COMMISSION BACKS BUDGET SPLIT BETWEEN PARLIAMENT AND OMBUDSMAN.

In the wake of the November 2000 Parliamentary report by Teresa Almeida Garrett (EPP, Portugal) on the independence of the European Ombudsman, Jacob Soderman, the European Commission has endorsed the request for an amendment to the Ombudsman's statute and general conditions of employment 1994. A separate section would be created within the EU budget, and the Ombudsman would...