Irish woman Emily O’Reilly has been nominated for re-election to the position of European Ombudsman for a second five-year term.
The ombudsman conducts inquiries into cases of maladministration by EU institutions, bodies, offices and agencies, acting on their own initiative or on the basis of complaints from EU citizens.
Every year, the ombudsman submits a report to the European Parliament on the outcome of their inquiries.
Ms O’Reilly was elected to the position in July 2013 and was re-elected in December 2014 for a five-year term.
Petitions
Candidates will present their priorities in a hearing held by the petitions committee on December 3rd. The full house is expected to elect the new ombudsman by secret ballot during the December plenary session.
Ms O’Reilly said she was “honoured to be nominated” and that she was “looking forward to the hearings” ahead of the December vote.
The names of other candidates are Giuseppe Fortunato, Julia Laffranque, Nils Muižnieks and Cecilia Wikström. Each nominee required the backing of at least 40 MEPs, from at least two EU member states.
The ombudsman is elected by the parliament at the start of each parliamentary term.
