The names of the five EU Ombudsman candidates for the next five-year term are:

• Giuseppe Fortunato
• Julia Laffranque
• Nils Muižnieks
• Emily O’Reilly
• Cecilia Wikström

The call for nominations was published in the EU Official Journal on 30 August. Each nominee required the backing of at least 40 MEPs, from at least two EU member states. The closing date to submit an application was 30 September.

Candidates will be invited to present their priorities in a hearing held by the Petitions Committee on 3 December. The full house is expected to elect the new Ombudsman by secret ballot during the December plenary session.

More information on the election procedure and documents related to the candidates is available here on the Parliament’s dedicated website.

Background

The European Ombudsman conducts inquiries into cases of maladministration by EU institutions, bodies, offices and agencies, acting on his or her own initiative or on the basis of complaints from EU citizens. Every year, the Ombudsman submits a report to Parliament on the outcome of their enquiries.

The Ombudsman is elected by the Parliament at the start of each parliamentary term. The current European Ombudsman, Emily O'Reilly, was elected in July 2013 and was re-elected in December 2014 for a five-year term.