24 Amendments of Eleonora EVI related to 2018/2104(INI)
Amendment 10 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F
Recital F
F. whereas even though a portiononly a small number of EU citizens are aware of the petition process, there is still a widespread lack of clarity about the EU’s field of activity, as demonstrated by the large number of inadmissible petitions (39 %)right to petition, confirming the need for greater efforts and appropriate measures to increase public awareness and achieve a substantial improvement regarding the exercise of this right;
Amendment 12 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H
Recital H
H. whereas the right to submit a petition to Parliament offers EU citizens and residents the means to address their directly elected representatives in a formal way; whereas the right to petition is an important crucial element of active participation of EU citizens and residents in the EU’s fields of activity and should therefore be promoted in the best way possible; whereas full exercise of the right to petition is related to the need for the EU institutions and Member States to arrive at prompt and effective solutions to issues raised by petitioners, ensuring full protection of their fundamental rights;
Amendment 16 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital J
Recital J
J. whereas more effective active public participation is only possible provided there is acan only be achieved under fully democratic EU governance ensuring full transparency, effective protection of fundamental rights, direct public involvement in decision-making processes and due regard for citizens' concerns on the EU political agenda; whereas fully democratic and transparent process thatgovernance also enables Parliament and the Committee on Petitions to render its work more citizen-friendly and comprehensible;
Amendment 19 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital K
Recital K
K. whereas petitions are a useful source of information with regard to detecting breaches of EU law and enable, as well as shortcomings and inconsistencies of this law, when it comes to ensuring the highest standards of social justice and full protection of the fundamental rights of all citizens; whereas petitions allow Parliament and other EU institutions to assess the transposition and application of EU law and its impact on EU citizens and residents;
Amendment 25 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital M
Recital M
M. whereas each petition ismust be carefully assessed and dealt with; whereas the petitioner has the right to receive without delay comprehensive information on the decision on admissibility taken by the Committee within a reasonable period of timeand action taken by it in processing and following up the petition;
Amendment 33 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital Q
Recital Q
Q. whereas the revision of Parliament’'s Rules of Procedure also brought clarification forshould lead to improvement of the petitions procedure and the relevant rules have been implemented byshould optimise the ability of the cCommittee since they entered into force on 16 January 2017on Petitions to to investigate citizens' concerns, thereby ensuring full protection and more effective exercise of the right of petition;
Amendment 36 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital T
Recital T
T. whereas the Committee on Petitions considers the European Citizens’ Initiative an important instrument of direct and participatory democracy,; whereas, to enablinge citizens to become activgenuinely involved in the framing of European policies and legislation through the European Citizens' Initiative, a review of the current EU treaties is necessary to ensure a legislative follow-up to successful European citizens' initiatives;
Amendment 40 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital U
Recital U
U. whereas 2017 saw four fact-finding visits, conducted pursuant to Rule 216a of the Rules of Procedure: one to Sweden on the difficulties encountered by EU citizens in obtaining the identification number required to access most of the services they needed when temporarily moving to Sweden; one to Spain on petitions addressing allegations concerning newborn babies stolen from hospitals during and after Franco’s dictatorship,; one to Taranto (Italy) on the impact of a local steel plant and refinery on the environment and how ithey had been causing air, land and water pollution; and one to Larnaca (Cyprus) on the environmental and health impact of a newly-built industrial port in the city;
Amendment 43 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Draws attention to the fundamental role of the Committee on Petitions as a bridge between EU citizens and the European institutions, through which EU citizens and residents can formally bring their concerns and ideas to the attention of their elected representatives, thereby allowing for the timely examination and resolution of citizen requests wherever possible; points out that the manner in which the concerns of petitioners are addressed has a major impact on citizens regarding effective respect for the right to petition as enshrined in EU law and on their opinions of the EU institutions;
Amendment 47 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Points out that petitions constitute both an opportunity and a challenge for Parliament and other EU institutions to reconnect with EU citizens and to maintain dialogue with them, particularly if they are affected by the application of EU law; notes that the EU institutions and Member States must do their utmost within their respective spheres of competence to arrive at prompt and effective solutions to issues raised by petitioners;
Amendment 53 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Stresses the importance of a continuous public debate about the competences of the EU, its limits and its future in order to ensure that citizens are well informed about the levels at which decisions are taken; considers that a broader public debate about the EU and everyday media reporting would reduce the number of inadmissible petitions, as citizens would be better aware of the competences of the EUraise awareness of the urgent need to introduce fully democratic EU governance ensuring full transparency, effective protection of fundamental rights, direct public involvement in decision-making processes and due regard for citizens' concerns on the EU political agenda. considers that a broader public debate about the EU and everyday media reporting would raise public awareness of the right to petition the European Parliament, providing more knowledge about the powers of the EU and the problems confronting it; emphasises that the subject matter of an inadmissible petition can play an important role for policymaking even though it falls outside the scope of the Committee;
Amendment 61 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Stresses the need for enhanced cooperation between the Commission and other EU institutions with Member States’ national, regional and local authorities on inquiries regarding the implementation of and compliance with EU lawensuring the adoption and implementation of EU provisions intended to achieve the highest standards of social justice and full and effective protection of the economic, social and cultural rights of all citizens; underlines the need for more active cooperation with Member States’ representatives at committee meetings and for swifter follow- up on requests sent from the Committee;
Amendment 67 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Points to the successful launch of the petitions network on 21 March 2017, attended by members from all parliamentary committees, at which the network’s guidelines were presented and its purpose and the role of its members outlined; points out that a second meeting of the petitions network took place on 10 October 2017; is convinced that the petitions network is a useful tool for a better follow-up of petitions in parliamentary and legislative work; underlines the fact that enhanced cooperation with parliamentary committees on issues raised by petitioners should enables Parliament to respond much more swiftly and efficiently to citizens’ concerns regarding full protection of economic. social and cultural rights, delivering real added value to the livematerial living conditions of EU citizens, and to the activities of Parliament and Europe as a whole;
Amendment 72 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. WelcomStresses the fact thatneed for the petitions that the Committee on Petitions receives arto be handled more swiftly and with great care by its Secretariat; underlines the fact that the Committee’s guidelines, adopted in January 2016, have makde the treatment of petitions and the decision-making process more transparent and clear;
Amendment 74 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8a. Strongly criticises the discretionary power arrogated by the Commission in individual cases when dealing with citizens' complaints; notes that refusal to investigate citizens' complaints, including individual cases, thoroughly and promptly in line with the Commission's approach in its 2016 Communication entitled 'European Union Law: Better Results through Better Application' may prevent a rapid understanding of possible serious systemic shortcomings, thereby perpetuating multiple rights infringements at the expense of numerous citizens;
Amendment 76 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 b (new)
Paragraph 8 b (new)
8b. Points out that consideration of petitions on precarious working conditions has revealed that, in certain Member States, many workers are the victims of inadmissible and discriminatory practices, reflecting a lack of effective preventive mechanisms and penalties in a number of cases; deplores the fact that the Commission has accumulated a substantial backlog of cases relating to breaches of EU labour law by certain Member States, thereby allowing infringements of workers' rights to continue for years;
Amendment 79 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Repeats its call on the Commission for regular information on developments with regard to ongoing infringement procedures; welcom, ensuring full transparency and unrestricted access to documents and information regarding EU pilot and infringement procedures already concluded; notes the centralised platform created by the Commission in 2014 on which infringement decisions are published1 ; demands full access to the relevant Commission documents on infringements, and to EU pilot procedures pertaining to petitions, especially when they were fully or partly opened on the basis of petitions; _________________ 1 http://ec.europa.eu/atwork/applying-eu- law/infringements- proceedings/infringement_decisions/?lang_ code=en
Amendment 86 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)
Paragraph 12 a (new)
12a. Stresses the need for the Commission to ensure that accurate and comprehensive analyses of compliance with EU law are carried out in respect of environmental assessments by Member States for the authorisation of infrastructure projects concerning which petitioners have expressed concerns at serious risks to human health and the environment;
Amendment 87 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 b (new)
Paragraph 12 b (new)
12b. Deeply regrets the fact that air quality problems flagged by petitioners in a number of Member States are being exacerbated by pollution from 43 million diesel vehicles that fail to comply with EU rules on the type-approval and emissions of passenger and light commercial vehicles;
Amendment 90 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Recognises the work done by the Working Group on Child Welfare Issues, and takes note of its final report adopted on 3 May 2017; firmly believes that the Commission, the Council and the Member States should give a consistent and effective follow-up to the recommendations of the final report of the Committee on Petitions Working Group on Child Welfare Issues adopted on 3 May 2017; calls on the EU institutions and the Member States to promote and improve cross- border cooperation on family matters, by providing training for judges and professionals, information on legal aid and bilingual lawyers;
Amendment 100 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Emphasises that the European Citizens’ Initiative should be both transparent and effective in order to serve as an important instrument for active citizenship and public participation; highlights the need for the revision of the current EU Treaties to make the European Citizens' Initiative an instrument to effectively promote active citizenship and public participation, ensuring a legislative follow- up to successful European citizens' initiatives; welcomes the Commission’s proposal for the revision of Regulation (EU) No 211/2011 on the European cCitizens’ i' Initiative15, published on 13 September 2017; highlights the most recent citizens’ initiative to be submitted, entitled ‘Ban glyphosate and protect people and the environment from toxic pesticides’; points to the public hearing on this initiative in Parliament on 20 November 2017; _________________ 15 OJ L 65, 11.3.2011, p. 1.
Amendment 102 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 a (new)
Paragraph 19 a (new)
19a. Stresses that, in connection with the public hearing on the European Citizens' Initiative entitled 'Ban Glyphosate and Protect People and the Environment from Toxic Pesticides' and in considering petitions on the same subject, it has emerged that EU authorisation procedures for substances such as glyphosate, genetically modified organisms and pesticides are compromised by lack of independence, insufficient transparency and inaccuracies regarding the compilation and and evaluation of scientific evidence;
Amendment 103 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Notes the particular attention paid to certainlarge number of petitions on animal welfare; draws attention to the study ‘Animal Welfare in the European Union’ and its presentation at the committee meeting on 23 March 2017, followed by a discussion of a number of petitions on the matter; calls for harmonisation of animal welfare legislationonsiders it vital to launch a new EU strategy to bridge all the existing gaps and ensure full and effective protection of animal welfare through a clear and comprehensive legislative framework that fully meets the requirements of Article 13 TFEU;
Amendment 107 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21
Paragraph 21
21. Underlines the importance of further developing the Petitions Portal and the need to make it an easily accessible two-way communication gateway for petitioners an two-way communication gateway and an easily accessible interactive tool, providing citizens of all EU Member States with access to all basic information regarding petitions and their treatment, opening up channels of communication and creating thematic communities for exchanges of documentation and best practice; stresses the need to further minimise the administrative burden in how petitions are processed; reiterates that an enhanced technical capacity of the Portal is essential for a smooth petition process; stresses the need to improve communication with petitioners by sending them notifications on the progress of their petition in their own language;