This is Paul Adamson and I'm in conversation with Emily O'Reilly.

Emily O'Reilly is the European Ombudsman.

First things first, Emily, maybe a lot of people that you do not know what the ombudsman does and who she is.

So could you please in a few words explain it as a start of what your job actually is all about?

Okay.

Well, I was previously national ombudsman in Ireland,

which meant that I took complaints against the administration,

the various government departments, the health service and all of that.

So as European ombudsman, I do the same thing.

But instead of, obviously, member state administrations, I take complaints

against the European administration and the European Commission would be our biggest client,

not because it's the biggest sinner, but because obviously it's the big beast in the jungle.

And we take complaints against all of the agencies, bodies and institutions of the European Union. So typically

it could be somebody, you know, a small company in Italy has a contract with the commissioner, an

agency to deliver a service, runs into difficulties, comes to us. Somebody's looking for a job,

does a competition, doesn't feel they've been treated fairly by the European Personnel Selection

Office, comes to us.

Somebody is complaining that the commission isn't properly dealing with an infringement complaint.

They come to us.

Somebody is looking for records from the commissioner and agency.

They don't get them. They come to us.

So a lot of it, obviously the member state almost been really deal with the bread

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