The European Ombudsman is appointed by the European Parliament after each election for the duration of Parliament's term of office. He is empowered to receive complaints from any citizen of the Union or any natural or legal person residing in a Member State concerning instances of maladministration in the activities of the Community institutions or bodies (with the exception of the Court of Justice and the Court of First Instance).
Where the Ombudsman establishes an instance of maladministration he refers the matter to the institution concerned, conducts an investigation, seeks a solution to redress the problem and, if necessary, submits draft recommendations to which the institution is required to reply in the form of a detailed report.
He submits a report to the European Parliament at the end of each annual session.
Opting out is an exemption granted to a country that does not wish to join the other Member States in a particular area of Community cooperation as a way of avoiding a general stalemate. The United Kingdom, for instance, asked to be allowed not to take part in the third stage of economic and monetary union (EMU) and similar clauses were agreed with Denmark as regards EMU, defence and European citizenship.
The "outermost regions" are seven in number: Guadeloupe, French Guiana, Martinique, Réunion (the four French overseas departments referred to in Article 227(2) of the Treaty establishing the European Community), the Azores, the Canaries and Madeira. They are the subject of Declaration No 26 annexed to the Treaty.
This Declaration acknowledges that such regions suffer from major structural backwardness and states that, while the provisions of the Treaty establishing the European Community and secondary legislation automatically apply, it is nonetheless possible to adopt specific measures to assist these regions as long as there is an objective need to take such measures with a view to their economic and social development.
With the entry into force of the Treaty of Amsterdam, Article 227(2) will be amended to enable the Council, acting by a qualified majority, to adopt specific measures aimed at laying down the conditions for applying the Treaty, including the common policies, to the outermost regions. In so doing, the Council will have to ensure that the integrity and coherence of the Community legal order is not undermined.