News - Date Tuesday | 01 July 2025 Case OI/2/2023/MIK - Opened on Thursday | 08 June 2023 - Recommendation on Tuesday | 01 July 2025 - Decision on Friday | 27 June 2025 - Institution concerned European Commission ( Maladministration found ) - Country France

• Inquiry opened

  08/05/2023

• Inquiry ongoing

  08/06/2023

• Preliminary outcome

  17/10/2024

• Inquiry outcome

  27/06/2025

The European Ombudsman has closed an inquiry into how the European Commission decides on applications by companies for authorisations of particularly dangerous chemicals and concluded that it has failed to address the issue of lengthy delays in the process.

The Commission takes on average 14.5 months to prepare draft decisions although the deadline for doing so is three months. Last year the Ombudsman found maladministration and asked the Commission to take certain steps to improve the situation.

However, in its response, the Commission did not address the Ombudsman’s recommendation to review its lengthy internal procedures, nor did it accept the Ombudsman’s recommendation that applications containing insufficient information be promptly dismissed so that those companies can no longer use the dangerous substances in the EU.

Overall, the Commission did not present a comprehensive plan for addressing the delays.

The Ombudsman reiterates that the Commission needs to take further steps to fully implement the goals of the REACH regulation and recent case law to avoid the lengthy delays in the risk management of chemical substances.

REACH Regulation

Under the EU Regulation on the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH), companies wishing to use chemical substances that have been deemed as ‘of very high concern’ and included in the list of substances subject to prior authorisation must apply for authorisation from the Commission.

The Commission then presents a draft decision to the REACH Committee, composed of Member State representatives, who vote on authorisation.

While the authorisation process is ongoing, the companies concerned can continue using the substances in the EU - substances that may be carcinogenic, mutagenic, toxic for reproduction, or have endocrine disrupting properties.

Il Difensore Civico ha poteri di intervento limitati ma efficaci per il rispetto dei tempi per esami e visite mediche.

A maggio si rivolgeva al Difensore una cittadina che invocava l’intervento nei confronti della ASL territoriale affinché l’appuntamento per esame medico urgente prescritto dal medico di famiglia alla anziana madre, venisse anticipato rispetto all’appuntamento fissato dal sistema sanitario a novembre a fronte del Codice di priorità scritto sulla ricetta.

UNDICI giorni dopo l’intervento del Difensore, la ASL competente comunicava al Difensore e alla anziana signora che per la visita, con relativa presa in carico più complessiva, vi era disponibilità la mattina del giorno successivo, dunque DODICI giorni dopo l’intervento del Difensore.

Da questo caso si può ricavare una morale: che se ben richiesto, tramite una domanda sintetica

chiara e correttamente presentata al Difensore civico, l’intervento di quest’ultimo nei confronti delle ASL può essere utile affinché sia rispettato il codice di priorità indicato sulle prescrizioni mediche dai medici di famiglia.

On July 3, 2025, Public Defender Levan Ioseliani visited the semi-open and closed penitentiary institution No. 12 in the city of Rustavi.

The Public Defender viewed the infrastructure of the penitentiary institution, walking areas, medical unit, de-escalation rooms and solitary cells. During a conversation with the head of the institution's administration, the Public Defender received detailed information about the rehabilitation programmes for prisoners, as well as psycho-social and educational programmes available in the penitentiary institution, in terms of the involvement of convicts.

Levan Ioseliani also received information about the living conditions of prisoners and talked with the prisoners placed in institution No. 12: Nika Gvaramia, Zurab Girchi Japaridze, Mamuka Khazaradze, Badri Japaridze, Irakli Okruashvili, Giorgi Vashadze, Givi Targamadze, Nika Melia and Romeo Mikautadze.

The Public Defender and his staff regularly monitor penitentiary institutions and supervise the rights of prisoners.

Special Report 2024 | Return of Third Country Nationals

The year 2024 marked the close of the first decade of operation of the national monitoring mechanism of forced returns of third country nationals. It is noted that the Ombudsman’s special competence was granted by a Joint Ministerial Decision in 2014, after the Return Directive was incorporated into Greek legis­lation with L. 3907/2011.

A brief account of the Ombudsman’s activities includes the monitoring of more than 100 return operations by air, 35 return operations by land, 76 coast­al readmission operations under the EU-Turkey Joint Declaration (2016-2020) and more than 65 inspections/on-site visits at Pre-Removal Detention Cen­tres (PROKEKA), Migration Management Departments and Police Stations, to monitor the detention conditions of third country nationals.

Probleme beim Bürgergeld, wie zum Beispiel mit der Übernahme der Kosten für Miete oder Heizung, mit der Hilfe zum Lebensunterhalt, dem Wohngeld oder auch mit Leistungen der Krankenkassen oder Schwierigkeiten beim Kindergeld - die Bürgerbeauftragte für soziale Angelegenheiten des Landes Schleswig-Holstein, Samiah El Samadoni, hilft bei allen Fragen rund um das Sozialrecht. Darüber hinaus berät die Bürgerbeauftragte auch als Leiterin der Antidiskriminierungsstelle des Landes und als Ombudsperson in der Kinder- und Jugendhilfe im Rahmen dieser Sprechstunde. Zudem ist die Bürgerbeauftragte auch Beauftragte für die Landespolizei und damit Ansprechpartnerin für Beschwerden von Bürger*innen und Eingaben von Polizist*innen.

The Commissioner for Human Rights Marcin Wiącek took part in the opening session of the first day of the Academy of National Human Rights Institutions (NHRI), which takes place in Warsaw on 9-13 June 2025. The event is organized annually in different countries by the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) and the European Network of National Human Rights Institutions (ENNHRI).

In his speech, the Commissioner for Human Rights emphasized the exceptional importance of the activities of human rights defenders in civil society. In particular, he referred to Polish examples of abuses of power against human rights defenders, such as the cases of activists on the Polish-Belarusian border and participants in protests against the tightening of abortion law. He also pointed out the need to maintain the independence of human rights institutions as links between civil society and the judiciary.

During the event, the Commissioner for Human Rights Marcin Wiącek also talked to the Director of the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights Maria Telalian. The discussions focused on the cooperation between the two institutions and current issues related to the protection of human rights. ODIHR is one of the key institutions of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, responsible for promoting democracy, human rights and the rule of law in OSCE participating States. Maria Telalian comes from Greece and took up the position of Director of the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights in December 2024.

The week-long NHRI Academy brings together senior and mid-level staff from 25 national human rights institutions from across the OSCE region to receive tailored and practical training on how to address specific challenges faced by NHRIs in their work.

The training provides selected NHRI staff with a unique opportunity to learn and exchange experiences during a series of lectures, interactive sessions and workshops. This year’s edition focuses on strengthening the capacity of national human rights institutions to address challenges related to human rights defenders, including their protection and monitoring their situation. The Office of the Commissioner for Human Rights is represented by Magdalena Kurek from the Team for Presidential Affairs and International Cooperation.