Activities of Seán KELLY related to 2020/2275(INI)
Shadow opinions (1)
OPINION on engaging with citizens: the right to petition, the right to refer to the European Ombudsman and the European Citizens’ Initiative
Amendments (5)
Amendment 1 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 – point 1
Paragraph 1 – point 1
1. ‘whereas democratic elections to the European Parliament constitute the main bottom-up instrument for citizens in the Union; whereas the ECI contributes to the democratic functioning of the Union; whereas the citizens of the Union have the right enshrined in Article 11(4) TEU to apply to the Commission directly to ask it to submit a proposal, within the framework of its powers, for a legal act of the Union for the purpose of implementing the Treaties; whereas the Court of Justice of the European Union has confirmed in its case law that the notion of a ‘legal act for the purpose of implementing the Treaties’ should not be interpreted restrictively and that by virtue of Article 288 TFEU such an act can mean both legislative and non- legislative measures’';
Amendment 4 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 – point 3
Paragraph 3 – point 3
3. ‘whereas, in order to achieve those objectives and achieve the full potential of the ECI, the procedures and conditions required for the ECI should ensure that valid initiatives are considered and responded to appropriately by the Commission; whereas the Commission is legally obliged to state the action it intends to take on a valid ECI, if any, and to state, in a detailed manner, the reasons for taking or not taking action; whereas at least one million signatures from at least a quarter of the Member States are required for an ECI to be valid and to be submitted to the Commission; whereas Regulation (EU) 2020/1042 has made the time limits for the collection, verification and examination stages more flexible in response to the COVID-19 pandemic through the introduction of temporary measures; whereas the application of those measures has been extended through Commission implementing acts; whereas this regulation is only temporary in nature and applicable only until the end of 2022, which is also the date by which the individual online collection systems provided for by Article 11 of Regulation (EU) 2019/788 will be phased out’;
Amendment 5 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 – point 4
Paragraph 4 – point 4
4. ‘whereas organising and supporting an ECI is a political right for the citizens of the Union and a unique instrument for setting the priorities for participatory democracy in the EU, allowing the public to play an active role in the projects and processes that concern them; whereas there have been six successful European Citizens' Initiatives to date, most recently the "Minority Safepack" initiative and the "End the Cage Age" initiative; whereas the "Minority Safepack" initiative was the first ECI to have been debated in the European Parliament based on the new Regulation(EU) 2019/788, and was overwhelmingly supported by Parliament in December 2020 with 76% of the votes cast’;
Amendment 7 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 – point 6
Paragraph 6 – point 6
6. ‘Considers it essential that citizens be able to contribute to the exercise of the Union’s competences; considers it key, therefore, that valid ECIs should lead to the initiation of concrete proposals for both legislative and non-legislative acts referred to in Article 288 TFEUalls, therefore, on the Commission to carry out a thorough assessment of the proposals of each valid ECI, and to comply fully with its legal obligation to set out, in a detailed manner, its reasons for taking or not taking action; recalls Parliament’s obligation to assess the measures taken by the Commission in line with Article 16 of Regulation (EU) 2019/788 and Rule 222(9) of Parliament’s Rules of Procedure, particularly when the Commission fails to put forward any such proposals or fails to implement them’;
Amendment 15 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9 – point 9
Paragraph 9 – point 9
9. ‘Calls on the Commission to outline the legislative and non-legislative measures which could be introducedHighlights the measures outlined in Regulation (EU) 2019/788 to improve how the citizens of the Union can exercise their right to support an ECI, given the low number of valid ECIs that have ultimately been successful in providing for the initiation of legal acts; calls for an assessment of the implementation of these measures; calls for a thorough assessment of the exercise of this right in the next EU citizenship report’;