Le ispezioni nei procedimenti europei e la tutela del privato: problemi e prospettive

Over the last fifteen years, a number of inspection powers have been given to specific European administrations (not only the Commission, but also other institutions, offices and European agencies). The exercise of inspection powers by European administrations raises many problems, the first one being the protection of the rights of the individuals subject to them. The chapter argues that, although there has been considerable progress in the protection of individuals, the current discipline of European inspections still shows significant shortcomings. Moreover, due to the sectoral nature of European inspection regulations, progress in terms of protection is uneven: regulation of one sector may be more advanced for some features, and less so for others. In this sense, the project aimed at introducing a Model Code for the administrative procedures of the EU elaborated by the Research Network on EU Administrative Law (ReNEUAL), in the context of which a specific section is dedicated to inspections, would make it possible to fill in some of the gaps and achieve a cross-fertilisation, favouring the application of the more advanced instruments of protection in a horizontal way in the various sectors.