22 Amendments of Marlene MIZZI related to 2017/2024(INL)
Amendment 4 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph -1 a (new)
Paragraph -1 a (new)
-1a. Recalls that of the 66 submitted European Citizens’ initiative (ECI), only 47 were registered by the Commission, of which only 3 collected the required 1 million signatures and none led to a new legislative proposal;
Amendment 6 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph -1 b (new)
Paragraph -1 b (new)
-1b. Believes that the difficulties encountered by the organisers of European Citizens’ initiatives and the limited legislative impact of successful initiatives have undermined the credibility of the ECI leading to a decline in registered initiatives;
Amendment 8 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph -1 c (new)
Paragraph -1 c (new)
-1c. Considers that the European Citizens Initiative still has a lot of untapped potential that could improve the functioning of the EU on behalf of its citizens; calls for a comprehensive revision and simplification of the ECI aimed at overcoming the existing barriers and bureaucratic hurdles, making it more user-friendly and accessible to citizens;
Amendment 10 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph -1 d (new)
Paragraph -1 d (new)
-1d. Underlines that the ECI complements the citizens' right to submit petitions to the European Parliament and their right of appeal to the European Ombudsman; Calls on the Commission to take into account the recommendations of the European Ombudsman and the Committee of Petitions in improving the functioning of the ECI;
Amendment 12 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph -1 e (new)
Paragraph -1 e (new)
-1e. Reiterates that every citizen has the right to participate in the democratic life of the Union by way of the European citizens' initiative and calls for additional measures to ensure that specific groups of people such as European citizens living abroad, disabled or older people are not denied their right to participate and sign an ECI;
Amendment 13 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph -1 f (new)
Paragraph -1 f (new)
-1f. Is aware of the rigid application of the ECI eligibility criteria and the potential conflict of interest within the Commission, which makes an assessment on the admissibility of the initiative, while also being the recipient of that same initiative; Invites the Commission to revise the procedure for the application of the legal admissibility criteria by following a more transparent and consistent approach on the nature and scope of the ECI;
Amendment 15 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Invites the Commission to increase the transparency of its decision-making process and to formally clarify ECI admissibility criteria by exhaustively substantiating the reasons for ECI approval/rejection in all Commission Decisions published in the ECI register; calls upon the Commission to codify the rulings of the Court of Justice in the cases relating to the “Minority Safepack” and “Stop TTIP” initiatives; welcomes the Commission’s change in practice to allow for partial ECI registration, “Ethics for Animals and Kids” and “Stop TTIP” amongst other initiatives;
Amendment 20 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Encourages the Commission to take a more flexible approach on the registration process and welcomes its new practice to allow for partial ECI registration; Calls on the Commission to ensure that the registration process is transparent, clear and straightforward and to provide detailed answers and possible solutions when initiatives are declared inadmissible, enabling citizens to amend and resubmit them;
Amendment 24 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 b (new)
Paragraph 1 b (new)
1b. Encourages the Commission to ensure that the proposed citizens’ initiatives are not contrary to the values of the Union laid down in Article 2 TEU, as well as to the principles enshrined in the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights; invites the Commission to conduct a check on the values of the proposed citizens’ initiatives prior to the collection of statements of support from signatories;
Amendment 31 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Calls for the simplification of othe Online signature collection (“Collection software (OCS”) and verification of signatures and for a progressive approach to countering the technological barriers to the OCS; invites the Commission to address data requirement divergences in national systems, especially regarding nationality and place of residence; welcomes the AFCO proposales that the Commission runs a free, centralised OCS systemmultilingual, centralised, permanent OCS system which would also be available to people with disabilities; suggests that this system makes use of existing, proven online platform technologies and enable synergies with social media toolnew relevant social media, digital tools and mobile software devices and applications to galvanize more widespread signature collection; welcomes the Commission’s public survey on creating a “Collaborative ECI Platform”; iInvites the Commission to prolong the collection period such that the clock for collection starts running from the date of ECIto 18 months and to allow Citizens’ committees to freely choose the starting date for collecting signatures, which should be no later than two months after registration; calls for greater transparency measures for ascertaining ECI financing;
Amendment 36 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Calls for the simplification of online signature collection (“OCS”) and verification and for a progressive approach to countering the technological barriers to OCS and ensure accessibility for citizens with disabilities; invites the Commission to address data requirement divergences in national systems, especially regarding nationality and place of residence; welcomes the AFCO proposal that the Commission run a free, centralised OCS system; suggests that this system make use of existing, proven online platform technologies and enable synergies with social media tools to galvanize more widespread signature collection, after a thorough analysis on preventing potential illegal abuse of these online tools; welcomes the Commission’s public survey on creating a “Collaborative ECI Platform”; invites the Commission to prolong the collection period such that the clock for collection starts running from the date of ECI registration; calls for greater transparency measures for ascertaining ECI financing and making this information directly available online to the public;
Amendment 38 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Invites the European Commission and Member States to implement simpler and uniform online and offline signature collection rules in compliance with EU data protection laws and standards; Calls on the Commission to further explore the possibility of creating a simplified voluntary online EU register where citizens can sign an ECI initiative;
Amendment 42 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 b (new)
Paragraph 2 b (new)
2b. Recalls the position of the Petitions’ Committee to encourage the civic participation of the younger generation in EU affairs by uniformly lowering the age limit for supporting and taking part in an ECI to 16 years old;
Amendment 44 #
2c. Considers that an independent ECI helpdesk providing technical know- how on the organisation and run of cross- border ECI campaigns and facilitating translation services into the official languages of the EU is needed; Is of the opinion that Europe Direct Contact Centre, the Commission representations and the European Parliament information offices in the Member States could provide resources for this purpose;
Amendment 47 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Calls upon the Commission to create a one-stop shop for ECI information dissemination and citizen advisory services, in particular the provision of support in defining a compliant legal basis for an initiative; welcomes the AFCO proposal for a provision in the new Regulation on ECI communication activities at EU level; urges the Commission to link such efforts to the principles set out in the EU eGovernment Action Plan 2016-2020;
Amendment 53 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Reiterates the lack of knowledge and awareness of the ECI among European citizens; Encourages the Commission and Member States to use every available communication channel, especially all relevant European Institutions' social and digital media platforms to conduct an ongoing awareness raising campaign to proactively promote the ECI, and furthermore provide information about on-going ECI initiatives
Amendment 56 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
Amendment 64 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Is of the opinion that the European Commission should always initiate a debate on the initiatives that have gathered 1 million signatures, followed by a vote in the Council and the European Parliament; asks the Commission to also develop appropriate forms of response to those ECIs which do not meet all the formal criteria or do not reach the full 1 million signatures, but receive significant citizens’ support and supports public hearings in the Committee of Petitions for those initiatives;
Amendment 72 #
5b. Urges the Commission to further build on the European Citizens’ Initiative Day, organised every year to assess the state of implementation and the effectiveness of the ECI, by setting up an inter-institutional debate platform on the improvement of the ECI with the involvement of all relevant stakeholders;
Amendment 75 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 c (new)
Paragraph 5 c (new)
5c. Underlines the need for joint action of the Commission and Members States and in particular regional and local authorities, to make citizens, with young people as one of its primary targets, aware of their right to propose and support an ECI; considers that ad hoc campaigns, grass-root initiatives and information campaigns at national and regional level play a decisive role in disseminating information and explaining how citizens can influence and change EU policies through an ECI mechanism;
Amendment 98 #
Motion for a resolution
Annex I – part B – point 1 – point 7 – paragraph 2 a (new)
Annex I – part B – point 1 – point 7 – paragraph 2 a (new)
The European Parliament shall also develop appropriate forms of response to those citizens' initiatives which do not meet all the formal criteria set out in this regulation or do not meet the one million signatures' threshold, but nevertheless receive significant citizens’ support.
Amendment 106 #
Motion for a resolution
Annex I – part B – point 1 – point 9 – paragraph 2 a (new)
Annex I – part B – point 1 – point 9 – paragraph 2 a (new)
The Union Institutions and Members States and in particular regional and local authorities shall take actions to make citizens, and particularly young people, aware of their right to propose and support an European citizens' initiative including by explaining its existence and the difference with petitions submitted to the European Parliament. The Commission and Member States shall support ad hoc campaigns, grass-root initiatives and information campaigns at national and regional level explaining how citizens can influence and change Union policies through an European citizens' initiative;