Press Release: Ombudsman helps settle payment dispute between research institute and Commission

After the intervention of the European Ombudsman, P. Nikiforos Diamandouros, the European Commission settled a payment dispute with a Dutch research institute. This followed a complaint from the institute claiming that the Commission had not paid an outstanding sum of 288 000 EUR for a research project on human flu. The Commission explained that the institute's failure to submit all the necessary documents had caused the delay. After the Ombudsman's intervention, the Commission announced that it would unblock the payment. The Ombudsman commended the Commission for its efforts to assist the institute and to find a solution to the problem.