civil society media seminar 2013 address by the european ombudsman emily o‘reilly 25 november 2013

Civil Society Media Seminar 2013address by

The European Ombudsman Emily O‘Reilly

25 November 2013

European OmbudsmanCivil Society Media Seminar 2013


"Think like a wise man, but

communicate in the language of

the people."

William Butler Yeats1865 – 1939


“Gobbledygook may indicate a failure to think

clearly, a contempt for one's clients, or more

probably a mixture of both. A system that can't or

won't communicate is not a safe basis for a

democracy.”

Michael Shanksformer chairman to the

National Consumer Council of Great Britain


“The EU is a community under the

rule of law, and, whatever its present

challenges, it is a community that has

promoted democracy, peace and

prosperity across Europe over the

past half century. The rise of

Eurolegalism may bring with it an

excess of law, lawyers and

litigation, but we may simply have

to accept this as a small price to be

paid to maintain European unity.”

R. Daniel KelemenProfessor of Political Science

Rutgers University


“Reading some judgments one

rather loses the will to live – and

this is particularly disconcerting

when it’s your own judgment that

you are reading.”

Lord Neuberger of Abbotsbury

President of the Supreme Court of the UK

“In summertime village cricket is the delight of everyone. Nearly every village has its

own cricket field where the young men play and the old men watch. In the village of

Lintz in County Durham they have their own ground, where they have played these

last 70 years. They tend it well. The wicket area is well rolled and mown. The outfield

is kept short. It has a good club house for the players and seats for the onlookers. The

village team play there on Saturdays and Sundays. They belong to a league,

competing with the neighbouring villages. On other evenings after work they practise

while the light lasts. Yet now after these 70 years a judge of the High Court has

ordered that they must not play there any more. He has issued an injunction to stop

them. He has done it at the instance of a newcomer who is no lover of cricket.“

Lord Denning 1899 – 1999

European OmbudsmanClear Writing Awards 2013


“I don’t think there’s anybody in this

room who has read [the Treaty of

Lisbon] cover to cover. I don’t expect

ordinary decent Irish people will be

sitting down spending hours reading

sections about sub-sections referring to

other articles and sub-articles, but

there is sufficient analysis done and

people have put together a

consolidated text which is quite easy to

read …”

Charlie McCreevyFormer European Commissioner for

Internal Market and Services 2004–2010


The complementarity between the Agenda and both the mid-term review of

the Lisbon strategy and the sustainable development strategy makes it

necessary to ensure close dovetailing with other Community policies on the

internal market, industry, competition and trade. This approach implies

taking full account of social and employment dimensions in other

Community policies, and vice versa. The integrated Impact Assessment tool

developed by the Commission provides a valuable methodological

contribution. Accordingly, the Agenda draws its inspiration from the

Constitutional Treaty, which proclaims the importance of an integrated

approach.

(From a Communication from the European Commission on the Social Agenda)


Where a modification proposed by the European Parliament does not

have the effect of increasing the total amount of expenditure of an

institution, owing in particulare to the fact that the increase in

expenditure which it would involve would be expressly compensated

by one or more proposed modifications correspondingly reducing

expenditure, the Council may, acting by a qualified majority, reject the

proposed modification. In the absence of a decision to reject it, the

proposed modification shall stand as accepted.

(From Article 272.5b of the Treaty establishing the European Communities)

civil society media seminar 2013 address by the european ombudsman emily o‘reilly 25 november 2013

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