Activities of Simon BUSUTTIL related to 2008/2028(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
Citizens' petitions during the year 2007 (debate)
Amendments (12)
Amendment 1 #
Motion for a resolution
Visa 2
Visa 2
- having regard to its previous resolutions on the deliberations of the Committee on Petitions, notably its resolution of 21 June 2007 on the results of the fact-finding mission to the regions of Andalucía, Valencia and Madrid conducted on behalf of the Committee on Petitions,
Amendment 3 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)
Recital B a (new)
Ba. whereas in accordance with the treaty EU citizens have the right to petition the European Parliament but they may also channel their complaints to other EU institutions or organs, notably the European Commission and the European Ombudsman; and whereas privacy must be accorded to the petitions process,
Amendment 14 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital S
Recital S
S. whereas in 2007, when the membership of the Committee on Petitions was increased from 25 to 40, Parliament registered 1 506 petitions (representing a 50% increase compared to 2006), of which 1 089 were declared admissible; 324 of the petitions declared admissible were closed without any deliberation in committee in the light of decisions previously taken on similar petitions; 42 petitions declared admissible were closed without deliberation in committee under the written procedure; 145 petitions of the petitions declared admissible concerned problems related with the EU's Internet Market,
Amendment 19 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Welcomes the close collaboration between the Committee on Petitions and its secretariat and the services of the Commission and the Ombudsman and the climate of cooperation that exists between the institutions which seek to respond to the concerns of Europe's citizens; firmly believes, however, that priority should be accorded to enabling the Committee on Petitions itself to further enhance its own independent investigatory facilities, notably through the reinforcement of its secretariat; undertakes to further streamline internal procedures of the Petitions Committee in order to facilitate the petitions process further, notably with respect to the timeframe within which petitions are determined, their admissibility, investigation and follow-up, the organisation of committee meetings, the cooperation with other parliamentary committees which may have an interest or competence on certain petitions, and committee initiatives such as fact-finding missions;
Amendment 22 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Calls on the Secretary General to embark on negotiations with the European Commission and the European Ombudsman with the task of coordinating better their work on complaints in a way that facilitates, simplifies and streamlines the complaint procedures and make them more transparent and expeditious; calls on the Secretary General to report back to the Petitions Committee within six months;
Amendment 23 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. SupportsUrges the Secretary-General to start urgently proceeding in view of the formalisation of a procedure whereby certainthe petitions in the field of the internal market can bare transferred to the SOLVIT network with the aim to shorten significantly the petitions proceedings in the field of Internal Market issues such as car taxes, recognition of professional qualifications, residents permits, border controls and access to education, while preserving Parliament's right to examine the issue should a satisfactory solution not be found through SOLVIT;
Amendment 24 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Reiterates once again the need for greater involvement on the part of Council and the Permanent Representatives Offices of the Member States in the activities of the Committee and urges them to increase their presence and participation in the interests of the citizens;
Amendment 32 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Urges the Commission, when dealing with petitions and complaints related to environmental policy – which is the predominant concern of petitioners in the EU (more than one-third of petitions concerning the environment in 2007 came from Spain) – to be more ready to act to prevent breaches of EU law, rather than waiting for EU law to be infringed as is so often the case according to the many responses received by the Committee on Petitions on specific matters of concerone of the predominant concerns of petitioners in to he EU citizens; notes that the "precautionary principle" has noinsufficient practical legal force and is too often ignored by responsible authorities in Member States who nevertheless are under an obligation to apply the EC Treaty;
Amendment 35 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Regrets the lack of support given to the Committee on Petitions by the Commission when, as a result of fact-finding visits in particular, compelling evidence is obtained concerning failure to respect citizen's rights as enshrined in the Treaty, or failure to apply legislation designed to protect the environment (notably where large infrastructure projects are planned involving significant financial interests), and calls for new procedures to be established which allow Parliament to bring such cases directly before the Court of Justice;
Amendment 36 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Recognises also that in many instances satisfactory solutions cannot be found for petitioners because of the weaknesses in the applicable Community legislation itself; regrets that a number of increasingly important installations and activities, such as re-gasification plants, bio-diesel plants and gas pipelines, do not appear to be taken into consideration in Community law in a manner comparable with installations and activities having a similar potential impact on human health, safety and the environment;
Amendment 38 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Reaffirms its commitment to upholding the recognition of rights of European citizens to their private property which has been legally obtained, and condemns all attempts to divest families of their property without due process, proper compensation or respect for their personal integrity; notes an increase in the numbers of petitions received on this issue, especially regarding Spain in 2007, and notes also the report and recommendations of the fact-finding visit conducted by the Committee on Petitions2 to investigate the problem for the third time; notes that, as regards the Public Procurement Directives, ongoing infringement procedures are still open; 1 DT 660551. 2 DT 660551.; Or. en
Amendment 45 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23
Paragraph 23
23. Notes the growing number of petitions and letters received by the Committee on Petitions concerning the most sensitive matter of child custody, on which it is extremely difficult to take action because of the often contradictory personal interests involved, as for instance on petitions with regard to the German Jugendamt, because of the involvement of the courts in many cases, and because of the fact that – except in cases of parents from different EU countries – it is difficult to claim competence for the EU as such; notes however that in Germany, according to petitioners, there may be problems with the Jugendamt system in certain local areas, both systemically and in relation to many individual cases, and asks the German Federal authorities to ensure that the fundamental rights of all EU citizens are properly protected;