Activities of Helmut SCHOLZ related to 2022/2206(INI)
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on the implementation of the Regulations on the European citizens’ initiative
Amendments (28)
Amendment 5 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)
Recital C a (new)
C a. whereas it is indispensable for organisers of ECIs to campaign and collect statements of support online;
Amendment 6 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C b (new)
Recital C b (new)
Amendment 7 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C c (new)
Recital C c (new)
C c. whereas from 71 ECIs, which have opted for the central OCS, only six ECIs could collect more than one million signatures; whereas individual OCS have a success rate of approximately 31% in comparison to the central OCS that has a success rate of only 8,4%;
Amendment 8 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C d (new)
Recital C d (new)
C d. whereas contrary to the central OCS provided by the Commission, individual OCS enable organisers to plan and perform campaigns in a decentralised way taking into account the multilingual and multicultural context in the different Member States; whereas individual OCS can be embedded in the websites of the different civil society organisations supporting a specific ECI and can be easily adapted to their specific needs without great bureaucracy; whereas individual OCS enable the organisers to retrace which campaigns in the different Member States are generating the most statements of support for a particular ECI and to make appropriate adjustments; whereas individual OCS are an important driver for innovation that has considerably contributed to strengthen support for ECIs;
Amendment 11 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F a (new)
Recital F a (new)
F a. whereas most ECIs fail to gather one million signatures not because citizens are not interested to support initiatives, but because citizens simply do not know that these initiatives exist;
Amendment 13 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G a (new)
Recital G a (new)
G a. whereas the COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated the fragility and vulnerability of the ECI;
Amendment 14 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H a (new)
Recital H a (new)
H a. whereas there is a lack of transparency regarding the implementing rules in certain Member States;
Amendment 15 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H b (new)
Recital H b (new)
H b. whereas the success of a planned ECI depends on the outcome of the verification and certification procedure in the Member States;
Amendment 21 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital J a (new)
Recital J a (new)
J a. whereas the European Court of Justice has stated that the objective of the ECI is to foster debates within the EU institutions;
Amendment 26 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Points out that the ECI is the only tool for participatory democracy at EU level that can potentially lead to a proposal for a legal act of the Union; considers it essential to involve citizens, in particular young people, in the democratic life of the Uniondeplores, however, the lack of visibility of proposed ECIs; recalls, therefore, that the use of the ECI instrument must be enhanced by all available means;
Amendment 29 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1 a. Considers it essential to involve, in particular, young people in the democratic life of the Union; welcomes that a number of Member States have decided to lower the minimum age entitling to support ECIs;
Amendment 32 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Stresses that the online collection of statements of support is fundamental for the success of ECIs; welcomes the improvements made by the Commission to its central online collection system, including the possibility of customising its features and providing statistics to citizens; is concernedstrongly believes, however, that phasing out individual online collection systems mightwill have a negative effect on the possibility for organisers to use online collection systems tailored to their needs;
Amendment 33 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2 a. Believes that the special data protection rules for the collection of email addresses pursuant to Article 19(8) of the revised ECI Regulation are not appropriate as they prevent civil society from mobilising citizens to support future ECIs; highlights that mailing lists are an important tool in this context; points out that it is totally sufficient to apply the General Data Protection Regulation without any further provisions;
Amendment 42 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6 a. Highlights the lack of transparency regarding the verification and certification procedure in certain Member States;
Amendment 43 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 b (new)
Paragraph 6 b (new)
Amendment 49 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7 a. Welcomes the setting up of the ECI Expert Group; is concerned, however, that no representatives of civil society are included in this expert group; deplores that this is also contrary to the principles established by the European Ombudsman regarding the composition of Commission expert groups;
Amendment 51 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8 a. Regrets, that in practice, there is hardly any in-depth discussion of the concerns of an ECI;
Amendment 52 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 b (new)
Paragraph 8 b (new)
8 b. Is convinced that in the long term it will be necessary to strengthen the primary legal basis in order to turn the ECI into a more effective participatory instrument;
Amendment 61 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9 a. Invites the Commission to encourage Member States to lower the minimum age entitling to support an ECI, where this is not already the case;
Amendment 62 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 b (new)
Paragraph 9 b (new)
9 b. Recognises the importance of anchoring the ECI more effectively in the European civil society's consciousness; calls on the Member States to take respective responsibility; proposes to promote ECIs on websites at national level that citizens know and trust, in particular by interlinking the EU website on the ECI with appropriate online platforms at national level;
Amendment 65 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 c (new)
Paragraph 9 c (new)
9 c. Asks the Commission to reconsider that all email addresses collected by organisers have to be deleted after a prescribed time as this obligation may limit the scope of action of civil society organisations, especially if they consider to launch a new ECI in the future;
Amendment 70 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. InvitUrges the Commission to start a reflection process on the usefulness of reintroducinge the option for organisers to use individual online collection systems in order to strengthen the digital dimension of the ECI;
Amendment 79 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)
Paragraph 11 a (new)
11 a. Calls on the Commission to remedy the situation that no information is publicly available on how the verification is carried out and under which conditions statements of support are deemed to be invalid, which creates a risk of arbitrariness for the organisers of ECIs;
Amendment 81 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 b (new)
Paragraph 11 b (new)
11 b. Calls on the Commission to ensure that ECI organisers are given access to the file of the competent authority to be able to seek effective judicial protection against unlawful certification decisions;
Amendment 82 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 c (new)
Paragraph 11 c (new)
11 c. Reminds the Commission to treat all ECIs impartially throughout the entire procedure;
Amendment 83 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Calls on the Commission to establish a proper dialogue with organisers about their goals and the best possible means to achieve them, in order to assess citizens’ input seriously and effectively; points out that such a dialogue has to be conducted in an open, impartial and non- discriminatory manner and could already be initiated during the collection period;
Amendment 85 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)
Paragraph 12 a (new)
12 a. Asks the Commission to adapt the mandate of the ECI Expert Group and extend the composition of the expert group to representatives of civil society; asks furthermore to ensure that there are no financial links between the relevant organisations of civil society and the Commission;
Amendment 90 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)
Paragraph 14 a (new)
14 a. Proposes to combine successful ECIs with European citizens’ panels in order to improve the deliberative dimension of the ECI and to increase its impact;