Tatarella (UEN). (IT) Mr President, Parliament is being called on to vote tomorrow to choose the European Ombudsman for the coming term. We are all aware that the Committee on Petitions has done its work commendably and has given Parliament a list of just two names.

Then, last week, we all received some substantial, highly detailed correspondence making very serious allegations about matters that came to light after the committee hearings, which would raise major doubts about the eligibility of one of the two candidates.

It seems likely that there has been an infringement of Article 195(3) of the Treaty, which states that the Ombudsman may not engage in any other occupation, whether gainful or not. The correspondence also raised questions relating to one of the qualifications obtained by the candidate in question, and it would also seem that the candidate had broken the rule of being completely independent by taking part in a lobby.

Our request, Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, would allow the Committee on Petitions to carry out further checks so that this Parliament can vote with complete peace of mind: there must be no doubts or reservations about either candidate.