladministration.'