Activities of Vlad GHEORGHE related to 2023/2047(INI)
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on the outcome of the Committee on Petitions’ deliberations during 2022
Amendments (22)
Amendment 3 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H
Recital H
H. whereas petitioners tend to be citizens engaged in safeguarding fundamental rights and in the improvement and future well-being of our societies; whereas the experience of these citizens in regard to the processing of their petitions is very influential in determining their perception of the EU institutions, knowledge about the actions taken at EU level and respect for the right to petition as enshrined in EU law;
Amendment 4 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I
Recital I
I. whereas the right to petition the European Parliament is one of the fundamental rights of EU citizens; whereas the right to petition provides EU citizens and residents with an open, democratic and transparent mechanism to address their elected representatives directly and is therefore essential to enable citizens to participate actively and effectively in the life of the Union; whereas the processing of petitions is very influential in determining the petitioners’ perception of the EU institutions andeffective address by the Commission and the Member States to the issues presented in the petitions, as well as the compensation and redress provided to the petitioners who became victims of the EU legislation breach, increases the trust they put in the Union and its policies; whereas, therefore, it is essential to maintain high standards when implementing this right and processing petitions; whereas, through petitions, EU citizens can complain about failures to implement EU law and help detect breaches of EU law;
Amendment 5 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital J
Recital J
J. whereas the right to petition offers Parliament the opportunity to address and respond to complaints and concerns relating to issues in the EU’s fields of activity; whereas the right to petition enables Parliament and the other EU institutions, in particular the Commission as guardian of the Treaties, to enhance their responsiveness to alleged non- compliance with EU legislation in the Member States; whereas petitions are therefore a useful source of information on instances of misapplication or breaches of EU law and, thus, enable Parliament and the other EU institutions to assess the transposition and application of EU law and its impact on the rights of EU citizens and residents; petitions represent a basis for the Member States to provide compensation and redress to the petitioners who became victims or incurred losses due to the breach of the legislation by the relevant Member States;
Amendment 14 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital R
Recital R
R. whereas when adopting its meeting agenda, the Committee on Petitions should pay attention to petitions and topics with significant relevance for discussion at EU level and to the need to maintain an equitable geographical coverage of topics according to the petitions received; whereas, in this regard there is a need to raise awareness on the right to petition the European Parliament in the Member States and areas from which originate statistically less petitions;
Amendment 17 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital U
Recital U
U. whereas, in 2022, the Committee on Petitions held seven fact-finding visits; whereas this represents a large increase compared to the single fact-finding visit organised in 2021; whereas this can be explained by the need in 2021 to minimise health risks for Parliament’s Members and staff in the context of the spread of COVID-19 and therefore by the consecutive postponement of two fact- finding visits in 2022; whereas there is a need of increased communication on national level about the fact-finding visits, in order to allow the citizens to see that the EP delegation is present on the ground and is looking into the issues which affect their lives;
Amendment 19 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Reiterates the importance of a continuous public debate on the Union’s fields of activity in order to ensure that citizens are correctly informed about the scope of the Union’s competences and the different levels of decision-making; reiterates its call, in this regard, for broader awareness raising campaigns in all the official languages of the EU, through the active involvement of communications services, to help increase citizens’ knowledge about their right to petition, as well as the scope of the Union’s responsibilities and the competences of the Committee on Petitions, with a view to reducing the number of inadmissible petitions and better responding to citizens’ concerns;
Amendment 24 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Points out that petitions constitute a unique opportunity for Parliament and the other EU institutions to directly connect with EU citizens and maintain a regular dialogue with them, particularly in cases where they are affected by the misapplication or breach of EU law; stresses the need for enhanced cooperation between the EU institutions and national, regional and local authorities on inquiries regarding the implementation of and compliance with EU law; believes that such cooperation is crucial to address and resolve citizens’ concerns over the application of EU law and that it contributes to strengthening the democratic legitimacy and accountability of the Union , as well as the participation of citizens and residents in the democratic processes; calls, therefore, for the participation of Member States’ representatives in committee meetings and for timely and detailed responses to requests for clarification or information sent by the Committee on Petitions to national authorities;
Amendment 27 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Recalls the European dimension of the Committee on Petitions, which can be addressed by citizens from all 27 Member States on issues that fall within the scope of the EU Treaties and EU law; believes that the Committee has a special responsibility to uphold this European dimension and to demonstrate the added value of European unity and integration to citizens; is of the opinion that the treatment of petitions, as well as the organisation of fact-finding visits based on those petitions, should be geographically balanced and proportionate to the size of each Member State; believes, in this respect, that the European Parliament should increase its efforts to promote the role and work of its Committee on Petitions and raise awareness among all EU citizens of the possibility to address aright to petition to the European Parliament; urges the political groups represented in the Committee on Petitions to seek consensus and balance with regard to selecting and treating petitions;
Amendment 29 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Recalls the European dimension of the Committee on Petitions, which can be addressed by citizens from all 27 Member States on issues that fall within the scope of the EU Treaties and EU law; believes that the Committee has a special responsibility to uphold this European dimension and to demonstrate the added value of European unity and integration to citizens; is of the opinion that the treatment of petitions should be geographically balanced and proportionate to the sizepopulation of each Member State; believes, in this respect, that the European Parliament should increase its efforts to promote the role and work of its Committee on Petitions and raise awareness among all EU citizens of the possibility to address a petition to the European Parliament; urges the political groups represented in the Committee on Petitions to seek consensus and balance with regard to selecting and treating petitions;
Amendment 36 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Finds it worrying that the Commission does not provide updated information on petitions related to infringement procedures and on their state of play; deplores, in this regard, the lack of systematic follow-up in the communication with the Committee on Petitions; reiterates its call on the Commission to regularly update the Committee on Petitions on developments in infringement proceedings and to ensure that the Committee on Petitions gets access to the relevant Commission documents on infringement procedures and legislative initiatives which were launched based on the petitions received, and on EU Pilot procedures; is of the opinion that increased transparency and regular feedback on the handling of ongoing infringement procedures by the Commission would be beneficial for the Committee’s follow-up of open petitions;
Amendment 39 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Calls on the Commission to assess whether national authorities are taking the necessary measures to respond to citizens’ concerns as expressed in their petitions where cases of failure to comply with EU law occur, and to launch infringement procedures where necessary; believes that early action by the Commission in cases of breaches of EU law is crucial to prevent such breaches from becoming systemic in nature; believes that it is essential for the national authorities to be aware of the consequences where there is no redress to the breach to the Union law demonstrated by the petition after its presentation in the committee on Petitions;
Amendment 45 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Stresses the huge increase in the number of petitions submitted on external relations issues compared to previous years; notes that this could be explained by the geopolitical context in 2022 and in particular the Russian aggression against Ukraine; notes that the Committee on Petitions took account of citizen’s concerns about security, humanitarian aid, sanctions, security of food supply, military and financial support to Ukraine, conflict resolution, visa policy, energy supply and the integration of Ukraine in the EU, among other issues, putting a number of petitions dealing in particular with questions related to the situation of refugees, children’s rights and food supply on the agenda; underlines that particularly the committee on Foreign Affairs and the committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs, should take note of those petitions for their deliberations concerning Ukraine;
Amendment 48 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Notes that environmental issues remained an area of serious concern for petitioners in 2022, with more than 20% of petitions dedicated to environmental issues; regrets that environmental rules are not always correctly implemented in the Member States, as described in numerous petitions raising complaints aboutwith some of them being under infringement procedures for the breach of the EU environmental legislation, as described in numerous petitions raising complaints about conservation of big carnivores, protection of forest areas, air quality, noise pollution, waste management and the deterioration of natural ecosystems, among other things; points to the work the Committee on Petitions continued to carry out in 2022 on the impact of mining activities on the environment, putting a number of petitions received on this topic on the agenda; draws attention to citizens’ concerns about the environmental impacts of renewable energy, especially relating to wind farms, and to the public hearing of 15 June 2022 on the social and environmental impacts of renewable energy;
Amendment 52 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Draws attention to the public hearing of the Committee on Petitions of 25 March 2022 on an EU Green Prosecutor which assessed the shortcomings and challenges in the enforcement of EU environmental criminal law on the basis of petitions received, as well as new tools to tackle environmental crime, including the possible creation of a European Green Prosecutor’s Office, and paved the way for the adoption of an opinion by the committee; points out in this regard the opinion of the Committee on Petitions on the proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on the protection of the environment through criminal law and replacing Directive 2008/99/EC;
Amendment 53 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21
Paragraph 21
21. Stresses the importance of delivering on EU citizens’ expectations regarding the protection of the environment, and in particular of taking action in the field of illegal logging; underlines, in this regard, the follow-up actions by Parliament of Petitions Nos 0289/2015, 0625/2018, 1248/2019, 0408/2020, 0722/2020 and 1056/2021, raising concerns over increasing illegal logging and specific cases of practices that are in breach of EU environmental legislation in somenumber of Member States; points, in this regard, to the European Parliament resolution of 23 June 2022 on illegal logging in the EU7 adopted on the basis of a motion for a resolution by the Committee on Petitions in addition to its question for oral answer and to a fact- finding visit concerning alleged breaches of EU environmental law; _________________ 7 OJ C 32, 27.1.2023, p. 20.
Amendment 54 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 a (new)
Paragraph 21 a (new)
21a. Emphasizes that the petitions related to environment once again in 2022 made up the largest share of petitions received by the European Parliament expressing clear citizens' demands in the strict protection of unique ecosystems and species, including Europe's last old- growth and primary forests and invaluable wetlands and peatlands, as well as pointing out to the breaches of the EU legislation including the Water Framework Directive and the Birds and Habitats Directives and its provisions on protection of unique ecosystems and species including on the strict protection of large carnivores;
Amendment 55 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 b (new)
Paragraph 21 b (new)
21b. Stresses moreover the importance of reflecting on EU citizens' demands with regards to significant number of petitions received in 2022 calling for improvement of animal welfare standards including in live animal transports, restrictions to fast-growth broilers, negative impact of cages and other welfare conditions of farmed animals and reminds the Commission in this regard to implement without delay its commitment in line with its Communication in response to the ECI 'End the Cage Age' and propose a legislative proposal on animal welfare;
Amendment 57 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22
Paragraph 22
22. Urges the Commission, again, together with the Member States, to ensure the correct implementation of EU legislation in the environmental field; calls on the Commission to apply effective measures in cases where the infringement of the EU environmental legislation persists;
Amendment 58 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22 a (new)
Paragraph 22 a (new)
22a. Calls on the Commission to launch an infringement procedure without delay when the failure to implement EU environmental legislation has been detected and calls on the Commission to proceed with the ongoing infringements in reasonable timeframe in order to prevent further deterioration of the environment;
Amendment 60 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23
Paragraph 23
23. Stresses the important contribution made by the Committee on Petitions to the protection of the rights of persons with disabilities, as revealed by its treatment of a number of petitions on this sensitive topic; points, in this regard, to the opinion of the Committee on Petitions entitled ‘Towards equal rights for people with disabilities’ adopted on 13 July 20228 ; recalls the annual workshop of 30 November 2022 on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which the Committee on Petitions held to focus on disability assessment, mutual recognition and the EU Disability Card which shed light on the obstacles reported in petitions by persons with disabilities when they move across the EU; recalls that the Commission should address the cases where the national authorities refuse to recognise the rights for social security benefits for disabled people, thus leaving them without necessary means to cover their basic needs ; _________________ 8 Opinion adopted as part of procedure 2022/2026(INI), concluding with the adoption of the European Parliament resolution of 13 December 2022 towards equal rights for persons with disabilities. OJ C 177, 17.5.2023, p. 13.
Amendment 64 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29
Paragraph 29
29. Stresses that the ECI is an important instrument for active citizenship and public participation; underlines the Commission's commitments in its responses to valid ECIs in order not to undermine citizens' trust in the institute of ECI as the most significant instrument of participatory democracy; welcomes the discussion in several meetings of some unsuccessful ECIs as petitions, which gave citizens the opportunity to present their ideas and hold a constructive debate, as well as facilitating the participation of EU citizens in the democratic process of the Union; takes note of the significant number of new ECIs registered by the Commission in 2022, which shows that citizens are seizing the opportunity to use participatory instruments to have a say in policy and law-making processes; calls on the Commission to better engage with citizens and give adequate follow-up to successful ECIs;
Amendment 67 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30 a (new)
Paragraph 30 a (new)
30a. Recalls that the petitioners should be able not only to take part in the deliberations on petitions which they have submitted, but also in the fact-finding visits which are based on those petitions; recalls in this regard the need to implement the possibility for petitioners to have their travel expenses reimbursed when they take part in a fact-finding visit of the Petitions committee;