Processing of complaints
Article 3
1. The Ombudsman shall handle complaints in any official and working language of the institutions of the European Union ( 2 ) . The Ombudsman shall communicate with the complainant in the language of the complaint, unless the complainant accepts to receive communications in another official and working language of the institutions of the European Union. 2. The Ombudsman shall determine whether a complaint is admissible in accordance with Article 2(4) of the Statute. The Secretariat may request the complainant to provide further information or documents to enable the Ombudsman to make that determination. 3. If a complaint is inadmissible, the Ombudsman shall inform the complainant accordingly and close the file on the complaint. 4. Where the Ombudsman decides that there are grounds to inquire into an admissible complaint, the Ombudsman opens an inquiry. If the Ombudsman considers that there are no grounds to conduct an inquiry, including when a complaint is manifestly unfounded, the Ombudsman shall inform the complainant accordingly and close the file on the complaint. 5. Where appropriate, the Ombudsman may inform the institution concerned of inadmissible complaints or complaints where the Ombudsman finds that there are no grounds to open an inquiry. 6. In accordance with Article 2 of the Statute, if the Ombudsman considers it appropriate to do so, the Ombudsman may take steps to ensure that a complaint is dealt with as a matter of priority, taking into account the particular nature of a complaint, including in areas such as whistleblowing and harassment. 7. The Ombudsman shall deal with abusive communications and with complaints that amount to an abuse of process in accordance with guidelines adopted for that purpose. Those guidelines shall be published on the website of the Ombudsman.