European Ombudswoman Teresa Anjinho has welcomed the European Commission’s overall constructive reply to her findings in a series of inquiries concerning urgent decision making.

In its reply, the Commission recognised the importance of ensuring derogations from its standard policy-making rules in the case of urgency are properly recorded and explained. As part of its plans to revise these internal rules, the Commission also indicated it will reflect on ways to be more transparent in its assessments of the need to act urgently.

As set out in the Ombudswoman’s recommendations, the Commission must ensure, as required by the Treaties and case law, a transparent, evidence-based, and inclusive preparation of ‘urgent’ legislative proposals.

The Ombudswoman will now analyse the Commission’s reply in detail before drawing final conclusions. Her analysis will also take into consideration feedback she expects to receive from the complainants.

Background

The Ombudswoman conducted three separate complaint-based inquiries that examined the extent to which the Commission applied its own Better Regulation rules when preparing legislative drafts concerning corporate sustainability due diligence (Omnibus I), the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), and countering migrant smuggling.

She found a number of procedural shortcomings in how the Commission applied these rules, which taken together amount to maladministration.

In two forward-looking recommendations, the Ombudswoman asked the Commission to ensure a predictable, consistent and non-arbitrary application of the Better Regulation rules and that future urgent preparation of legislative proposals is always transparent, evidence-based, and inclusive. She also made a number of suggestions in light of the upcoming revision of the rules.

I am concerned about the prosecution of Géza Buzás-Hábel, a young teacher and community activist now facing criminal charges and the possibility of imprisonment for organising Pécs Pride in October 2025. His wrongdoing was organising a peaceful march for human rights and equality, and the exercise of one of democracy’s fundamental freedoms: the right to peaceful assembly.

This case is not isolated. Just last month, charges were brought against Gergely Karácsony, the Mayor of Budapest, in relation to the organisation of the 2025 Budapest Pride March.

These developments signal a move backwards as Hungarian authorities implement constitutional and legal amendments, adopted in March and April 2025, which effectively ban peaceful events that promote LGBTI equality. The amendments, which I have previously critiqued, fuel discrimination and shrink civic space.

The indictments must be seen within a wider context of successive measures that target human rights defenders through legal restrictions and stigmatisation.

I call on the Hungarian authorities to drop the charges against Géza Buzás-Hábel and, as the President of the Council of Europe Congress also recently urged, against Gergely Karácsony. Furthermore, I urge them to halt the use of criminal and administrative measures which deter peaceful assembly; to amend or repeal the laws underpinning these restrictions; and to reverse the clampdown on human rights defenders and civic space.

Unlawful developments are being left permanently in place across England because under-resourced councils are running out of time to act, a new report from the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman reveals today.

‘Losing control: complaints about planning enforcement’, highlights how significant delay by councils is increasing and, in some cases, statutory time limits have passed before councils could act, leaving communities with no legal remedy and developments that breach planning rules standing indefinitely.

Planning enforcement investigations have become a much greater proportion of the Ombudsman's planning work, last year making up nearly half (47%) of all upheld planning and development cases (up from 26% in 2021-22).

The report provides many learning points for councils based on common issues the Ombudsman finds, including:

• Cases where enforcement action has drifted for years without resolution
• Poor communication between planning departments and legal teams causing missed deadlines
• Inadequate processes to manage staff turnover, leading to repeated work and lost evidence
• Councils losing the power to protect Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty and enforce planning conditions

The report echoes findings from a Royal Town Planning Institute survey, which found 80% of planning enforcement officers said there were not enough staff to carry out the workload, 89% reported case backlogs, and 73% said their authority had struggled to recruit.

Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, Mrs Amerdeep Clarke, said:

"If people lose faith that planning rules will be enforced, they stop raising concerns. We risk a two-tier system: those who follow the law play by the rules, while those who flout them face no real consequences.

"We recognise and welcome Government plans to improve the planning system and boost the nation's economy through increased development. But development without enforcement is a recipe for planning chaos. Without proper resourcing, public trust in the entire system will collapse.

"We also appreciate the immense pressure planning teams are under, and it's encouraging to see so many welcome our findings as evidence to support investment in their services. The case studies we've highlighted show that, with the right resources, teams can make significant improvements that benefit both staff and the communities they serve."

Simon Creer, Director of Communications and External Relations at the Royal Town Planning Institute, said: 

“Enforcement officers are the backbone of the planning system. But as this report shows, years of under-resourcing and challenges in recruitment have led to staff shortages and overwhelming workloads. RTPI research from 2022 into planning enforcement resourcing raised the alarm - unfortunately, this report suggests that there has been little improvement and that, as a result, in some places services are ‘struggling or already broken’.

“If we want to build at scale and meet the government’s ambitious housing targets, we’ll need to make sure there are sufficient enforcement officers in place to ensure the planning system can effectively support delivery and uphold policy standards.”

The report includes questions for councillors and heads of service to help scrutinise their local planning enforcement services and highlights constructive responses from authorities that have committed to recruiting additional staff and improving procedures.

El Defensor de la Infancia y Adolescencia de Andalucía, Jesús Maeztu, ha presentado hoy en Ronda el libro Crecer con derechos, una publicación impulsada por el Foro Profesional de la Infancia que divulga la Ley de Infancia y Adolescencia de Andalucía y promueve el desarrollo integral, el bienestar, la protección y la participación de los niños y las niñas.

El acto, celebrado en el CEP de Ronda, ha contado con la participación del autor, Leandro Castro, y de la ilustradora Isabel Conde, así como con miembros del Foro Profesional por la Infancia, y se ha desarrollado ante escolares del municipio, a quienes se dirige especialmente esta publicación.

Durante su intervención, el Defensor ha destacado la importancia de visibilizar los problemas que afectan a la infancia como primer paso para poder combatirlos, entre ellos el acoso escolar y los problemas de salud mental. “No podemos proteger aquello que no queremos ver. Escuchar a niños y niñas, reconocer lo que les preocupa y darles herramientas para defender sus derechos es una responsabilidad colectiva”, ha señalado.

Maeztu ha subrayado que conocer los derechos es esencial para poder exigir su cumplimiento y ha recordado que “Andalucía es mejor cuando los derechos se cumplen”. Asimismo, ha insistido en la necesidad de oír a la infancia y a la adolescencia, dar valor a su palabra y situar su interés superior en el centro de las decisiones públicas.

Por su parte, Ignacio Gómez de Terreros, del Foro Profesional por la Infancia, ha afirmado que “el Foro ha puesto su esfuerzo y nuestra alma en este libro, que queremos que sea una herramienta para que los niños y niñas conozcan y defiendan sus derechos, y también sus deberes”. Ha destacado que “faltaba un libro dirigido a la primera infancia que explicara de forma comprensible la Ley andaluza”, y ha añadido que “cuando os respetáis a vosotros mismos y a los demás, estáis defendiendo derechos”.

Crecer con derechos, protagonizado por la niña Andalucía, utiliza historias e ilustraciones para acercar la Ley de Infancia y Adolescencia de Andalucía a niñas y niños, abordando cuestiones como la protección frente a la violencia, la salud, la educación, la identidad o la participación. La obra pretende convertirse en un instrumento útil para que la infancia conozca sus derechos, sepa cómo ejercerlos y comprenda también sus responsabilidades en la convivencia.