Activities of Notis MARIAS related to 2016/2146(INI)
Plenary speeches (3)
Activities of the Committee on Petitions 2015 (debate) EL
Activities of the Committee on Petitions 2015 (debate) EL
Activities of the Committee on Petitions 2015 (A8-0366/2016 - Ángela Vallina) EL
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on the activities of the Committee on Petitions 2015 PDF (761 KB) DOC (199 KB)
Amendments (23)
Amendment 1 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 2 a (new)
Citation 2 a (new)
- having regard to the Protocol (No 1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) on the role of National Parliaments in the European Union,
Amendment 2 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 2 b (new)
Citation 2 b (new)
- having regard to Protocol (No 2) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) on the application of the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality,
Amendment 6 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas the number of petitions received is modest when compared to the EU’s total population, which indicates that the vast majority of EU citizens are unfortunately not yet aware of the right to petition, or of its possible usefulness as a means of drawing the attention of the EU institutions and the Member States to matters which affect and concern them;
Amendment 8 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas 483 petitions were not considered admissible in 2015 and whereas there is still widespread confusion about the EU’s fields of activity as is shown by the high number of inadmissible petitions received (33.8%); whereas to fundamentally remedy this situation, communication with citizens needs to be encouraged and improved and the different areas of responsibility – European, national and local – need to be explained;
Amendment 21 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G
Recital G
G. whereas the right to petition has to be a key element for a participatory democracy; whereas petitions enable the European Parliament to listen to, to inform and to help to solve problems affecting its citizens, and whereas the impact of EU legislation on the daily life of those living in the EU should be assessed through said petitions;
Amendment 24 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital Η
Recital Η
(Amendment subject to revision)
Amendment 31 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I
Recital I
I. whereas the Committee on Petitions is best able to show citizens what the European Union does for them and what solutions it can provide for their problems at European, national or local level; whereas the Committee on Petitions can do excellent work explaining the successes and benefits of the European project;
Amendment 35 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital J
Recital J
Amendment 41 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital ΙΑ
Recital ΙΑ
K. whereas, therefore, petitions are veryplay quite an important forrole in the legislative process as they provide other Parliament committees with useful and direct input for their legislative work in their respective fields; whereas petitions are notand should remain solely the responsibility of the Committee on Petitions, but should rather be a shared endeavour of all Parliament committees;
Amendment 47 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital L
Recital L
(Amendment subject to revision)·
Amendment 73 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital X
Recital X
X. whereas the key issues of concern raised in petitions pertain to a wide range of issues, such as environmental legislation (in particular, waste water treatment, waste management, gas and hydrocarbon prospection and extraction), fundamental rights (in particular the rights of the child and of persons with disabilities), the free movement of persons, discrimination, immigration, employment, animal welfare, the application of justice (in particular custody rights regarding minors), the payment of war reparations and compensation and breaches of consumer rights;
Amendment 96 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
(Amendment subject to revision)
Amendment 98 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
(Amendment subject to revision)
Amendment 108 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Stresses that petitions are very important for the legislative process, as they detect deficiencies in the transposition of Community legislation and provide other Parliament committees with useful and direct input for their legislative work in their respective fields; applauds the setting up of an informal petitions network within Parliament, with the participation of Members representing every committee of Parliament, in order to ensure smooth and effective coordination of petitions work; considers that petitions are not solely the responsibility of the Committee on Petitions, but should be a shared endeavour of all of the European Parliament’s committees; urges all parliamentary committees concerned to pay due attention to the petitions forwarded to them and to provide the information necessary for petitions to be processed properly;
Amendment 121 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Welcomes the fact that in 2015 the time taken to process petitions fell, maintains nonetheless that the Secretariat of the Committee on Petitions is in immediate need of greater technical resources and personnel in order to guarantee a reduction in the time taken to process petitions;
Amendment 123 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
(Amendment subject to revision)
Amendment 162 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Stresses the wide range of subjects raised in the petitions filed by citizens, such as fundamental rights, the issue of German reparations and compensation for the Second World War, the rights of persons with disabilities, the internal market, environmental law, labour relations, migration policies, trade agreements, public health issues, child welfare, transport, animal rights and discrimination;
Amendment 172 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Believes that the organisation of public hearings is an important way of examining problems raised by petitioners, such as the holding of a public hearing on German liabilities to Greece which include, inter alia, German war reparations, the repayment of the forced loan extracted from Greece during the German occupation and compensation for relatives of victims executed by the German forces of occupation between 1941 and 1944; draws attention to the public hearings organised on 26 February 2015 with the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety in response to the ECI on ‘Water is a Human Right’, and with the Committee on Legal Affairs for the ECI entitled ‘One of Us’;
Amendment 207 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H Ex-AM24
Recital H Ex-AM24
H. whereas confidence in the system and in the European project as a whole has been dented by recent events in the United Kingdom, the humanitarian refugee crisis, the social and economic impact of the financial crisis, and the rise in xenophobia and racism throughout Europe; whereas the Committee on Petitions has the responsibility and the huge challenge of maintaining dialogue with EU citizensthe Committee on Petitions has an opportunity and the huge challenge of maintaining a dialogue with citizens as it has the possibility to bring the EU’s institutions and citizens together once again, by placing the citizens in the centre of the European project;
Amendment 208 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital L Ex-AM47
Recital L Ex-AM47
L. whereas, through petitions, EU citizens can better monitor the drawing up and complain about poor implementation of EU law; whereas in so doing citizens act as a useful source of information when it comes to detecting breaches of EU law;
Amendment 209 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 Ex-AM96
Paragraph 2 Ex-AM96
2. Stresses the work that the Committee on Petitions carries out in listening to and helping to solve problems affecting its citizens; believes that petitions can help in better assessing the impact that EU legislation has on their daily lives;
Amendment 210 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 Ex-AM98
Paragraph 3 Ex-AM98
Amendment 211 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 Ex-AM123
Paragraph 6 Ex-AM123
6. Notes that, as mentioned by Vice- President Timmermans at his meeting with the Committee on Petitions on 5 May 2015, the Commission is involved with and committed to the petition process and responds as quickly as possible to new petitions forwarded to it by Parliament; points out that Commission replies are usually detailed and pertain to the petitions for which it has jurisdiction; recalls howeverRecalls that on many occasions the Commission does not bring any new information in its replies to petitions for which a review has been requested owing to a change in their status and context ; notes that the Commission’s written responses are monitored, as are and explanations are given during oral debates held by the Committee on Petitions; notes that whenwith regret that the Commission candoes not provide a detailed response to a requests from the Committee on Petitions, it is because it has no jurisdiction in the matter; notes the Commission’s commitment in sending generally competent officials to meetings of the Committee on Petitions; regrets that during public debates with petitioners and Members of Parliament the officials sent by the Commission do not provide any new or relevant information that might enable a solution to the issues raised;