9 Amendments of Daniel BUDA related to 2014/2257(INI)
Amendment 2 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Underlines the fact that the Citizens’ Initiative is the first tool of participatory democracy that confers the right for EU citizens, based on at least one million statements of support, to take the initiative from at least one- quarter of the EU Member States, to take the initiative, thereby underpinning their new political prerogative, and ask the Commission to submit, within the framework of its powers, an appropriate proposal on matters on which citizens consider that a legislative act is necessary to implement the treaties;
Amendment 6 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Considers it essential that citizens can contribute to the exercise of the legislative prerogatives of the Union and be involved directly in the initiation of legislative proposals; calls on the Commission in this connection to engage actively, providing the organisers of European Citizens’ Initiatives with as many detailed guidelines as possible regarding the interpretation of the legal provisions;
Amendment 11 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Notes that more than six million EU citizens have participated in a Citizens’ Initiative and that three initiatives, namely ‘Right2Water’, ‘One of Us’ and ‘Stop Vivisection’, were successful; points, however, to the various practical difficulties which the organisers have encountered since the entry into force of the regulation in April 2012; points out, moreover, that the ECI is, in its current form, weak and restricted in scope and requires substantial modification, given that only 3 out of 51 initiatives have been ruled eligible by the Commission and six ECI organisers have challenged the Commission's refusal before the European Court of Justice, corresponding to 30% of all rejections;
Amendment 13 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Calls for a review of the dual role of the Commission, which could give rise to a conflict of interests, bearing in mind that a number of ECI organisers acknowledge the significance and value of its input; calls in this connection on the Commission to consider the European Parliament also as a decision maker, particularly since it is the only institution whose members are directly elected by the EU citizens;
Amendment 14 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 b (new)
Paragraph 3 b (new)
3b. Notes that there is a need for a legal entity, but argues that this should be non- mandatory, given the considerable amount of red tape possibly involved in endowing it with binding legal status; calls in addition for risk reduction measures to encourage ECI committee members to take concrete initiatives, the simplification of personal data requirements and the provision of civil liability insurance;
Amendment 16 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Calls on the Commission to ensure comprehensive support, including non- bindingfree (or pro bono) legal advice – for example, by creating a point of contact responsible for the Citizens’ Initiative in the Commission representations in all Member States with the task of providing information and the necessary advice and assistance for Citizens' Initiatives– in view of the difficulty faced by organisers in identifying the relevant treaty and legal provisions on which to base a valid initiative;
Amendment 25 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Stresses the need for a harmonised and more efficient procedure for submitting statements of support, as it is unacceptable that EU citizens should be excluded from supporting Citizens’ Initiatives owing to differing personal data submission requirements in the Member States; calls on the Member States, as a matter of urgency and as a binding measure, to remove the requirement that a personal identification number be provided for a statement of support, as this represents an unnecessary bureaucratic burden for the collection of statements of support and also an unnecessary way of checking the identity of a signatory;
Amendment 40 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Welcomes the European Economic and Social Committee’s willingness to provide free translation services for initiators, thereby facilitating the dissemination of Citizens’ Initiatives in all official languages, particularly in so far as native language use is a civil right ; recognises therein a significant contribution to supporting citizens by enabling them to promote their concerns more effectively among the EU population;
Amendment 48 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Calls on the Commission to submit a proposal for the revision of the Regulation on the Citizen’s Initiative as soon as possible, to make the Citizen’s Initiative easier to use and more citizen-friendly and enable it to fully unfold its potential. and to take the necessary measures to ensure transparency and awareness raising, the objective being to publicise and promote the European Citizens’ Initiative in the media and among the public, encouraging active participation in the mechanism;