The 2008 Annual Report concerning the activities of the internal part of the complaints mechanism is prepared in accordance with the CMP as well as the Terms of Reference of the CO. It includes the issues dealt with by the European Ombudsman who also releases its own annual report which covers the EIB as well as all other EU institutions and bodies.
The 2008 Annual Report outlines the activities performed by the CO:
- Handling of complaints lodged with the EIB (Secretary General)
- Handling of complaints lodged with the EO against the EIB;
- Communications submitted to the Aarhus Convention Compliance Committee (ACCC) regarding the EIB;
- Follow-up activities performed on closed complaints handled by the CO;
- Inter-institutional co-operation, within and beyond the EU framework, and dialogue with Civil Society Organisations in close cooperation with SCC/COM.
The amount of complaints received and dealt with in 2008 more than doubled in comparison to 2007. Of the 40 complaints a large portion was related to procurement issues whilst complaints concerning the environmental and social impact of projects financed by the EIB increased from 2 in 2007 to 7 in 2008. Not only the amount of complaints increased but also their complexity. However, it is worth to note that none of the complaints in 2007 and 2008 were escalated by the complainants to or found to be admissible by the European Ombudsman.