Modern, stubborn and on the streets: Dutch EU ombudsman hopeful sets out his stall

“Sometimes I can be stubborn, I would say, but I think most of the MEPs like that approach.”  

It’s fair to say Reinier van Zutphen has a direct approach in soliciting votes for his candidacy to be the next European ombudsman.  

He’s been similarly direct in his current role as national ombudsman in the Netherlands, where he hasn’t just passively waited for complaints to pour in – but has, quite literally, taken to the streets. 

“I started with a huge bus, crossing around the country, and I have a pop-up kitchen now; I go into the province and put it there, and I meet people,” he said. 

"It's not easy for normal people, when they are in trouble, to find a way to the authorities or the ombudsman, so we should open up and make it easier,” he said.

He’s one of six candidates hoping to succeed Emily O’Reilly, the Irish former journalist who’s been responsible for investigating maladministration in EU institutions since 2013. To win MEPs’ favour, he must fight off competition from former Parliament officials, supreme court judges, and other national ombudsmen.  

“I have always respect but I am also direct,” he told Euronews in an interview, citing as a personal motto: “Speak out the truth, even if your voice trembles.”  

That suggests he wants to follow in the footsteps of O’Reilly, who hasn’t been afraid to court controversy.

In previous cases, she’s blasted the appointment of the European Commission's most senior official, Martin Selmayr, and probed controversial communications between Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and the head of vaccine-maker Pfizer.  

Van Zutphen points to his own track record responding to flooding in Limburg, and a scandal over childcare allowances which saw welfare claimants falsely accused of fraud. 

"Individual cases are the basics of the office,” he said, “But modern ombudsmanship is more than just taking cases.” 

That approach sends him flying right into the heart of a controversy over the exact nature of the EU Ombudsman’s role.  

Some have complained O’Reilly has taken an approach that’s too broad, if not politicised. 

In an op-ed written as part of a 2019 bid for the post, Estonian supreme court judge Julia Laffranque – who is running again this year – said O’Reilly was “undermining the credibility and reputation” of her office by straying out of her lane. Laffranque did not respond to Euronews’ questions about her 2024 candidacy.

Mario Fardelli, currently ombudsman for the Lazio region of Italy, has also told Euronews that the office should operate within its legal mandate, and “focus on resolving complaints and ensuring transparency”. 

Van Zutphen disagrees.  

“I know the lawyer-like approach,” he said, citing his own judicial career, but added that focusing only on narrow legal duties “is not working for the ombudsman ... that will not help".  

Van Zutphen, and the other five candidates, will each get around an hour and a quarter to make their pitch to MEPs at a 3 December hearing of the Parliament's Petitions Committee.   

But he rejects complaints from some of the other candidates about an opaque process.  

“I knew what to do” to gain the 39 MEP signatures needed to pass the first hurdle, which saw him largely draw support from the Parliament’s centrist coalition, he said. “The roasting on 3 December will take place in the open ... I think that’s very transparent.”  

MEPs are often concerned about issues like gender or geographical balance when awarding prestigious positions; three of the candidates are women, and three from southern Europe. 

But van Zutphen appears phlegmatic about the inevitable politics in play. 

“There will be some sort of balancing between this or that, you know ... it’s no problem for me,” he said. 

“As long as the outcome is that I'm going to be the one, it's okay.”