Im Zuge des Breitbandausbaus versprach die steirische Gemeinde Selzthal allen Haushalten einen Glasfaseranschluss. Nun wurden die Leitungen verlegt, doch nicht bis zum Grundstück von Herrn R., der sich aufgrund dieser Ungleichbehandlung an die Volksanwaltschaft wendete. In der ORF Sendung Bürgeranwalt vom 10.1.2026 betonte Volksanwältin Gaby Schwarz: „Wenn die Gemeinde allen Haushalten einen Glasfaseranschluss verspricht, muss sie das auch halten. Also zurück an den Start!“

Als „absurd und nicht nachvollziehbar“ bezeichnet die Volksanwältin zudem die Begründungen seitens der Gemeinde: „Zuerst wurde behauptet, es handelt sich um eine Privatstraße. Das ist nicht der Fall. Es ist eine öffentliche Gemeindestraße. Schließlich argumentierte die Gemeinde, dass der gesamte Asphalt für die Leitungslegung erneuert werden müsste, was die Kosten sprengen würde. Für mich sind das fragwürdige Ausreden, zumal es in der Nebenstraße sehr wohl möglich war für die Verlegung nur den Bankettstreifen aufzugraben und nicht die gesamte Straße. Es geht nur um 50 Meter, die bis zum Grundstück von Herrn R. ausgebaut werden müssten. Ich appelliere an die Gemeinde und die Ausbaugesellschaft, diesen Fall neu zu prüfen und einzuhalten, was versprochen wurde.“

Kritik an fragwürdigen Umwidmungen geht weiter

Seit sieben Jahren befasst sich die Volksanwaltschaft mit der Beschwerde einer Anrainerin im oberösterreichischen Offenhausen. Denn hinter ihrem Grundstück wurde unter fragwürdigen Bedingungen ein Holzbetrieb auf ehemaligem Grünland gebaut. Einige Bauten entsprachen nicht dem geltenden Flächenwidmungsplan. Die Volksanwaltschaft kritisierte, dass rechtswidrig errichtete Bauten durch nachträgliche Umwidmungen legalisiert wurden.

Nun informierte Volksanwältin Gaby Schwarz über den Status quo: „Ende 2025 bestätigte das Amt der Landesregierung die Kritik der Volksanwaltschaft. Daraufhin erstellte die Marktgemeinde einen neuen Flächenwidmungsplanentwurf, der von der Aufsichtsbehörde allerdings untersagt wurde. Die Marktgemeinde erhob Beschwerde gegen diesen Bescheid beim Landesverwaltungsgericht. Das Ergebnis ist abzuwarten. Wir bleiben an der Sache dran.“

A meeting of liaison officers of the European Network of Ombudsmen is being held in Malaga on 12 and 13 January 2026. The meeting is co organised by the Andalusian Ombudsman and the European Ombudsman.

The Parliamentary Ombudsman of Malta, Judge Joseph Zammit McKeon, is invited to address a session on the conclusions of the workshop on environmental complaints held during the ENO conference in Brussels in November 2025.

The opening of the two day meeting took place at Malaga City Town Hall, Salón de los Espejos. Welcome addresses were delivered by Francisco de la Torre, Mayor of Malaga, Jesús Maeztu, Acting Andalusian Ombudsman, Ángel Gabilondo, Ombudsman of Spain, and Teresa Anjinho, European Ombudswoman.

In his address, the Mayor of Malaga, Francisco de la Torre underlined that transparency and honesty in governance are fundamental to the work of ombudsman institutions. Drawing on his experience as mayor, he stressed the importance of education and an informed public in strengthening democratic life and welcomed delegates to Malaga for two days of discussion in the public interest.

The Acting Andalusian Ombudsman, Jesús Maeztu highlighted the role of ombudsman institutions in protecting rights, particularly those of vulnerable persons, before problems become entrenched. He emphasised social justice and independence as core values and described the meeting as a contribution to strengthening democracy.

The Ombudsman of Spain, Ángel Gabilondo focused on the importance of coordination and cooperation within the Network. He underlined the value of dialogue and shared experience in understanding the context in which ombudsmen operate and called for decisive and fearless action in the defence of rights.

The European Ombudswoman, Teresa Anjinho noted that Malaga’s tradition of bringing people together reflects the role of the ombudsman as a bridge between the public and institutions. She referred to emerging challenges in 2026 and stressed the need to translate discussions within the Network into concrete action to protect people’s rights and promote good administration.

The meeting continued with its first working session held at the Centre Pompidou. The session opened with a presentation by Prof Dr Mariolina Eliantonio of Maastricht University on access to justice in composite procedures related to the implementation of EU rule of law requirements.

Discussions focused on possible parallel investigations by ombudsman institutions. These included regional inquiries into environmental law, cooperation on social security issues affecting EU mobile citizens, and existing forms of collaboration among Scandinavian ombudsmen.

Participants also explored potential parallel inquiries involving the European Ombudsman and national or regional ombudsmen. Topics discussed include fundamental rights monitoring in border procedures under EU asylum legislation, redress mechanisms in the application of EU law, the use of EU funds in relation to the rights of persons with disabilities, compliance with the right to good administration under Article 41 of the EU Charter, data sharing within the Schengen Information System, food safety oversight, accountability in asylum interviews, and the protection of the right to a healthy environment.

El Defensor del Pueblo, Ángel Gabilondo, ha intervenido este lunes en Málaga en la inauguración de la reunión de funcionarios de enlace de la Red Europea de Defensores del Pueblo (ENO). En la inauguración del encuentro han participado la Defensora del Pueblo de Europa, Teresa Anjinho; el Defensor del Pueblo Andaluz, Jesús Maetzu, y el alcalde del Ayuntamiento de Málaga, Francisco de la Torre.

Ángel Gabilondo ha asegurado, durante su intervención, que esta reunión “es un acierto en un momento decisivo para la Unión Europea y para quienes tenemos la responsabilidad de proteger los derechos fundamentales”. En su opinión, este encuentro “no es solo un foro de intercambio institucional de buenas prácticas y cooperación, es hoy más que nunca una oportunidad para analizar con lucidez el complejo contexto en el que trabajamos”. El Defensor del Pueblo ha querido, además, remarcar que esta reunión revela “un modo de trabajo, el respeto a los acuerdos y a los consensos, la fuerza del diálogo y la necesidad de participación”.

Ángel Gabilondo ha destacado que “hoy más que nunca tienen sentido estas reuniones de defensores de distintos países europeos, convencidos de que solo mediante una pluralidad de voces puede conformarse una palabra compartida que no excluya a los demás”.

Las jornadas inauguradas esta mañana se prolongarán durante dos días en los que los funcionarios y las funcionarias de la Red Europea de Defensores del Pueblo realizarán un seguimiento de los puntos clave abordados en los talleres de la conferencia ENO de 2025, y debatirán sobre futuros proyectos para celebrar el 30 aniversario de la Red. Buscarán, además, nuevas vías para coordinar esfuerzos entre defensores, compartirán buenas prácticas y abordarán desafíos transfronterizos.

How do Czech authorities respond when a foreign national contacts them in a language other than the official ones (Czech or Slovak)? This was the subject of a new study by the Ombudsman. The findings show that authorities do not handle electronic submissions in foreign languages consistently. The complexity of the submission and the language skills of officials play a role. The Ministry of the Interior has called on public authorities to follow the recommendations arising from the Ombudsman’s research.

“Officials must not ignore a submission simply because it is not in the official language. They may only request a certified translation from a foreign language for submissions that initiate administrative proceedings,” explained Ombudsman Stanislav Křeček.

In his research, he focused only on electronic submissions that do not initiate proceedings. Therefore, foreigners are not required to provide a certified translation in such cases.

The Ombudsman collected data through a questionnaire sent to ministries, other central administrative authorities (such as the Czech Telecommunication Office and the Energy Regulatory Office), selected supervisory bodies (for example, the Czech Trade Inspection Authority, the Czech School Inspectorate, and the General Financial Directorate), as well as regional authorities, municipal authorities, and municipal offices with extended powers.

What did the findings reveal?

Similar Experience, Different Procedures: Authorities Lack an Unified Approach

Ninety percent of the authorities contacted by the Ombudsman took part in the survey. However, a total of 336 responses were received from 262 authorities—some institutions provided more than one response because procedures for receiving and processing foreign-language submissions are not uniform across their internal departments.

“It is unacceptable for different departments within the same authority to follow different procedures. Based on the survey results, we have formulated several recommendations. Most authorities have promised to follow them,” said the Ombudsman, adding that he is prepared to monitor compliance with these commitments in the future. The Ministry of the Interior also presented the Ombudsman’s proposals at a regular coordination meeting, calling on authorities to adhere to them.

This issue is important because submissions in foreign languages are not rare. They are most frequently encountered by supervisory bodies and other central government authorities (71%) and least frequently (54%) by municipal authorities with extended powers (excluding city councils).

Official or Translator: Who Will Answer Me—and How?

English, German, Polish, Ukrainian, but also Italian, French, and even Hungarian in some areas—officials encounter all of these languages. Some civil servants are able to translate such submissions themselves and respond in the same language. Officials at ministries, central administrative authorities, and supervisory bodies are generally better equipped linguistically than employees of regional authorities, municipal offices, and municipalities with extended powers.

“The good news is that authorities require translations into the official language only in a minority of cases where they are not actually necessary. This happens least often at ministries and most often at regional and municipal authorities, where translations are required for roughly 40% of foreign-language submissions,” said the Ombudsman. Ministry officials also respond in Czech less often (27%), while officials at regional and municipal authorities use Czech most frequently in their replies (62%).

Foreign-Language Information on Websites

The survey also looked at whether authorities provide foreign-language information on their websites. It found that regional authorities and city councils most often offer foreign-language versions (88%), followed by ministries (60%), and municipal authorities with extended powers (52%).

Authorities often rely on automatic translation tools for their websites, and officials are increasingly using them as well when handling simple foreign-language submissions.

What Does the Ombudsman Recommend to Authorities?

• Authorities must not ignore submissions solely because they are not written in the official language.
• They may request a certified translation only if the submission initiates administrative proceedings.
• For other types of submissions, authorities may request a translation only when their staff lack the necessary language skills and cannot use available online translation tools.
• Any request for translation must be addressed directly to the sender, preferably in the language of the original submission.
• Authorities should strive to ensure that their staff are sufficiently linguistically equipped—with English as the minimum standard.
• Authorities should adopt unified internal rules for handling foreign-language submissions.