Activities of Cecilia WIKSTRÖM related to 2016/2146(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
Activities of the Committee on Petitions 2015 (debate)
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on the activities of the Committee on Petitions 2015 PDF (761 KB) DOC (199 KB)
Amendments (17)
Amendment 27 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H
Recital H
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 and strengthening constructive dialogue with EU citizens on European issues;
Amendment 32 #
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, according to its competences, and what solutions it can provide 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 40 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital J
Recital J
J. whereas the right to petition should enhance the European Parliament’s capacity to react, helping to resolve problems relating mainly to how EU legislation is applied, as petitions, which are based on EU competences and fulfil the admissibility criteria, constitute a valuable source of information in detecting deficiencies in how EU legislation is applied; whereas such petitions are a basic tool in the early detection of those Member States lagging behind in transposition of EU law;
Amendment 43 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital K
Recital K
K. whereas, therefore, petitions, which are based on EU competences and fulfil the admissibility criteria, are very important for the legislative process as they provide other Parliament committees with useful and direct input for their legislative work in their respective fields; whereas such petitions are not solely the responsibility of the Committee on Petitions, but should rather be a shared endeavour of all Parliament committees;
Amendment 45 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital L
Recital L
L. whereas, through petitions which are based on EU competences and fulfil the admissibility criteria, EU citizens can 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 52 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital N
Recital N
N. whereas during 2015 petitions lodged by citizens were processed faster and with greater efficiency, the timespan involved in correspondence with petitioners having been reducedsince currently there is no delay in the treatment of the petitions and the Secretariat is up to date in managing the petitions received, the timespan involved in correspondence with petitioners having been reduced; whereas the Secretariat has performed a noteworthy effort to achieve this improvement;
Amendment 58 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital O
Recital O
O. whereas petitioners actively contribute to the work of the Committee, providing additional information to its members, the Commission and representatives of the Member States who may be present; whereas petitioners, by taking part in these discussions and presenting their petitions along with more detailed information, contribute to establishing a fluid and constructive dialogue with Members of the European Parliament and with the European Commission; whereas in 2015, 191 petitioners attended and were involved in the Committee’s deliberations; whereas although this number seems relatively low, the meetings of the Committee on Petitions are broadcast, enabling petitioners to follow live discussions in real time by means of internet streaming;
Amendment 95 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Stresses that the right to petition should enhance the European Parliament’s capacity to react, helping to resolve problems relating mainly to implementation of EU legislation, as petitions, which are based on EU competences and fulfil the admissibility criteria, constitute a useful source of information in detecting breaches in the implementation of EU legislation;
Amendment 101 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
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 assessing the impact that EU legislation has on their daily lives by acting like the bridge between the citizens and the institutions;
Amendment 107 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Recalls that the equal and proportionate representation of petitioners' nationalities in the Committee's public debates should be respected; in order to strengthen the European dimension of the Committee, proper and fair representation of all Member States in the Committee's public debates should be encouraged;
Amendment 117 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Welcomes the fact that in 2015 the time taken to process petitions fellwas significantly reduced, there is no longer any delay in the admission, processing and treatment of the petitions, with the Secretariat of the Committee on Petitions being up to date in the treatment of petitions received, maintains nonetheless that the Secretariat of the Committee on Petitions is in need of greater technical resources and personnel in order to guarantee a further reduction in the time taken to process petitions;
Amendment 124 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. NotWelcomes 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 however 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; notwelcomes that the written responses are monitored, as are explanations given during oral debates held by the Committee on Petitions; notes that when the Commission cannot provide a detailed response to a request from the Committee on Petitions, it is often because it has no jurisdiction in the matter; notwelcomes 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;
Amendment 164 #
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, child welfare, 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 175 #
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 which fall within the EU competences; 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 179 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Considers that the European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) is a new political right for citizens as well as a relevant agenda-setting tool for participatory democracy in the European Union, allowing citizens to play an active part in projects and processes that affect them, and the potential of which must unquestionably be exploited to the full and significantly enhanced in order to achieve the best results and to encourage as many EU citizens as possible to participate in the further development of the European integration process; likewise considers that it must be one of the EU’s priority objectives to strengthen the democratic legitimacy of its institutions; reminds the European Commission of the need to follow up on all the recommendations made in the European Parliament resolution of 28 October 2015 on the European Citizens’ Initiative (2014/2257(INI) to ensure thereby that the right to present a European Citizens’ Initiative is properly implemented; reaffirms its commitment to being proactively involved in organising public hearings for successful initiatives; undertakes to give priority, at institutional level, to the effectiveness of this participative process and to ensuring due legislative follow-up;
Amendment 180 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. DeploRegrets the fact that the Commission considers that it is too early to revise Regulation (EU) No 211/2011 of 1 April 2012 which entered into force three years ago; considers that it is necessary to thoroughly evaluate its implementation to identify possible deficiencies and propose workable solutions with a view to revising it soon; welcomes the Commission’s report of 31 March 2015 on the ECI, and the European Ombudsman’s Decision OI/9/2013/TN, and calls on the Commission to ensure, in its a revision of this instrument, that all the appropriate legal measures are taken with a view to providing proper follow-up when an ECI is deemed to have been completed successfully; calls on the Commission, in view of the various weaknesses identified, to present a proposal for reform of Regulation (EU) No 211/2011 as soon as possible;
Amendment 200 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21
Paragraph 21
21. Urges the competent administrative bodies to expediteRecalls the steps still needed to conclude the introduction of the remaining project phases whereby petitioners will be able to receive information on the status of their petition, be notified of changes in the processing procedure through automated e- mail messages and directly contact officials of the Committee on Petitions for clear, direct information on the evolution of the issue concerning them;