The 2007 Report drawn up by the European Mediator shows that reports filed by private citizens amounted to 3,056, while associations and companies filed 155. Top of the list, in terms of the absolute number of reports, is Germany (507), followed by Spain, France, Poland, Belgium, Italy, Romania. "In nearly 70% of the cases, the Mediator successfully helped the plaintiff explains Nikiforos Diamandouros by opening an investigation, referring the report to an authority concerned, or providing advice on whom to contact for solving the problem". During the year, 303 investigations were opened following a report. In addition, the Mediator opened six investigations on his own initiative and reviewed 332 reports received in 2006. Like the previous years, most investigations (64% of the total) concerned the Commission: "This is understandable, since the decisions taken by the Commission have a direct impact on the citizens". The main cases of alleged bad governance "can be divided into the following types: poor transparency and refusal to provide information, abuse of power, avoidable delays, discrimination".
