2020/2201(INI) | [ParlTrack]

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Considers that citizens’ understanding of and trust in the EU institutions isare fundamental for democracy, good governance and effective policy-making and that for this reason ~~the~~all EU institutions must strive for the highest possible standards of transparency, accountability and integrity in all aspects of their work, especially with regards to holding meetings at highest levels publicly;

Amendment 10 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 b (new)

1 b. Calls on the Commission to consider specific measures to ensure that accountability and integrity are horizontally embedded in all the EU procedures and across the EU institutions;

Amendment 11 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 c (new)

1 c. Recalls the "Declaration on Promoting citizenship and the common values of freedom, tolerance and non- discrimination through education" by the European education ministers from 17 March 2015, containing their demand to strengthen our actions in the field of education at European, national, regional and local levels in order to safeguard our pluralistic society;

Amendment 12 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 c (new)

1 c. Stresses the need to financially invest in activities to strengthen transparency in the governance procedures of the EU institutions;

Amendment 13 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 d (new)

1 d. Urges the EU institutions to provide timely and fully transparent access to the public during all preparatory stages of the legislative documents and processes;

Amendment 14 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 e (new)

1 e. Calls on the Commission to take further and specific measures in order to strengthen transparency with a special focusing on the EU decision-making regarding the allocation of any EU funding;

Amendment 15 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 f (new)

1 f. Calls on the Commission to monitor and conduct systematic controls in order to ensure that organisations once registered in the Transparency Register keep covering transparency criteria overtime;

Amendment 16 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 g (new)

1 g. Highlights that the EU institutions should lead by example regarding transparency, accountability and integrity; notes that there are lessons to take from current crisis and especially the vaccination agreements, which eventually hampered citizens’ trust on the European institutions; urges the Commission to take specific measures to secure the highest transparency standards, adequately, timely and throughout all the stages of the decision procedures in the future, even if emergency procedures are followed;

Amendment 17 #

Asim ADEMOV, Tomasz FRANKOWSKI, Ioan-Rareş BOGDAN, Peter POLLÁK, Isabel BENJUMEA BENJUMEA

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 h (new)

1 h. Highlights that MEPs and senior officials of the EU institutions should lead by example regarding transparency, accountability and integrity; suggests the strengthening of the measures to prevent incidents of revolving doors and conflicts of interests;

Amendment 18 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Stresses that all democratic means of participation for citizens must entail an open and transparent process that takes an inclusive, participatory and well- balanced approach to citizens and stakeholders; believes that dialogue between decision-makers and civil society should be organised in such a way that the diversity of our societies is fully reflected;deleted

Amendment 19 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Stresses that all democratic means of participation for citizens must entail an open and transparent process that takes an inclusive, participatory and well-balanced approach to citizens and stakeholders; notes that openness requires relevant adjustments to facilitate and remove bureaucracy barriers for citizens’ participation in the EU decision-making; believes that dialogue between decision- makers and civil society should be organised in such a way that the diversity of our societies is fully reflected; highlights the need for inclusion measures especially for persons with disabilities, persons from vulnerable and marginalised backgrounds and LGBTIQ people; highlights that all citizens should have equal access and possibilities to exercise their democratic rights;

Amendment 2 #

Domènec RUIZ DEVESA, Ibán GARCÍA DEL BLANCO, Marcos ROS SEMPERE, Predrag Fred MATIĆ, Massimiliano SMERIGLIO, Łukasz KOHUT

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Considers that citizens’ trust in the EU institutions is fundamental for democracy, good governance and effective policy-making and a key factor in building citizens' trust and confidence in the EU and its future, and that for this reason the EU institutions must strive for the highest possible standards of transparency, accountability and integrity;

Amendment 20 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Stresses th~~at all~~e importance of reviewing democratic means of participation for citizens ~~must~~so that these entail an open and transparent process that takes an inclusive, participatory and well- balanced approach to citizens and ~~stakeholder~~representative associations; as well as identifying current gaps; believes that dialogue between decision- makers and organised civil society should be organised in such a way that the diversity of our societies is fully reflected;

Amendment 21 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Stresses that all democratic means of participation for citizens must entail an open and transparent process that takes an inclusive, participatory and well-balanced approach to citizens and stakeholders; believes that dialogue between decision- makers and civil society is~~hould be~~ organised in such a way that the diversity of our societies is ~~fully reflected;~~ reflected on a proportional, and thus not preferential, basis;

Amendment 22 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Stresses that all democratic means of participation for citizens must entail an open and transparent process that takes an inclusive, participatory and well-balanced approach to citizens and stakeholders; believes that dialogue between decision- makers and civil society should be organised in such a way that the diversity and needs of our societies isand local communities are fully reflected;

Amendment 23 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Stresses that all democratic means of participation for citizens must entail an open and transparent process that takes an inclusive, participatory and well-balanced approach to citizens and stakeholders; believes that dialogue between decision- makers and civil society should be organised in such a way that the diversity of our societies is fully reflected in all Member States;

Amendment 24 #

Asim ADEMOV, Tomasz FRANKOWSKI, Ioan-Rareş BOGDAN, Peter POLLÁK, Isabel BENJUMEA BENJUMEA, Željana ZOVKO

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2 a. Notes that in order to strengthen inclusiveness, awareness and visibility, there is a need to improve accessibility as much as possible; suggests proceeding to adjustments on the websites and all the digital presence of the EU in order to be user-friendly and presented in an easily understandable manner and language; suggests including and investing further in translation services, so that all websites of the EU support all official languages; suggests for specific technical or other adjustments to be made to all websites of the EU in order to facilitate participation of persons with disabilities, as well as persons with dyslexia or any reading disorder or difficulty, which account for 9-12% of the European population, according to relevant estimates;

Amendment 25 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2 a. Stresses that dialogue with citizens on their participation in the decision- making is necessary in order to build an even more democratic EU; considers that this will be a way to deepen European integration, promote the rule of law and build an even more just society, giving equal opportunities to all EU citizens; calls for enhances dialogues with citizens in order to spread information about EU policies and the rights deriving from the European citizenship; believes that dialogue between decision-makers and civil society should be organized in such a way that all parts of European societies are fully represented;

Amendment 26 #

Irena JOVEVA, Ilana CICUREL, Vlad-Marius BOTOŞ, Laurence FARRENG, Radka MAXOVÁ

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2 a. Highlights that the Conference on the Future of Europe will play a crucial role in the further development of the citizens’ participation in the policy- making process in the European Union and pave the way to establish a new permanent mechanism for citizen participation, reforming and transforming current top-down approach into a bottom- up approach; considers necessary the integration of culture, education, youth and sport policy and participation of respective sectors in the Conference framework;

Amendment 27 #

Domènec RUIZ DEVESA, Ibán GARCÍA DEL BLANCO, Marcos ROS SEMPERE, Predrag Fred MATIĆ, Massimiliano SMERIGLIO, Łukasz KOHUT, Victor NEGRESCU, Hannes HEIDE

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2 a. Calls on the Commission to present a proposal for an Interinstitutional Agreement on civil dialogue based on article 11.2 TEU stating that institutions shall maintain an open, transparent and regular dialogue with representative associations and civil society;

Amendment 28 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2a. Takes the view that in order for citizens to play an active and informed part in EU decision-making, they must have the right to acquire information and to submit and receive communications in all the official languages of the Union;

Amendment 29 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 b (new)

2 b. Notes that the procedures for citizens’ participation in the EU decision- making should be as simplified as possible; highlights that along with the digital communication channels there is a need to empower traditional communication channels, so that citizens of low web literacy or limited web access may still have equal opportunities to the EU participation, dialogues and decision- making;

Amendment 3 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Considers that citizens’ trust in the EU institutions is fundamental for democracy, good governance and effective policy-making and that for this reason the EU institutions must strive for the highest possible standards of transparency, accountability and integrity by taking specific, focused and coordinated relevant measures;

Amendment 30 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 c (new)

2 c. Reiterates the definition of equality according to the Chapter 3 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, as equality before the law, non- discrimination, diversity, gender equality and rights of children, elderly people and people with disabilities;

Amendment 31 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Notes that established channels for citizens to give their input on the EU decision-making process, such as the European citizens’ initiative, the right of petition to the European Parliament, recourse to the European Ombudsman, public consultations and dialogues, lack visibility, accessibility and follow-up; and therefore deny citizens a true participation; believes that the Commission by refusing to propose a legal follow-up on almost all successful ECIs failed to ensure that this tool could genuinely achieve its goal aimed at enhancing the democratic functioning of the Union through the participation of citizens in its democratic and political life; warns that the Commission's approach results in undermining citizens' trust in the EU institutions; underlines, in this regard, that by means of a resolution adopted in plenary the Parliament asked the Commission to ensure a legal follow- up on the Minority Safepack Initiative;

Amendment 32 #

Domènec RUIZ DEVESA, Ibán GARCÍA DEL BLANCO, Marcos ROS SEMPERE, Predrag Fred MATIĆ, Łukasz KOHUT, Victor NEGRESCU, Hannes HEIDE

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

Amendment 33 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

Amendment 34 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

Amendment 35 #

Isabel BENJUMEA BENJUMEA

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

Amendment 36 #

Domènec RUIZ DEVESA, Ibán GARCÍA DEL BLANCO, Marcos ROS SEMPERE, Predrag Fred MATIĆ, Massimiliano SMERIGLIO, Łukasz KOHUT, Victor NEGRESCU, Hannes HEIDE

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

Amendment 37 #

Andrea BOCSKOR, Iuliu WINKLER, Milan ZVER, Željana ZOVKO

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3 a. Expresses its deep disappointment at the decision of the European Commission on the European Citizens’ Initiative Minority Safepack and its lack of consideration for the voice of over 1.1 million signatory citizens, its organizers and the European Parliament; highlights that the decision sends a wrong message to the expectations expressed by millions of citizens, despite the vote of a very large majority in the European Parliament expressing their strong support for the initiative and calling on the Commission to propose legal acts on it;

Amendment 38 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3 a. Believes that citizen’s participation implies the development of an array of tools ranging from consultation to deliberation, as well as the development of structured permanent dialogue at EU level and at national level on EU issues with citizens and civil society organisations representing citizens;

Amendment 39 #

Petra KAMMEREVERT

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3a. Urges that, when significant legislative proposals are being considered, online cross-border EU dialogue with citizens should be developed alongside consultation procedures in all official languages;

Amendment 4 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

Amendment 40 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3 a. Calls on the Commission to prioritize citizens’ access to information on the Union’s activities in its external communication strategy;

Amendment 41 #

Asim ADEMOV, Tomasz FRANKOWSKI, Ioan-Rareş BOGDAN, Peter POLLÁK, Isabel BENJUMEA BENJUMEA

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 b (new)

3 b. Highlights the need for the Commission to further diversify the information and dissemination tools currently used; suggests designing programmes, actions or pilot projects where cultural and creative sectors may provide creative and innovative solutions relevant to this aim; suggests the integral incorporation of the cultural and creative sectors as they may indeed contribute the much-needed visibility for the aims relevant to EU decision-making awareness;

Amendment 42 #

4. Underlines the importance of fostering civic engagement and participation in a coordinated and coherent way at a local, regional, national and EU level; believes, in this connection, that the role and activities of European Commission Representations and European Parliament Liaison Offices (EPLOs) in the Member States should be strengthened, ~~privileging the mainstreamed~~in order to facilitate direct dialogue with the citizens and providing the access to information about the European Union and its policies, trough the use of communication tools for the digital and physical participation of citizens, and calls for higher level participation at these meetings;

Amendment 43 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. Underlines the importance of fostering civic engagement and participation in a coordinated and coherent way at a local, regional, national and EU level; believes, in this connection, that the role and activities of European Commission Representations and European Parliament Liaison Offices (EPLOs) in the Member States should be strengthened, privileging the mainstreamed use of communication tools for the digital and physical participation of citizens; suggests for specific measures to be taken to improve coordination also among the EU Committees, along with a broadening of the EU channels and communication practices;

Amendment 44 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. Underlines the importance of fostering civic engagement and active participation in a coordinated and coherent way at a local, regional, national and EU level; believes, in this connection, that the role and activities of European Commission Representations and European Parliament Liaison Offices (EPLOs) in the Member States should be strengthened, privileging the mainstreamed use of communication tools for the digital and physical participation of citizens, and the independence of their work safeguarded;

Amendment 45 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. Underlines the importance of fostering civic engagement and participation in a coordinated and coherent way at a local, regional, national and EU level; believes, in this connection, that the role and activities of European Commission Representations and European Parliament Liaison Offices (EPLOs) in the Member States should be strengthened, privileging the mainstreamed use of communication tools for the digital and physical participation of citizens and better dissemination of information about the EU ;

Amendment 46 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4 a. Asks the Commission to provide the necessary attention to the new programme "Rights and Values", in enhancing a true and long term dialogue with citizens through the chapter dedicated to "the promotion of citizens engagement and participation in the democratic life of the EU"; underlines the necessity to reinforce the dialogue with the citizens, in also taking into account the urgency to address common concerns and events, i.e. in raising for example awareness of a common European history;

Amendment 47 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4 a. Notes that the voice of the citizens must become central to resolving the EU's internal and external challenges, which were not foreseen when the Treaty of Lisbon was signed, and stresses the importance of the Conference on the Future of Europe, which is expected to encourage greater citizens' involvement in EU governance;

Amendment 48 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4 a. Suggests designing collaboration schemes between EPLOs and Education Ministries, so that civic engagement and participation activities are implemented in schools and education premises, focusing on youth;

Amendment 49 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 b (new)

4 b. Suggests the establishment of scheduled and regular public hearings on citizens’ dialogues and citizens’ participation in the EU decision-making, where citizens, stakeholders and citizens’ society representatives may take the floor and express their views on measures to improve civic engagement in the EU decision making;

Amendment 5 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. ~~Consider~~Underlines that citizens’ trust in the EU institutions is fundamental for democracy, good governance and effective policy-making and that for this reason the EU institutions must strive for the highest possible standards of transparency, accountability and integrity;

Amendment 50 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 c (new)

4 c. Suggests the conduct of scientific social research in order to explore the parameters that the Commission should focus on in order to improve civic participation in the EU decision-making;

Amendment 51 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 d (new)

4 d. Suggests the scheduled and systematic conduct of evaluation assessments, where citizens may give their input and evaluate the available channels and procedures for their participation in EU dialogues and decision-making;

Amendment 52 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 e (new)

4 e. Suggests the design of an EU Civic Participation Strategy, including an action plan and a media plan; suggests the setting of specific aims and measurable goals for such a strategy, including quotas to secure gender balance and overall representation of the diversity of our society; suggests the setting of long-term goals; highlights the importance of an ultimate goal to increase citizens’ participation in the European elections;

Amendment 53 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 f (new)

4 f. Suggests the mainstreaming of EU communication strategies to the broad public; suggests possible collaborations with artists and persons of celebrity from the cultural, creative, media or sport sectors, as ambassadors of the messages of civic participation in the EU dialogues and decision-making; suggests exploiting visibility and audience engagement that may be effectively provided by the cultural and creative sectors;

Amendment 54 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 g (new)

4 g. Notes the need to foster visibility with specific activities where the public and the youth tend to gather; therefore, suggests that, after the pandemic, the physical presence of the EU should be strengthened, by introducing EU logos, banners and on-the-spot accessibility and information points at the universities, establishing actions such as a European Information Week; suggests similar measures to highlight EU awareness in festivals, sport-events, concerts and cultural or other events of high attendance of the public;

Amendment 55 #

Asim ADEMOV, Tomasz FRANKOWSKI, Ioan-Rareş BOGDAN, Peter POLLÁK, Isabel BENJUMEA BENJUMEA, Željana ZOVKO

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

Amendment 56 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. Stresses that civic education and learning about the EU is key to enabling EU citizens to make informed choices~~; calls on the Commission to develop a common curriculum on~~ and be an integral part of a democratic society; notes that European citizenship is a value that should be fostered in young students and welcomes the relevant initiatives of the European commission which promote mobility throughout the EU; calls on the Commission to provide support to complement educational programmes in all Member States to enhance EU learning in order to foster ~~objective and~~ critical thinking on the benefits of the European Union; with the aim of increasing citizens' participation in the EU decision making; considers that journalists should also have access to adequate training and that this can be achieved trough both on-the-job training offered by schools of journalism;

Amendment 57 #

Domènec RUIZ DEVESA, Ibán GARCÍA DEL BLANCO, Marcos ROS SEMPERE, Predrag Fred MATIĆ, Massimiliano SMERIGLIO, Łukasz KOHUT, Victor NEGRESCU, Hannes HEIDE

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. SAffirms that quality education, and particularly citizenship education, is one of the pillars of democracy; stresses that civic education and learning about the EU is key to improve European democracy and the future of the Union, enabling EU citizens to make informed choices; calls on the Commission to develop an indicative common curriculum on EU ~~learning in order to foster objective and critical thinking on the benefits of the European Un~~citizenship in order to foster a better understanding, among others, of the functioning of the EU, of the existing EU participatory mechanisms, of the histories and cultures of Member States, their European rights and obligations, as well as objective and critical thinking on the benefits of the European Union; considers that more investment is needed in training and capacity building programmes for educators on citizenship education;

Amendment 58 #

Isabel BENJUMEA BENJUMEA

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. Stresses that civic education and learning about the EU is key to enabling EU citizens to make informed choices; calls on the Commission to develop a common curriculum on EU learning ~~in order to foster objective and critical thinking on the benefits of the European Union~~, to be made available to the Member States for possible inclusion in their own curricula, in order to foster objective and critical thinking on the benefits of the European Union or the areas in which it could be improved; recalls, moreover, the importance of strengthening participation in and access to programmes as representative of the Union's values as Erasmus+, whereby students, teachers, researchers or young people on work experience can study and work while experiencing Europe's culture and values;

Amendment 59 #

Irena JOVEVA, Ilana CICUREL, Vlad-Marius BOTOŞ, Radka MAXOVÁ, Laurence FARRENG

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. Stresses that civic education and learning about the EU is key to enabling EU citizens to make informed choices; calls on the Commission to develop a common curriculum on EU learning in order to foster objective and critical thinking on the benefits of the European Union; ; welcomes the ‘Back to school’ and “Europe at school” initiatives as best practice examples of initiatives to popularise the European project; Calls for recognising the work of civil society organisations in civic education and learning, and thus also encourages a holistic approach to civic education, including both formal and non-formal education and informal learning”;

Amendment 6 #

Petra KAMMEREVERT

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1a. Points out that genuine dialogue is possible only if there is no language barrier, and therefore calls on the Commission to make much greater efforts to communicate with citizens in all the EU official languages and criticises as unacceptable the recent growing trend towards 'English only';

Amendment 60 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. Stresses that civic education and learning about the EU is key to enabling EU citizens to make informed choices; calls on the Commission to develop a common curriculum on EU learning in order to foster objective and critical thinking on the benefits of the European Union; stresses the need to build this curriculum on the shared European values of human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, rule of law and human rights; highlights the need to include in this curriculum clear connections between the EU and citizens’ everyday needs and possibilities;

Amendment 61 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. Stresses that civic education and learning about the EU is key to enabling EU citizens to make informed choices; ~~calls on the Commission to develop a common curriculum on EU learning in order to foster objective and critical thinking on the benefits of the European Union;~~

Amendment 62 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. Stresses that neutral civic education and learning about the EU and parliamentary culture in the individual Member States is key to enabling EU citizens to make informed choices; calls on the Commission to develop and propose to the Member States a common curriculum on EU learning in order to foster objective and critical thinking on the benefits of the European Union;

Amendment 63 #

Domènec RUIZ DEVESA, Ibán GARCÍA DEL BLANCO, Marcos ROS SEMPERE, Predrag Fred MATIĆ, Łukasz KOHUT, Victor NEGRESCU, Hannes HEIDE

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. Stresses that civic education and learning about the EU isas well as independent media are key to enabling EU citizens to make informed choices; calls on the Commission to develop a common curriculum on EU learning in order to foster objective and critical thinking on the benefits of the European Union;

Amendment 64 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5 a. Invites the Commission to develop a comprehensive European strategy on citizenship education in view of the risk posed to our democracies by national populism, online disinformation and the polarising social tensions in Europe and abroad; considers that such strategy should seek to inform citizens’ about European democratic systems; enhance citizens’ understanding of the interplay between the EU and the Member States’ roles in the EU decision-making process and how EU policies are made, nurture public awareness about the benefits, rights and obligations of being a EU citizen, raise awareness about innovative ways of citizens’ participation in EU decision-making and co-creation of policy solutions; such strategy should support safeguarding the rule of law, minority rights in Europe and the values of an open and inclusive society, reinforce youth engagement in public life by promoting innovative and novel ways of political representation and participation, improve digital competences, social media literacy and critical thinking in media consumption;

Amendment 65 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5 a. Stresses that civic education and learning about the EU is key to enabling EU citizens to make informed choices; the action at EU level in this area must be in accordance with the Treaties and it is the exclusive competence of the Member States to organise education systems and define the content of education (core curriculum and syllabuses); underlines that the European Commission cannot create a single common curriculum, which is incompatible with the principles of subsidiarity and runs counter to respect for the diversity of the Member States;

Amendment 66 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5 a. Underlines the right of all citizens to availability and accessibility of information in their mother tongue; warns that language barriers limit citizens' engagement and participation in the political process; considers that technology, especially language technology, can help overcome those language barriers and asks the EU institutions to make use of them so that no citizen is left behind;

Amendment 67 #

Irena JOVEVA, Ilana CICUREL, Vlad-Marius BOTOŞ, Laurence FARRENG, Radka MAXOVÁ

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5 a. Stresses the importance of focusing on youth in any EU learning activities; suggests that youth-engaging tools are promoted with a special focus on multimedia, new media, social media, videogames, animations, mobile apps, mobile games, quizzes and other youth- friendly formats or solutions provided by the cultural and creative sectors;

Amendment 68 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5 a. Believes that ensuring youth participation will be an essential part of the long-lasting impact of citizens’ dialogue initiatives; welcomes peer-to- peer educational programs, such as The European Youth Parliament and the EU Youth Structured dialogue as examples of good practices;

Amendment 69 #

Irena JOVEVA, Ilana CICUREL, Vlad-Marius BOTOŞ, Laurence FARRENG, Radka MAXOVÁ

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 b (new)

5 b. Stresses that the current COVID- 19 crisis and the digital transition have introduced new ways of work at the European Union institutions; ; calls therefore for the systematic use of various online platforms and tools for the dialogue between EU institutions and the citizens as well as providing opportunities for civil society input and comments on specific legislation proposals;

Amendment 7 #

Domènec RUIZ DEVESA, Ibán GARCÍA DEL BLANCO, Marcos ROS SEMPERE, Predrag Fred MATIĆ, Victor NEGRESCU, Hannes HEIDE

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1 a. Underlines the importance of culture and education as the backbone of our society and stresses their crucial role in shaping the historical, political and societal consciousness of our citizens; believes, therefore, that civic education is a key to enabling citizens' participation in political processes;

Amendment 70 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 b (new)

5 b. Ask the Commission to explore the establishment of an European Agency for Citizenship education in charge of improving access to and the quality of citizenship education in all EU member states and support the development of a European dimension of citizenship education, for all age groups, ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds;

Amendment 71 #

Domènec RUIZ DEVESA, Ibán GARCÍA DEL BLANCO, Marcos ROS SEMPERE, Predrag Fred MATIĆ, Massimiliano SMERIGLIO, Łukasz KOHUT, Victor NEGRESCU, Hannes HEIDE

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 c (new)

5 c. Recalls that the right of education is the first principle of the European Pillar of Social rights, including the right to education to fully participate in social life, believes that to this end citizenship education covering the national and European level must be ensured;

Amendment 72 #

Domènec RUIZ DEVESA, Ibán GARCÍA DEL BLANCO, Marcos ROS SEMPERE, Predrag Fred MATIĆ, Massimiliano SMERIGLIO, Łukasz KOHUT, Victor NEGRESCU, Hannes HEIDE

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 d (new)

5 d. Calls on the EU and national governments to increase its investment in formal and informal civic education, on active citizenship and democratic competences;

Amendment 73 #

Isabel BENJUMEA BENJUMEA

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6

Amendment 74 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6

Amendment 75 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6

6. Underlines the right of citizens to have access to reliable and factual information on the European Union, its policies and decision-making processes; recognises the need to establish a neutral, independent and informative common European news centre, available in all of the EU’s official languages; considers it necessary to take measures to combat the spread of fake news, especially in times of crises, such as the current health crisis, which requires valid, reliable and timely information; calls for downstream feedback, fact-checking and moderation in relation to disinformation to be introduced into the functioning of online platforms. ;

Amendment 76 #

Domènec RUIZ DEVESA, Ibán GARCÍA DEL BLANCO, Marcos ROS SEMPERE, Predrag Fred MATIĆ, Massimiliano SMERIGLIO, Łukasz KOHUT, Victor NEGRESCU

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6

6. Underlines the right of citizens to have access to reliable and factual information on the European Union, its policies and decision-making processes; recognises the need to establish a neutral, independent and informative common European news centre, available in all of the EU’s official languages; calls for downstream feedback, fact-checking and moderation (respecting fundamental rights, in particular freedom of expression) in relation to disinformation to be introduced into the functioning of online platforms.

Amendment 77 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6

6. Underlines the right of citizens to have access to reliable and factual information on the European Union, its policies and decision-making processes; recognises the need to ~~establish a~~diversify access to neutral, independent and informative common European news ~~centre~~and the value of existing European media outlets, available in all of the EU’s official languages; calls for downstream feedback, fact-checking and moderation in relation to disinformation to be introduced into the functioning of online platforms.;

Amendment 78 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6

6. Underlines the right of citizens to have access to reliable, independent and factual information on the European Union, its policies and decision-making processes; recognises the need to establish a neutral, independent and informative common European news centre, available in at least all of the EU’s official languages; calls for downstream feedback, fact-checking and moderation in relation to disinformation to be introduced into the functioning of online platforms.

Amendment 79 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6

6. Underlines the right of citizens to have access to reliable and factual information on the European Union, its policies and decision-making processes; recognises the need to establish a neutral, impartial, independent and informative common European news centre, available in all of the EU’s official languages; calls for downstream feedback, neutral fact- checking and moderation in relation to disinformation to be introduced into the functioning of online platforms.

Amendment 8 #

Asim ADEMOV, Tomasz FRANKOWSKI, Ioan-Rareş BOGDAN, Peter POLLÁK, Isabel BENJUMEA BENJUMEA, Željana ZOVKO

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1 a. Welcomes the establishment of an Ethics body (2020/2133(INI)) as an independent authority to foster transparency in the EU institutions;

Amendment 80 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6

6. Underlines the right of citizens to have access to ~~reliable and factual information on~~information on the functioning of the European Union, its policies and decision-making processes~~; recognises the need to establish a neutral, independent and informative common European news centre, available in all of the EU’s~~ trough independent European media sources; recalls that the EU institutions should ensure strengthened and proactive communication in all official languages; calls for downstream feedback, fact- checking and moderation in relation to disinformation to be introduced into the functioning of online platforms.

Amendment 81 #

Domènec RUIZ DEVESA, Ibán GARCÍA DEL BLANCO, Marcos ROS SEMPERE, Predrag Fred MATIĆ, Massimiliano SMERIGLIO, Łukasz KOHUT, Victor NEGRESCU, Hannes HEIDE

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)

6 a. Welcomes the European Democracy Action Plan (EDAP) objective to improve citizens’ participation in democratic systems through informed decision-making; emphasises the need to ensure youth participation and civic engagement of people from disadvantaged backgrounds under Erasmus+ and the European Solidarity; welcomes the announced measures in the EDAP to strengthen media freedom, freedom of expression and quality journalism, looks forward to the Commission’s proposals for practical and efficient tools to better secure the safety of journalists, which are all too often subject to threats and undue intimidation, thereby limiting citizen’s right to information, notes with concern the lack of specific proposals to ensure artistic freedom and grant protection to censored and prosecuted artists and invites the Commission to further develop this area under the DEAP;

Amendment 82 #

Irena JOVEVA, Ilana CICUREL, Vlad-Marius BOTOŞ, Laurence FARRENG, Radka MAXOVÁ

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)

6 a. Emphasizes that there are lessons to be learnt from the current crisis, in terms of transparency, information and dissemination, coordination and proactive approach; suggests the design of regular and scheduled announcements or information briefings open to the public through the media, so that the citizens get updated directly by the EU officials and that a feeling of proximity and safety is cultivated; stresses the need to create action plans, communication programmes and campaigns in order to educate and prepare citizens for future crisis management; suggests for such actions to be implemented as a broad EU initiative to reach out to society and through schools;

Amendment 83 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)

6 a. Recalls the EP position on the Conference on the Future of Europe and reiterates the need to create structures of engagement for young people and youth organisations within the Conference on the Future of Europe process.

Amendment 84 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)

6a. Notes that Euronews is not an effective tool to achieve this objective, and therefore calls on the Commission not to renew the contract with Euronews;

Amendment 85 #

Domènec RUIZ DEVESA, Ibán GARCÍA DEL BLANCO, Marcos ROS SEMPERE, Predrag Fred MATIĆ, Łukasz KOHUT, Victor NEGRESCU, Hannes HEIDE

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 b (new)

6 b. Notes that culture provides with the tools for experience-based learning and involvement which facilitate the understanding and engagement of the public regarding the relevant messages; suggests that, in order to make people understand and get engaged, there is a need to further involve culture, creativity and the cultural and creative sectors in the communication activities relevant to the citizens’ dialogues and citizens’ participation in the EU decision-making; therefore, suggests that in the actions, programmes, pilot projects or any other EU funded activities supporting public awareness on EU-decision making cultural activities should be plainly included as eligible, including festivals, performances, concerts or any other cultural interventions either in the traditional, the digital or a hybrid form.

Amendment 86 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 b (new)

6 b. Draws attention to the new Citizenship, Equality, Rights and Values programme expected to give more visibility and impact to activities that contribute to citizen’s dialogues and engagement in participative democracies; stresses the importance of ensuring continuity and increased resources for town twinning and remembrance activities that positively impact on mutual understanding and tolerance among citizens; welcomes the introduction of activities aimed at fostering further European values under this programme with the involvement of civil society organisations, calls for the swift establishment of the ‘Civil Dialogue Group’, included in said programme;

Amendment 87 #

Domènec RUIZ DEVESA, Ibán GARCÍA DEL BLANCO, Marcos ROS SEMPERE, Predrag Fred MATIĆ, Massimiliano SMERIGLIO, Łukasz KOHUT, Victor NEGRESCU, Hannes HEIDE

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 c (new)

6 c. Calls on the Commission to include meaningful participation of citizens and civil society organisations in the Conference on the future of Europe, considers that to this end, proper methodologies and tailored tools enabling deep engagement and understanding of the topics debated are crucial, in particular in its European dimension;

Amendment 88 #

Domènec RUIZ DEVESA, Predrag Fred MATIĆ, Łukasz KOHUT

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 d (new)

6 d. Considers that representatives of the youth, citizen's and civil society agoras should participate as permanent members in the plenary of the conference; believes that the Conference on the Future of Europe should discuss how to reinforce European action in the fields of education, culture and youth.

Amendment 9 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 b (new)

1 b. Highlights the potential of culture, arts and creativity as tools for citizens to express their opinions on the future of Europe and therefore calls on the Commission to explore possibilities to make use of this potential in the context of the Conference on the Future of Europe as well as in form of a continuous method of political participation in the long term;

source: 680.877

2021/04/26 LIBE 113 amendments...

Amendment 1 #

Draft opinion
Citation 1 (new)

– having regard to the EU gender equality strategy 2020-2025, the EU LGBTIQ Equality Strategy 2020-2025, the EU Strategy on the Rights of the Child, the Strategy for the rights of persons with disabilities 2021-2030;

Amendment 10 #

Draft opinion
Recital A c (new)

A c. whereas specific attention needs to be given to ensure that all voices are heard and that systemic ways to embed rights-based, meaningful, inclusive, transparent and accessible participation of all citizens in EU decision-making should be implemented;

Amendment 100 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 a (new)

8 a. Calls for a genuine cooperation from the EU institutions and member States, including involving young people and youth organisations in the planning, implementation and evaluation of events and programmes;

Amendment 101 #

Hilde VAUTMANS, Ramona STRUGARIU, Michal ŠIMEČKA, Brando BENIFEI, Caterina CHINNICI, Cyrus ENGERER, Dragoş PÎSLARU, Milan BRGLEZ, Josianne CUTAJAR, Ioan-Rareş BOGDAN, Pierrette HERZBERGER-FOFANA, Romeo FRANZ, Dietmar KÖSTER, Marisa MATIAS, José GUSMÃO, Mounir SATOURI

Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 b (new)

8 b. Calls on the EU Institutions and Member States to enact laws which guarantee the rights of children to participate in all matters affecting them, including public decision-making processes; considers that law and policy should be specific and provide guidance on the format, structure, operation and evaluation of all child participatory mechanisms; stresses that sufficient financial and other resources must be made available to ensure sustainable and effective mechanisms are introduced and maintained;

Amendment 102 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 b (new)

8 b. Commends the efforts done by the EU Youth dialogues to include youth and youth organisations in creating policy and decision-making, calls on the EU institutions to commit to make tangible action based on the outcomes of the EU Youth dialogue, including participation in council meetings and final conclusions;

Amendment 103 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 b (new)

8 b. Recalls the need to systematically hold consultations with NGO’s to improve citizens’ dialogues and participative democracy;

Amendment 104 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 c (new)

8 c. Calls on the EU Institutions and Member States to facilitate direct contact between children and decision-makers and provide adequate training and support to adults engaging with children; notes that the benefits of child participation should be shared with the wider community in order to generate widespread acceptance of the practice and to transition societies to the systemic use of child participation mechanisms;

Amendment 105 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 c (new)

8 c. Calls on the EU institutions to address the challenges faced by the vulnerable groups of people who are underrepresented and unable to have their issues addressed and to involve them in decision-making;

Amendment 106 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 c (new)

8 c. Calls on the EU institutions to refrain from tokenistic forms of engagement in any consultation, participation and representation;

Amendment 107 #

8 d. Urges the EU Institutions and Member States to make provision for dedicated spaces for children to come together to participate indecision-making processes; underlines that children’s involvement should be voluntary and they should always be treated with respect; recalls that all processes should be fully transparent and clearly explained to all involved and that processes and spaces should be child-friendly, safe and sensitive to risk;

Amendment 108 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 d (new)

8 d. Calls on the commission to establish a formal and permanent mechanism for dialogue and participation on relevant matters for youth, to this end, calls on the commission to engage together with youth organisations in capacity building, including to make documents youth friendly and accessible, to ensure meaningful and informed participation;

Amendment 109 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 e (new)

8 e. Commends child-specific consultations conducted by the European Commission and supports the set up of an EU Children’s Participation Platform in the future; welcomes the inclusion of young people in the Digital Platform and Citizens’ Panels of the Conference on the Future of Europe; urges the EU institutions to create structural ways to ensure similar engagement with children and young people in the future on a structural basis;

Amendment 11 #

Draft opinion
Recital A c (new)

A c. whereas Article 24 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights prescribes that children may express their views freely and that such views shall be taken into consideration on matters which concern them in accordance with their age and maturity;

Amendment 110 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 e (new)

8 e. Reiterates the call on the commission to include the voices of children by establishing formal mechanisms for dialogue and consultation and ensuring their full and meaningful participation;

Amendment 111 #

8 f. Stresses that the EU Commission and Member States should include mechanisms for feedback, evaluation and monitoring in all official child participation mechanisms; considers that feedback should be provided directly to children in a timely manner and in a format that is easily accessible by children; advises that the evaluation of participation mechanisms should be undertaken by independent monitoring bodies and that recommendations made by such bodies and other international oversight committees should be accepted, considered and actioned where necessary;

Amendment 112 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 9

9. Calls on the Member States to fully respect the rights of mobile EU citizens and to ensure that they can fully exercise their right to participate in European and local elections, which should not be limited by disenfranchisement in the countries of origin.

Amendment 113 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 9 a (new)

9 a. Condemns the lack of transparency and inclusiveness of the upcoming Conference on the Future of Europe for not including all political groups in the preparation of this event, which translates into the ideas of a large number of EU citizens being silenced to the benefit of some political groups.

Amendment 12 #

Draft opinion
Recital A c (new)

A c. whereas the EU institutions should pay special attention to socially and economically disadvantaged groups of the population and increase their involvement in the public life and in decision-making;

Amendment 13 #

Draft opinion
Recital A d (new)

A d. whereas the involvement of women in all their diversity and of all backgrounds in EU decision-making is still a challenge; whereas persons with disabilities often have their views disregarded in favour of other people speaking or making decisions on their behalf; whereas child and youth participation is still scarce in EU decision-making; whereas LGTBI+ people, migrant and refugee and ethnic minority groups, representing some of the most marginalised and excluded groups, have even fewer opportunities to participate in EU decision-making process;

Amendment 14 #

Draft opinion
Recital A d (new)

A d. whereas the 2019 elections to the European Parliament showed that there is still progress to be made to increase participation of people with a racial or ethnic minority background in European elections and their representation as elected members and staff of the European parliament;

Amendment 15 #

Draft opinion
Recital A d (new)

A d. whereas the EU institutions should create the conditions necessary for the effective participation of persons belonging to minorities in decision- making and public affairs, in particular those affecting them;

Amendment 16 #

Draft opinion
Recital A e (new)

A e. whereas Member States should consider increasing the participation of migrants and refugees in decision-making procedures affecting their lives, by ensuring that they participate actively and in a meaningful way in relevant public consultation processes and relevant consultation bodies;

Amendment 17 #

Draft opinion
Recital A e (new)

A e. whereas political rights – including the acquisition of citizenship – are a major driver for migrant inclusion.1a _________________ 1aFundamental Rights Agency, Together in the EU - Promoting the participation of migrants and their descendants, 2017.

Amendment 18 #

Draft opinion
Recital A f (new)

A f. whereas the EU recognised the need to support initiatives that seek to remove institutional and structural barriers to equality, inclusion and participation of underrepresented and disadvantaged groups in society, including by promoting their role and contribution in society and demystifying the legacy of colonialism2a; _________________ 2a Some of the recognised reasons are lack of political will to facilitate and include underrepresented voters, systemic and institutionalised discrimination and polarisation, socio-economic challenges as a preliminary obstacle to political participation and insufficient financial support. https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/info/files/eu -citzen_-_type_a_report_-_infographics_- _a4_full.pdf

Amendment 19 #

Draft opinion
Recital A g (new)

A g. whereas the EU highlighted the specific challenges faced by racialised communities, including migrants and refugees, with the COVID-19 crisis, notably that the risk of rising racism and xenophobia may represent additional obstacles tot heir participation in the labour market and in society at large3a; _________________ 3a Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions: A Union of equality : EU anti- racism action plan 2020-2025.

Amendment 2 #

Draft opinion
Citation 2 (new)

– having regard to the Anti-racism Action Plan 2020-2025 and the EU Roma strategic framework for equality, inclusion and participation;

Amendment 20 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Underlines that the level of EU citizens’ engagement in the EU participatory democracy process and the subsequent use of tools is proportionate to the level of knowledge of EU actions and policies within the Union’s multi-level governance system; highlights that citizens' participation is an instrumental element to achieve more democratic and representative decisions, which is apart of empowerment and thus, a component of good governance; stresses that a functioning democracy also requires that people are free to point out deficiencies in the system and to suggest improvements; underlines that citizen’s dialogue and citizens’ participation are necessary for democratic scrutiny and recalls the importance that citizens contribute to good governance by holding authorities accountable;

Amendment 21 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

1. Underlines that the level of EU citizens’ engagement in the EU participatory democracy process and the subsequent use of tools is proportionate to the level of knowledge of EU actions and policies and to the available instruments of participation within the Union’s multi- level governance system; believes that the EU institutions should develop an awareness-raising strategy on the functioning and the decision-making of the Union to be promoted at local, regional and national level, in order to overcome the lack of knowledge about the functioning and the decision-making of the Union;

Amendment 22 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1

Amendment 23 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1 a. Points out that access to information, consultation, and active involvement throughout the whole EU decision-making process are essential elements to achieve meaningful participation; highlights the importance of ensuring involvement in the EU decision-making process of those affected by a decision; underlines the need to provide feedback to ensure that citizens’ inputs are taken seriously;

Amendment 24 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1 a. Calls on the EU institutions to use an intersectional approach to citizens' participation and dialogue to achieve diversity and pluralism 1a _________________ 1a https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/info/files/lg btiq_strategy_2020-2025_en.pdf p .4 , https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal- content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:52 020DC0152&from=EN p. 1, https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/doc ument/TA-9-2021-0025_EN.html under D.

Amendment 25 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1 a. Considers that new mechanisms associating EU citizens and their elected representatives in the Parliament should be designed in order to improve citizens participation;

Amendment 26 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1 a. Highlights the fact that the turnout has constantly fallen in EU elections since 1979 to 2014, with 2019 being an exception;

Amendment 27 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 b (new)

1 b. Stresses that building and reinforcing inclusiveness in our societies, and thereby empowering all citizens to exercise and defend their rights and to play an active part in democratic life is an essential element of democratic scrutiny; calls on the Commission to ensure all citizens of all backgrounds are involved in the EU decision-making process;

Amendment 28 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 b (new)

1 b. Stresses that the Covid-19 pandemic was used as an excuse by Member States to implement many non- transparent, non-democratic and even abusive measures at the expense of citizens' fundamental and democratic rights like the right to free movement, access to justice, access to public information, privacy etc.;

Amendment 29 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 b (new)

1 b. Underlines the need to differentiate between citizens’ tools for accountability, participation, dialogue, consultation and implementation and enhance and develop tools for these respectively;

Amendment 3 #

Draft opinion
Citation 3 (new)

– having regard to Recommendation CM/Rec(2018)11 of the Committee of Ministers to member States on the need to strengthen the protection and promotion of civil society space in Europe;

Amendment 30 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 c (new)

1 c. Highlights the fact that in many Member States the judiciary has overturned a series of abusive measures implemented under the pretext of combating the spread of the Covid19 virus; deplores, at the same time, that in some Member States the judiciary has avoided, under various pretexts, to judge and rule on the legality and proportionality of the anti-Covid-19 measures, leaving citizens exposed to non- democratic and abusive measures;

Amendment 31 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 c (new)

1 c. Calls on the commission to create a digital platform with information on how young people can participate in political processes, inclusive of people with disabilities, all official EU languages as well as other minority languages;

Amendment 32 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 d (new)

1 d. Deplores the fact that in a number of Member States the governments have classified information on public procurement during the Covid-19 pandemic, thus increasing the risk of corruption and mistrust among citizens; calls on these Member States to reverse these abusive measures and provide full transparency for journalists and citizens;

Amendment 33 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 d (new)

1 d. Calls on the commission to increase funding for projects promoting the understanding of the functioning of the EU and its fundamental values; stresses the need to ensure access to funding for organisations, including through micro grants and simplified and adapted application processes;

Amendment 34 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 e (new)

1 e. Notes with concern that the contracts signed by the European Commission with the pharmaceutical companies developing the anti-Covid-19 vaccines have sections and provisions which have not yet been made public; emphasizes that all official acts or contracts adopted or signed by the European entities or Member States that concern the rights, freedoms, liberties and/or health of European citizens must be public in their entirety;

Amendment 35 #

Domènec RUIZ DEVESA, Loránt VINCZE, Juan Fernando LÓPEZ AGUILAR, Łukasz KOHUT, Dietmar KÖSTER, Pietro BARTOLO, Petar VITANOV, Cyrus ENGERER, Evin INCIR

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Stresses the need for supportive measures aimed at increasing civic literacy and building civic capacity to encourage citizens’ understanding of the policymaking process and to promote civic engagement in the actions of the Union; considers to that end that stronger action by Member States and the Commission in fostering EU citizenship education is necessary; calls on the Commission to provide support to complement educational programmes and training in all Member States, notably by supporting the development of a common curriculum on European citizenship education; invites the Commission and the Member States to develop a comprehensive European strategy on civic and citizenship education accompanied by supporting platforms to promote its implementation;

Amendment 36 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Stresses the need for supportive measures aimed at increasing civic literacy and building civic capacity to encourage citizens’ understanding of the policymaking process and to promote civic engagement in the actions of the Union; stresses the need to open up lines of communication between the EU institutions and the citizens; recommends, to that end, strengthening medias’ and social medias’ role to improve citizens’ knowledge on the EU institutions works;

Amendment 37 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

Amendment 38 #

Domènec RUIZ DEVESA, Juan Fernando LÓPEZ AGUILAR, Łukasz KOHUT, Dietmar KÖSTER, Pietro BARTOLO, Petar VITANOV, Cyrus ENGERER, Evin INCIR

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Stresses the need for supportive measures aimed at increasing civic literacy through formal and non-formal citizenship education and building civic capacity to encourage citizens’ understanding of the policymaking process and to promote civic engagement in the actions of the Union;

Amendment 39 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2 a. Considers that citizens’ trust in the EU institutions is fundamental for democracy, good governance and effective policy-making, believes that the EU institutions must strive for the highest possible standards of transparency, accountability and integrity; calls in particular on the Council to increase transparency as regards to its decision making process and access to documentation;

Amendment 4 #

Domènec RUIZ DEVESA, Juan Fernando LÓPEZ AGUILAR, Łukasz KOHUT, Dietmar KÖSTER, Pietro BARTOLO, Petar VITANOV, Cyrus ENGERER, Evin INCIR

Draft opinion
Recital A a (new)

A a. whereas citizens' participation is a core fundamental right and should include all aspects and levels of decision- making; whereas dialogue and participation by all groups of civil society in EU decision-making is one of the prerequisites for a functioning democratic Union and for fostering democratic security; whereas citizens' dialogues and participation mechanisms should fully reflect the diversity of our society as the cornerstone for better policies and enhanced good governance;

Amendment 40 #

Dragoş TUDORACHE

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2 a. Stresses the need to address the interplay between digitalization and democracy, and combine traditional methods of engagement with digital platforms as a participation instrument that would allow citizens to better understand and explore the democratic process and how to better contribute as active social actors;

Amendment 41 #

Peter POLLÁK

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2 a. Highlights that all citizens should have equal access and possibilities to exercise their rights, and asks for specific inclusion measures in citizens' dialogue for persons with fewer opportunities as well as for vulnerable and marginalised groups;

Amendment 42 #

Hilde VAUTMANS, Ramona STRUGARIU, Michal ŠIMEČKA, Olivier CHASTEL, Brando BENIFEI, Caterina CHINNICI, Cyrus ENGERER, Dragoş PÎSLARU, Milan BRGLEZ, Josianne CUTAJAR, Ioan-Rareş BOGDAN, Pierrette HERZBERGER-FOFANA, Romeo FRANZ, Dietmar KÖSTER, Marisa MATIAS, José GUSMÃO, Mounir SATOURI

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2 a. Encourages EU Member States to include children’s rights and the functioning of the EU as part of national curricula and promote engagement by young people in EU decision-making processes;

Amendment 43 #

Peter POLLÁK

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 b (new)

2 b. Supports awareness raising activities to improve accessibility of information to citizens;

Amendment 44 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Welcomes the inclusion in the Rights and Values Programme of a citizens’ engagement and participation strand designed to promote citizens’ engagement and participation in the democratic life of the Union; stresses the importance of ensuring continuity and increased resources for this strand; calls for the swift establishment of the ‘Civil Dialogue Group’, included in said programme;

Amendment 45 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Welcomes the inclusion in the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values Programme of a citizens’ engagement and participation strand designed to promote citizens’ engagement and participation in the democratic life of the Union;

Amendment 46 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. ~~Welcom~~Notes the inclusion in the Rights and Values Programme of a citizens’ engagement and participation strand designed to promote citizens’ engagement and participation in the democratic life of the Union;

Amendment 47 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3 a. Believes that adequate measures are needed to raise awareness of citizens' right to the European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI), complaints to the European Ombudsman and petitions to the European Parliament;

Amendment 48 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3 a. Calls on the Commission to strengthen existing instruments of engagement with citizens, particularly those referred to in the Treaties;

Amendment 49 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. Regrets the limited political and legal follow-up given by the Commission to successful European Citizens’ Initiatives; strongly regrets the Commission’s dismissal of the Minority SafePack European Citizens’ Initiative, which addresses basic values and objectives enshrined in the Treaties;deleted

Amendment 5 #

Draft opinion
Recital A a (new)

A a. whereas improving citizens’ participation and transparency at EU level is key to close the gap between the European Union and the citizens and representative organisations, in order to overcome the low citizens’ trust and confidence in EU institutions and achieve a real multi-level democracy;

Amendment 50 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. Regrets the limited political and 4. legal follow-up given by the Commission to successful European Citizens’ Initiatives; strongly regrets the Commission’s dismissal of the Minority SafePack European Citizens’ Initiative, which addresses basic values and objectives enshrined in the Treaties; underlines the need to increase public awareness of the European Citizens’ Initiatives in order for it to be an effective tool for democratic participation and urges the Commission and the Member States to maximise their communication efforts in respect of the instrument in order to bring its existence to the attention of as many citizens as possible and encourage active participation in it;

Amendment 51 #

Domènec RUIZ DEVESA, Juan Fernando LÓPEZ AGUILAR, Dietmar KÖSTER, Pietro BARTOLO, Petar VITANOV, Cyrus ENGERER, Evin INCIR

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. ~~Regrets the limited political and legal follow-up given by the Commission to successful European Citizens’ Initiatives~~Notes that the European Citizens’ Initiative has not expressed its potential as a key instrument for active citizenship and public participation and regrets the limited political and legal follow-up given by the Commission to successful European Citizens’ Initiatives, which eventually jeopardizes the potential use of this participatory tool by European citizens and engenders loss of trust in EU decision-making; strongly regrets the Commission’s dismissal of the Minority SafePack European Citizens’ Initiative, which addresses basic values and objectives enshrined in the Treaties;

Amendment 52 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. ~~Regre~~Highlights the lim~~ited political and legal follow-up given by the Commission to successful~~portance of established channels for citizens’ participation, such as the European citizens’ initiative; considers that this important tool lacks visibility, accessibility and follow-up; encourages the Commission and Member States to raise awareness on such tool; believes that the European Citizens’s Initiative~~s; strongly regrets the Commission’s dismissal of the Minority SafePack~~ should be evaluated with a view to identify how its impact and effectiveness can be improved; point out that a successful European Citizens’s Initiative~~, which addresses basic values and objectives enshrined in the Tre~~ should not automatically lead to the introduction of new legislatieson;

Amendment 53 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. Regrets the ~~limited political and legal follow-up given by the Commission to successful European Citizens’ Initiatives; strongly regrets the~~ Commission’s dismissal of the Minority SafePack European Citizens’ Initiative, which addresses basic values and objectives enshrined in the Treaties;

Amendment 54 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4 a. Believes that the Commission, by refusing to propose a legal follow-up on almost allsuccessful ECIs, failed to ensure that this tool could genuinely achieve its goal aimed at enhancing the democratic functioning of the Union through the participation of citizens in its democratic and political life; warns that the Commission's approach results in undermining citizens' trust in the EUinstitutions; underlines, in this regard, that by means of a resolution adopted in plenary the Parliament asked the Commission to ensure a legal follow-up on the Minority Safepack Initiative;

Amendment 55 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4 a. Stresses that the European Commission must take into account the national sovereignty and constitutional order of the member States when analysing European citizens' initiatives;

Amendment 56 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4 a. Points out that instruments of a direct democratic nature have the weakness, in contrast to representative democracy, of being used by special interests;

Amendment 57 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4 a. Highlights the importance of outreach to persons living in disadvantaged neighbourhoods to ensure participation across society;

Amendment 58 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 b (new)

4 b. Stresses the need to ensure broader representation of minority, disability, children and youth organisations in advisory bodies to the EU, such as the European and Economic Social Committee (EESC);

Amendment 59 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. Stresses the importance of the right to petition granted by the Treaties to EU citizens and residents; points out that the right to petition allows citizens to convey information to the institutions with regards to implementation problems on the ground and shortcomings of individual cases; considers, however, that the right to petition should be strengthened; considers it is worth recalling that the EU often stands accused of complexity and detachment from its citizens; stresses the fact that the Charter only applies to EU Member States when they are implementing EU law is perceived as insufficient and unsatisfactory for many petitioners;

Amendment 6 #

Draft opinion
Recital A a (new)

A a. whereas people between 0 and 25 years old represent one third of Europeans; whereas their voice is exceptionally important and the future of Europe is theirs;

Amendment 60 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. Stresses the importance of the right to petition granted by the Treaties to EU citizens and residents, allowing them to submit a petition to the European Parliament on an issue that falls within the EU’s fields of activity; calls for a strengthened involvement of the Commission in the process of providing responses to petitions in order to ensure that citizens receive timely and precise responses to their requests and complaints;

Amendment 61 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. Stresses th~~e importance of~~at the right to petition, granted by the Treaties to EU citizens and residents, should be seen as a complement to representative democracy;

Amendment 62 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5 a. Emphasizes that citizens' main tools for influence are universal suffrage and representative democracy;

Amendment 63 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6

6. Recalls that EU citizens have the right to address the European Ombudsman; stresses that in her 2019 annual report, the Ombudsman states that she regularly receives complaints concerning fundamental rights such as equality, non- discrimination and the right to be heard; further recalls that according to the Ombudsman, in order citizens to exercise their democratic right to participate in the EU’s decision-making process and hold those involved to account, legislative deliberations must be transparent; welcomes, in this regard, the series of recommendations that the European Ombudsman has made to the Council of the European Union to improve the transparency of its legislative process; insists that the Council must be as accountable and transparent as the other institutions;

Amendment 64 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6

6. Recalls that EU citizens have the right to address the European Ombudsman, which is one of the main rights conferred by the European citizenship, and that the Ombudsman has an important role in ensuring good administration, accountability and transparency in the EU institutions;

Amendment 65 #

Domènec RUIZ DEVESA, Juan Fernando LÓPEZ AGUILAR, Łukasz KOHUT, Dietmar KÖSTER, Pietro BARTOLO, Petar VITANOV, Cyrus ENGERER, Evin INCIR

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6

6. Recalls that EU citizens have the right to address the European Ombudsman; restates that citizens have to receive compensation and restoration when their rights have been violated;

Amendment 66 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)

6 a. Highlights the importance of Equality Bodies, National Human Rights institutions and Ombudspersons to address concerns of citizen’s on issues covered by EU competences or violations of EU rights and values; stresses that the independence of such structures from governing authorities is a prerequisite to enable and protect meaningful citizen’s engagement; calls therefore for the Commission to closely monitor this area in forthcoming Rule of Law reports;

Amendment 67 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)

6 a. Deplores the continued trend of shrinking civic space in member states;1a _________________ 1a Safeguarding Civic Space for Young People in Europe | European Youth Forum https://www.youthforum.org/safeguarding -civic-space-young-people-europe, The Shrinking Space for Human Rights Organisations - Compendium records (coe.int), https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/ etudes/STUD/2017/578039/EXPO_STU(2 017)578039_EN.pdf

Amendment 68 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7

7. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to develop innovative and inclusive tools for citizens’ participation and dialogues that ensure rights-based, meaningful, inclusive, transparent and accessible participation of all citizens in EU decision-making and that involve those affected by a decision, with particular attention to ensuring the participation of those in vulnerable situations and from racialized groups; stresses the need to enhance the direct involvement and participation of citizens in EU decision-making;

Amendment 69 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7

7. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to develop innovative and inclusive tools for citizens’ participation and dialogues, making better use of digital technologies to allow all citizens (younger and older people, people with disability, mobile EU citizens, people living in rural or less populated areas) to effectively take part in EU decision-making, building on the lessons from the way the COVID-19 pandemic acted as an accelerator for the use of digital tools;

Amendment 7 #

Draft opinion
Recital A b (new)

A b. whereas the lack of transparency prevents public debate on any piece of legislation; whereas not all stakeholders have equal access to the EU institutions or information about their work; whereas the Commission should carry out open, transparent and regular dialogues with civil society organisations, as part of a broader strategy for civil dialogue;

Amendment 70 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7

7. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to develop accessible, innovative and inclusive tools for citizens’ participation and dialogues, and to offer them a non-bureaucratic and comprehensive website or other medium, easily accessible to everyone and providing citizens with all European participatory initiatives; underlines that social media plays a crucial role, especially for children, as it is currently, even more than ever, their common place;

Amendment 71 #

Domènec RUIZ DEVESA, Juan Fernando LÓPEZ AGUILAR, Łukasz KOHUT, Dietmar KÖSTER, Pietro BARTOLO, Petar VITANOV, Cyrus ENGERER, Evin INCIR

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7

7. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to be careful if they develop innovative and inclusive tools for citizens’ participation and dialogues; so that such instruments never are acquired at the expense of representative democracy.

Amendment 72 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7

7. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to develop innovative and inclusive tools for citizens’ participation and dialogues; recalls that such tools should be adapted to ensure full access for people with disabilities and different age groups;

Amendment 73 #

Domènec RUIZ DEVESA, Juan Fernando LÓPEZ AGUILAR, Łukasz KOHUT, Dietmar KÖSTER, Pietro BARTOLO, Petar VITANOV, Cyrus ENGERER, Evin INCIR

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7

7. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to develop innovative and inclusive tools for citizens’ participation and dialogues, as well as increase transparency at all levels;

Amendment 74 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 a (new)

7 a. Believes that participation could be enhanced by ensuring predictable, flexible, adapted and multilingual process and tools of consultation; considers important to foster participation of people belonging to minorities in all public consultations in order to share their experiences and be able to promote further diversity in all policies;

Amendment 75 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 a (new)

7 a. Calls on the EU Institutions and Member States to ensure participation by a diverse range of people and to introduce necessary measures to reduce discrimination or exclusion on the basis of gender, ethnicity, race, social status, sexual orientation, religion or disability;

Amendment 76 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 a (new)

7 a. Underlines that for citizens to be actively engaged, availability and accessibility of information in their mother tongue is of importance; is concerned that citizens' engagement and participation in the political process may be limited by language barriers;

Amendment 77 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 a (new)

7 a. Strongly believes that citizens' access to all documents of the European institutions is the basis of a participatory democracy; stresses in this regard the need for transparency and accountability of the institutions to citizens;

Amendment 78 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 a (new)

7 a. Underlines that no effort is too big as to allow European citizens real access to the procedures and legislative processes of the EU and enable them to have their say through consultations and participatory actions;

Amendment 79 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 a (new)

7 a. Considers political pluralism to be a fundamental part of democracy, contributing positively to the resilience of open and free societies;

Amendment 8 #

A b. whereas effective democracy depends on citizens having a say and being heard; whereas meaningful citizens participation should be ensured in theory and in practice; whereas according to a Eurobarometer survey on socio- demographic trendlines (2007-2020)1a, only 45% of the citizens consider that their voice counts in the EU; _________________ 1a https://www.europarl.europa.eu/at- your-service/en/be- heard/eurobarometer/socio-demographic- trends-edition-7

Amendment 80 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 b (new)

7 b. Deplores the fact that in many circumstances the decisional process is opaque at the level of European institutions; urges the Commission to make public the names and credentials of the officials authoring documents such as the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism Reports, the Rule of Law Report, as well as any other reports that have an impact on the member States or the rights of the citizens;

Amendment 81 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 b (new)

7 b. Calls on the European Commission and the Member States to proactively address the under- representation of racial and ethnic minorities in public institutions and political and policy processes, including by supporting their capacity-building and empowerment, and by enhancing their representation in decision-making positions at national and European level;

Amendment 82 #

Domènec RUIZ DEVESA, Juan Fernando LÓPEZ AGUILAR, Łukasz KOHUT, Dietmar KÖSTER, Pietro BARTOLO, Petar VITANOV, Cyrus ENGERER, Evin INCIR

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 b (new)

7 b. Calls on the EU institutions to organise structured and truly transparent consultation processes at all levels, ensuring a balance between business- oriented lobby and citizens’ participation; believes that the Council of Europe’s 'Code of Good Practice for Civil Participation in the Decision-Making Process' can be used as an example;

Amendment 83 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 b (new)

7 b. Supports the establishment of a permanent structured dialogue with citizens to ensure that their views directly inform EU decision-making and public policy as proposed in December 2018 by the Committee of the Regions and the European Economic and Social Committee;

Amendment 84 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 b (new)

7 b. Takes note of the Council of Europe co-management structure in its youth sector, allowing youth participation in its decision making;

Amendment 85 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 c (new)

7 c. Calls on the European Commission to work with European political parties, the European Cooperation Network on Elections and civil society to improve political participation; calls on the Commission to commit to this work under the European democracy action plan and the Commission’s forthcoming report on EU citizenship;

Amendment 86 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 c (new)

7 c. Applauds the ongoing engagement in the Council of Europe parliamentary assembly to institutionalise a permanent consultative seat for youth representatives;1a _________________ 1a https://pace.coe.int/en/files/29115

Amendment 87 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 d (new)

7 d. Calls for an evaluation of existing and initiated tools and mechanisms in regards to diversity in representation of citizens,civil society organisations and organised interest groups;

Amendment 88 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 d (new)

7 d. Calls for the EU to support studies on increasing participation of minorities in public and political life;

Amendment 89 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 e (new)

7 e. Recalls that EU institutions should not create and compete with already existing civil society platforms, but instead support, invite and formalise contacts;

Amendment 9 #

Draft opinion
Recital A b (new)

A b. whereas Articles 12 until 17 of the UNCRC include the civil and political rights of children and form important components of ensuring that children will be able to participate effectively in public decision-making processes;

Amendment 90 #

Domènec RUIZ DEVESA, Juan Fernando LÓPEZ AGUILAR, Łukasz KOHUT, Dietmar KÖSTER, Pietro BARTOLO, Petar VITANOV, Cyrus ENGERER, Evin INCIR

Draft opinion
Paragraph 8

8. Considers that the Commission is supporting and promoting top-down instruments more than bottom-up tools, thereby putting greater importance on instruments to improve policy outcomes than on allowing citizens to make their voices heard; calls on the Member States and the Commission to encourage the active participation of EU citizens in EU matters, notably young people, in order to support their involvement in shaping society and politics; highlights that EU mechanisms at all levels should also ensure the effective participation of NGOs without discrimination in dialogue and consultation on public policy objectives and decisions;

Amendment 91 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 8

8. Calls on the Member States and the Commission to encourage the active participation of EU citizens in EU matters, notably young people, in order to support their involvement in shaping society and politics; considers that the voices and demands of young Europeans should have special consideration during the Conference on the future of Europe; calls on the Commission to devote sufficient resources to promote a wide participation of young people through appropriate tools;

Amendment 92 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 8

8. Calls on the Member States and the Commission to encourage the active participation of EU citizens in EU matters, notably young people, in order to support their involvement in shaping society and politics; Stresses that in the context of the Future of Europe Conference all political views have to be taken into account and voices of citizens from the entire political spectrum have to be heard;

Amendment 93 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 8

8. Calls on the Member States and the Commission to encourage the active participation of EU citizens in EU matters, notably young people, in order to support their involvement in shaping society and politics; sees the upcoming Conference on the future of Europe as a timely opportunity to improve citizens’ participation;

Amendment 94 #

Domènec RUIZ DEVESA, Juan Fernando LÓPEZ AGUILAR, Łukasz KOHUT, Dietmar KÖSTER, Pietro BARTOLO, Petar VITANOV, Cyrus ENGERER, Evin INCIR

Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 a (new)

8 a. Stresses that in order to prevent foreign interference in the sovereignty of Member States democracies and meddling with the EU democratic institutions, the NGOs must make public their funding sources; underlines that, in order to respect the transparency principle and the right to know of the European citizens, all European bodies must disclose and publish a list of all the NGOs that they finance and with what amounts;

Amendment 95 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 a (new)

8 a. Considers that EU Member States should expressly recognise the rights of children to engage in civic action, including the rights to assemble peacefully, to associate and to express themselves; notes that information required by children to exercise these rights should be provided in a form that is easily accessible and understandable and that any barrier to the exercise of these rights should be removed;

Amendment 96 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 a (new)

8 a. Notes that migrants and people in need of international protection should have the possibility to express their views, in particular, on asylum and migration policies; invites the Commission to proactively engage them in the design of such policies;

Amendment 97 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 a (new)

8 a. Underlines the importance of giving full access to persons with disabilities to all the different instruments that the EU provides to citizens, particularly through systematic interpretation and translation into Sign language and Easy-to-Read language;

Amendment 98 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 a (new)

8 a. Underlines the difficulties for citizens to challenge the EU decision- making, as their input is almost entirely limited to the consultative phase of policymaking; calls on the Commission and the Member States to open up new channels of contestation;

Amendment 99 #

Dragoş TUDORACHE

Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 a (new)

8 a. Strongly encourages Member States to introduce in their educational curricula European civic education lessons that promote an active and participative European citizenship and the values of the European Union;

source: 691.463

2021/05/05 AFCO 145 amendments...

Amendment 1 #

Helmut SCHOLZ, François ALFONSI, Pascal DURAND, Sandro GOZI

Motion for a resolution
Recital A

A. whereas ~~according to several Eurobarometer surveys, a large proportion of EU citizens are not satisfied with the way democracy works in the EU and tend to distrust the EU institutions~~the results of the 2019 European elections sent a positive signal that European citizens are taking an increasing interest in developments at EU level and that they believe that EU legislation has an impact on their daily lives; whereas in Civic Engagement Eurobarometer 20201a, voting in European elections was regarded by 55% of respondents as the most effective way of ensuring voices are heard by decision- makers at EU level; whereas, n~~ot only is this perception presen~~evertheless, according to several Eurobarometer surveys, a proportion of EU citizens are not sat ~~EU level, but also at national level;~~isfied with the way democracy works in the EU; _________________ 1aFlash Eurobarometer (FL4023) en- report.pdf (europa.eu)

Amendment 10 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital D

D. whereas the legal and political impact of the only bottom-up instruments for citizens in the EU, namely the European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI), complaints to the European Ombudsman and petitions to Parliament, is rather minimal; whereas the European Ombudsman recommendations are not legally binding;

Amendment 100 #

Helmut SCHOLZ, François ALFONSI, Pascal DURAND, Sandro GOZI

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11

11. Stresses that the purpose, rules and timeframes of citizens’ dialogues must be communicated from the very beginning in order for them to be effective;

Amendment 101 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11

11. Stresses that the purpose of ~~citizens’ dialogue~~any participatory process must be communicated from the very beginning in order for them to be effective;

Amendment 102 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)

11 a. Emphasises the need to have a good balance between a common format and diverse national practices for the regularly held citizens` dialogues in order to provide citizens with an European framework that accommodates various traditions of deliberation at the national level;

Amendment 103 #

Helmut SCHOLZ, François ALFONSI, Pascal DURAND, Sandro GOZI

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12

12. Recalls that, prior to the launching of these dialogues, the EU institutions must commit themselves to following up on their outcome in the light of their competences and legislative procedures; ~~notes that citizens’ disappointment often stems from politicians over-promising and under-delivering~~highlights that any new participation instrument should be accompanied by a significant communication campaign, with high-level political engagement at EU and national level, similar to the successful electoral campaign in 2019 European Parliament elections;

Amendment 104 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12

12. Recalls that, prior to the launching of ~~these dialogue~~any participatory process, the EU institutions must commit themselves to following up on their outcome in the light of their competences and legislative procedures; notes that citizens’ disappointment often stems from politicians over-promising and under- delivering;

Amendment 105 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12

Amendment 106 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13

13. Stresses that the outcome of the participatory process must be clearly defined, so that it can be subject to a legally binding follow-up; proposes that participants should be provided with written feedback at the end of such exercises, since they ensure the accountability of the institut; recognises that there are difficulties and challenges to overcome if participative forums are to contribute more significantly to democratic quality, and in turn to a sense of ownership and European identity; in this light, opines that citizen engagement structures require an increased level responsiveness of the Commissions and ~~the credibility of such processes~~more transparency in the follow-up stage;

Amendment 107 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13

13. Stresses that the outcome of the participatory process must be clearly defined~~, so that it can be subject to a legally binding follow-up~~; proposes that participants should be provided with written feedback at the end of such exercises, since they ensure the accountability of the institutions and the credibility of such processes;

Amendment 108 #

Pascal DURAND, Maite PAGAZAURTUNDÚA, Sandro GOZI, Alin MITUȚA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13

13. Stresses that the outcome of the participatory process must be clearly defined, so that it can be subject to a legally binding follow-up; proposes that participants should be provided with written feedback on each proposal or recommendation adjusted to different audiences at the end of such exercises, sin~~ce they ensure the accountability of~~ which institutions clarify their in~~stitutions and the credibility of such processes~~tention to implement recommendations or justify their decision not to do so;

Amendment 109 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13

13. Stresses that the ~~outcome of the participatory process must be clearly defined, so that it can be subject to a~~institutions must actively provide assistance to the participants throughout the participatory process enabling an appropriate legally binding follow-up; proposes that participants should be provided with written feedback at the end of such exercises, since they ensure the accountability of the institutions and the credibility of such processes;

Amendment 11 #

Dolors MONTSERRAT

Motion for a resolution
Recital D

Amendment 110 #

Helmut SCHOLZ, François ALFONSI, Pascal DURAND, Sandro GOZI

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)

13 a. Calls for fact-checking and moderation with regards to disinformation in the functioning of online platforms that are used to engage with citizens;

Amendment 111 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14

14. ~~Believes that citizens’ participatory processes must adhere to the highest possible level of transparency~~Highlights that promoting the democratic legitimacy of the EU’s institutions through public engagement requires a greater understanding of EU decision-making and transparency surrounding the legislative procedure;

Amendment 112 #

Helmut SCHOLZ, Pascal DURAND, Sandro GOZI

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14

14. Believes that citizens’ participatory processes must adhere to the highest possible level of transparency; notes that transparency and open data reinforces trust in public institutions and therefore their legitimacy; calls for the creation of a standard for open government at EU level that could serve as a basis for other government levels;

Amendment 113 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14

14. Believes that citizens’ participatory processes, as the work of the EU administration, must adhere to the highest possible level of transparency;

Amendment 114 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)

14 a. Underlines the potential of new technologies which can provide new avenues to engage with citizens, to ensure an effective bottom-up approach and improve the capacity of citizens to hold institutions accountable;

Amendment 115 #

Pascal DURAND, Maite PAGAZAURTUNDÚA, Sandro GOZI, Alin MITUȚA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15

15. Highlights the need to establish a proper follow-up mechanism for citizens’ dialogues in order to take citizens’ input seriously; proposes that part of the follow- up could be to translate the outcome into initiative reports and public hearings and to involve citizens, especially the most underrepresented groups of society, notably young people, throughout these steps;

Amendment 116 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15

15. Highlights the need to establish a ~~proper follow-up mechanism for~~framework for the follow-up on citizens’ dialogues in order to take citizens’ input ~~seriously~~effectively into account; proposes that part of the follow- up could be to translate the outcome into initiative reports and public hearings and to involve citizens throughout these steps;

Amendment 117 #

Pascal DURAND, Sandro GOZI, Alin MITUȚA, Helmut SCHOLZ

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 a (new)

15 a. Believes that, in accordance with Article 15 of Regulation (EU) 2019/788 on the ECI, in case the Commission, within the given deadlines, has failed to publish its intentions, or has set out in a communication that it intends not to take action on a European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI), which has met the procedural requirements and is in line with the Treaties, in particular the core values of the Union, enshrined in Article 2 TEU, Parliament could decide to follow up the ECI with a legislative own-initiative report (INL); urges the Commission to commit itself to submit a legislative proposal following Parliament’s adoption of such an INL; proposes in that regard to modify the current framework agreement between the European Parliament and the European Commission;

Amendment 118 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 a (new)

15 a. Highlights the role played by the media in shaping citizens’ opinions on EU policy and the EU itself; stresses the need to uphold an independent and diverse media landscape across Europe, but believes greater effort should be made to tackle disinformation and misreporting in the media on EU issues, notably through increased support for fact-based, pan-European media projects;

Amendment 119 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16

~~16. Proposes the setting up of an independent civil society forum in order to monitor the process and its follow-up by the EU institutions;~~deleted

Amendment 12 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital D

D. whereas the legal and political impact of the only bottom-up instruments for citizens in the EU, namely the European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI), complaints to the European Ombudsman and petitions to Parliament, is ~~rather minimal~~very low due in part to the European Commission's lack of consideration for citizens' participative instruments, such as ECIs;

Amendment 120 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16

~~16. Proposes the setting up of an independent civil society forum in order to monitor the process and its follow-up by the EU institutions;~~deleted

Amendment 121 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16

16. Proposes tho ensure that tools are available for civil society organisations beside setting up of an independent civil society forum in order to monitor the process and its follow-up by the EU institutions;

Amendment 122 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16

16. Proposes the setting up of an independent civil society, academic and social partners forum in order to monitor the process and its follow-up by the EU institutions;

Amendment 123 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16

16. Proposes to support the setting up of an independent civil society forum in order to monitor the process and its follow- up by the EU institutions;

Amendment 124 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17

17. Proposes the establishment of an independent civil society organisation or foundation that brings together different democracy initiatives and that focuses on making citizens more influential in policy- making;deleted

Amendment 125 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17

Amendment 126 #

Helmut SCHOLZ, Pascal DURAND, Sandro GOZI

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17

17. Proposes th~~e establishment of~~ at the Commission investigate how it can indeepen~~dent civil society organisation or foundation that~~ pan-EU networks, based on voluntary participation, to facilitate information sharing and knowledge transfer and to brings together different democracy initiatives ~~and that focuses~~ , including across different regions, and ensure that best practice methods are used; believes that this will increase citizen awareness of EU decision- making procedures, as well as ensure more opportunities for citizens ~~more~~to influen~~tial in~~ce policy- making;

Amendment 127 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17

17. Proposes the establishment of an independent civil society organisation ~~or foundation~~network that brings together different democracy initiatives and that focuses on making citizens more influential in policy- making;

Amendment 128 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17

17. Proposes the development of networks bringing together civil society organisations beside the establishment of an independent civil society ~~organisation or~~ foundation that brings together different democracy initiatives and that focuses on making citizens more influential in policy- making;

Amendment 129 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18

18. Proposes that the Commission’s ‘Have your say’ website becomes a one- stop resource granting access to all participatory instruments; calls on the Commission to embrace further digital possibilities for citizen engagement, in all official EU languages, including tutorials, past examples and information on relevant legislation; believes that provisions should be made for persons who are blind, visually impaired or otherwise print-disabled;

Amendment 13 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital D a (new)

D a. whereas citizens of the EU and any natural or legal person residing in or with a registered office in a Member State have the right to submit petitions to the European Parliament under Article 24 TFEU and Article 227 TFEU whenever the matter affects them directly and falls within the EU fields of activity;

Amendment 130 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18

18. Proposes that the Commission’s ‘Have your say’ website becomes a one- stop resource granting access to all participatory instruments at EU level;

Amendment 131 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 a (new)

18 a. Points out that, following the report of the European Court of Auditors which recognise the effectiveness of European Commission’s public consultations, and given the satisfactory perception of citizens, the Commission should improve its public consultation process in order to promote greater citizen’s participation and to better monitor and assess their contributions1a; _________________ 1aSpecial report 14/2019 ‘Have your say!’, European Court of Auditors, September 2019

Amendment 132 #

Helmut SCHOLZ, François ALFONSI, Pascal DURAND, Sandro GOZI

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20

20. Proposes the introduction of a citizens’ consultations mechanism for pilot projects, since this would enable citizens to be involved in the shaping of the expenditure side of the Union's budget and would therefore pave the way towards creating a participative budget at EU level;deleted

Amendment 133 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20

20. Proposes the introduction of a citizens~~’ consult~~' participations mechanisms for pilot projects, sinc~~e this would enable citizens to be involved in~~luding ‘participatory budgeting’ to allow the shaping of the expenditure side of the Union's budget and ~~would therefore pave the way towards creating a participative budget at EU level~~‘crowdsourcing’ to enable citizens to be involved in the co-creation of policies with EU decision-makers;

Amendment 134 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 a (new)

20 a. Calls on the Commission to provide support in order to complement educational programmes in all Member States, notably by supporting the development of a common curriculum on European and global citizenship education, fostering a better understanding of the existing EU institutions and of the history and cultures of Member States, and encouraging objective and critical thinking of the benefits of the European Union, with the aim of increasing citizens’ participation in the EU decision- making process;

Amendment 135 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 a (new)

20 a. Stresses that citizens’ agoras organised in the framework of the Conference on the Future of Europe should serve as a pilot for their future institutionalisation as a permanent mechanism of citizens' participation in key debates;

Amendment 136 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 b (new)

20 b. Stresses that digital technologies should be a complement to face-to-face participation instruments and especially used to encourage participation among collectives with difficulties participating in traditional participatory instruments;

Amendment 137 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 c (new)

20 c. Highlights the importance of the ECI as the only participatory tool at EU level which has the capacity to potentially trigger legislation; regrets the lack of follow-up of successful ECI’s by the Commission through legislative measures; calls on strengthening the response that is given to them through a Parliamentary resolution for each successful ECI; commits itself to consider a follow-up by exercising the right conferred on the European Parliament under Article 225 TFEU, when there is a lack of response by the Commission;

Amendment 138 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 d (new)

20 d. Proposes the introduction, in the Treaties, of a provision for a referendum at EU level on matters relevant to the Union’s actions and policies be evaluated;

Amendment 139 #

Pascal DURAND, Sandro GOZI, Maite PAGAZAURTUNDÚA, Alin MITUȚA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21

21. Stresses the need to ~~permanently include citizens in~~ facilitate citizens’ participation, withe s~~tructural reforms of the EU by reforming the Convention method as provided for in Article 48 of the Treaty on European Union~~ufficient engagement from EU institutions, in the structural reforms of the EU; proposes that this be discussed in the Conference on the Future of Europe;

Amendment 14 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital D a (new)

D a. whereas Article 11 (1) of the TEU provides that institutions shall, by appropriate means, give citizens and representative associations the opportunity to make known and publicly exchange their views in all areas of Union action;

Amendment 140 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21

21. Stresses the need to permanently include citizens in the structural reforms of the EU by reforming the Convention method as provided for in Article 48 of the Treaty on European Union; proposes that this be discussed in the Conference on the Future of Europe; believes that the Conference on the Future of Europe will bring an important contribution in the further development of citizens’ participation in the EU policy-making process and pave the way for establishing a new permanent mechanism for citizens’ participation;

Amendment 141 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21

21. Stresses the need to permanently include citizens in the structural reforms of the EU by reforming the Convention method as provided for in Article 48 of the Treaty on European Union; proposes that this be discussed in the Conference on the Future of Europe; underlines the importance of a balanced participation of the CSOs alongside institutional representatives in the Conference on the Future of Europe;

Amendment 142 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21

21. Stresses the need to ~~permanently include~~consult citizens in the structural reforms of the EU by reforming the Convention method as provided for in Article 48 of the Treaty on European Union; proposes that this be discussed in the Conference on the Future of Europe;

Amendment 143 #

Helmut SCHOLZ, François ALFONSI, Pascal DURAND, Sandro GOZI

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 a (new)

21 a. Underlines the need for a solid follow-up on the outcome of the Conference, keeping citizens informed on the different steps in the resulting decision-making process, ensuring the dialogue with citizens is meaningful and continues after the formal end of the Conference on the Future of Europe;

Amendment 144 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 a (new)

21 a. Will engage with the other EU institutions and stakeholders to strengthen additional channels of citizen input, including the expansion of citizens' dialogues and the establishment of a permanent mechanism for citizens’ participation with a formally binding follow-up process;

Amendment 145 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 a (new)

21 a. Stresses that an effective citizens’ dialogue and an active citizens' participation are strongly linked to the European dimension of citizenship education; stresses the necessity of new models and instruments of citizenship education such as the establishment of a European Agency for citizenship education;

Amendment 15 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital D b (new)

D b. 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 ECI regulation, and was overwhelmingly supported by Parliament in December 2020 with 76% of the votes cast;

Amendment 16 #

Pascal DURAND, Maite PAGAZAURTUNDÚA, Sandro GOZI, Helmut SCHOLZ, Alin MITUȚA

Motion for a resolution
Recital D b (new)

D b. whereas the Interinstitutional Agreement of 13 April 2016 on Better Law-Making in its paragraph 19 underlines that public and stakeholder consultation is integral to well-informed decision-making and to improving the quality of law-making;

Amendment 17 #

Pascal DURAND, Maite PAGAZAURTUNDÚA, Sandro GOZI, Helmut SCHOLZ, Alin MITUȚA

Motion for a resolution
Recital E

E. whereas online public consultations carried out by the Commission are mostly aimed at a particular target group, are not widely disseminated and run for a limited amount of time, meaning that they do not reach a significant proportion of the population;

Amendment 18 #

Pascal DURAND, Maite PAGAZAURTUNDÚA, Sandro GOZI, Helmut SCHOLZ, Alin MITUȚA

Motion for a resolution
Recital E a (new)

E a. whereas the European Court of Auditors in a comprehensive review of the Commission's consultation policy in 2019 recommended that the Commission should improve the way it reaches out to citizens to promote greater participation;

Amendment 19 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital F

F. whereas Citizens’ Dialogues conducted by the Commission are a way to provide information to citizens rather than to engage with them in a debate about their vision and what they would like to see change in the EU; whereas citizens consultations conducted by Member States about the Future of Europe have proven to be an effective tool to engage with citizens on EU matters;

Amendment 2 #

Helmut SCHOLZ, François ALFONSI, Sandro GOZI, Pascal DURAND

Motion for a resolution
Recital A

A. whereas ~~accord~~it is the aim to continuously improve the way in which democracy works ing tohe EU, several Eurobarometer surveys~~, a large proportion of EU~~ show that citizens are not satisfied with the way democracy works ~~in the EU~~ and tend to distrust the EU institutions; whereas not only is this perception present at EU level, but also at national level;

Amendment 20 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital F

F. whereas Citizens’ Dialogues conducted by the Commission are a way to provide information to citizens rather than to engage with them in a debate about their vision and what they would like to see change in the EU and do not provide a feedback mechanism to inform citizens about the outcomes of their participation;

Amendment 21 #

Pascal DURAND, Maite PAGAZAURTUNDÚA, Sandro GOZI, Helmut SCHOLZ, Alin MITUȚA

Motion for a resolution
Recital G

G. whereas the existing participatory instruments, such as the ECI, public consultations and Citizens’ Dialogues, do not provide very effective means for citizens to influence EU decision-making; whereas this is largely due to the lack of effective follow-up in the decision-making process at institutional level;

Amendment 22 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital G

G. whereas the current design of existing participatory instruments, such as the ECI, public consultations and Citizens’ Dialogues, do not provide very effective means for citizens to influence EU decision-making;

Amendment 23 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital G

G. whereas the existing participatory instruments, such as the ECI, public consultations and Citizens’ Dialogues, do not provide ~~very effective~~sufficient means for citizens to influence EU decision-making;

Amendment 24 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital G a (new)

Ga. whereas new ECI arrangements came into effect in January 2020 to make it easier for EU citizens to call on the Commission to propose legislative acts in its areas of competence in which the Union has the power to act;

Amendment 25 #

Pascal DURAND, Maite PAGAZAURTUNDÚA, Sandro GOZI, Alin MITUȚA

Motion for a resolution
Recital H

H. whereas most forms of participation are generally used by organised interest groups and not by individual citizens; whereas citizens' participation does not replace organised civil society and that individual citizens are largely unaware of the existing participatory instruments;

Amendment 26 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital H

H. whereas most forms of participation are generally used by organised interest groups and not by individual citizens; whereas individual citizens are largely unaware of the existing participatory instruments and therefore underrepresented in views and data collected through the existing instruments;

Amendment 27 #

Sven SIMON, Loránt VINCZE, Vladimír BILČÍK

Motion for a resolution
Recital H

H. whereas most forms of participation are generally ubiased bytowards organised interest groups and ~~not~~rarely used by individual citizens; whereas individual citizens are largely unaware of the existing participatory instruments;

Amendment 28 #

Pascal DURAND, Maite PAGAZAURTUNDÚA, Sandro GOZI, Alin MITUȚA

Motion for a resolution
Recital H

H. whereas most forms of participation are ~~generally used by organised interest groups and not~~not widely used by individual citizens; whereas individual citizens are largely unaware of the existing participatory instruments;

Amendment 29 #

Pascal DURAND, Maite PAGAZAURTUNDÚA, Sandro GOZI, Helmut SCHOLZ, Alin MITUȚA

Motion for a resolution
Recital I

I. whereas the current participatory instruments do not maximise the potential of citizens’ participation ~~when it comes~~and therefore insufficiently contribute to strengthening the democratic legitimacy of the EU and increasing citizens’ sense of ownership towards an EU that reflects their needs and visions;

Amendment 3 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A

A. whereas according to several Eurobarometer surveys, a large proportion of EU citizens are not satisfied with the way democracy works in the EU and tend to distrust the EU institutions; whereas not only is this perception ~~present~~measured at EU level, but also at national level;

Amendment 30 #

Helmut SCHOLZ, François ALFONSI, Pascal DURAND, Sandro GOZI

Motion for a resolution
Recital J

J. whereas reforming the existing participatory instruments, while paying particular attention to the most underrepresented groups of society, notably young people, and further developing a European public sphere can contribute to reinforcing the democratic legitimacy of the EU;

Amendment 31 #

Helmut SCHOLZ, François ALFONSI, Pascal DURAND, Sandro GOZI

Motion for a resolution
Recital K

K. whereas there is a need to enhance the European dimension of citizenship education, by improving their understanding of the EU, in order to enable citizens’ participation; whereas there is a growing need for European citizenship education classes across Member States;

Amendment 32 #

Pascal DURAND, Sandro GOZI, Maite PAGAZAURTUNDÚA, Helmut SCHOLZ, Alin MITUȚA

Motion for a resolution
Recital K

K. whereas there is a need to enhance the European dimension of citizenship education, by improving ~~their~~citizens' understanding of the EU, in order to enable ~~citizens’~~their participation;

Amendment 33 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital K a (new)

K a. whereas there is the need to recognise the work of civil society organisations in civic education and learning, and to encourage a holistic approach to citizenship education, including both formal and non-formal education and informal learning;

Amendment 34 #

Helmut SCHOLZ, François ALFONSI, Pascal DURAND, Sandro GOZI

Motion for a resolution
Recital L

L. whereas existing successful projects on citizen participation, such as European HomeParliaments and EU Youth Dialogue, have demonstrated that citizens would like to be included in EU decision- making processes on a regular basis; whereas the Council remains a closed- door institution as confirmed by the European Ombudsman’s inquiry OI/2/2017/TE into the Council’s lack of transparency regarding public access to its legislative documents and its decision- making process;

Amendment 35 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital L a (new)

L a. whereas the European Citizens' Consultations of 2018 provide valuable experience of engagement with citizens on European topics; whereas the lack of concrete follow-up and continuity in the process led to mixed results from this participatory effort;

Amendment 36 #

M. whereas the Conference on the Future of Europe ~~will provide~~should involve as much public participation as possible and could potentially be a valuable experience of engaging with citizens oin ~~a large scale, from which lessons will have to be drawn~~order to understand what they truly expect from the EU and the work of the institutions;

Amendment 37 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital M a (new)

M a. whereas the OECD defines open government as “a culture of governance based on innovative and sustainable public policies and practices inspired by the principles of transparency, accountability, and participation that fosters democracy and inclusive growth";

Amendment 38 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1

1. Stresses the need to reflect on how the Union can become more ~~democratic and effective; believes that a profound reform of the Union and possible changes to the Treaties, which would~~effective in engaging with citizens under the Union's core principles of representative democracy; believes that citizens should have a greater voice in EU decision- making to make the Union more refflective~~, united, democratic, solidary, sovereign and resilient, are strengthened by directly engaging with~~ of citizens' views and more resilient, democratic and effective; in this regard, believes that Treaty change should not be precluded, although it should not be a goal in itself, and that the Conference on the Future of Europe is the appropriate forum to discuss this possibility; stresses that citizens should have a clear understanding of citizen engagement and dialogue structures so that expectation meets reality, otherwise there is a risk of disenfranchising citizens;

Amendment 39 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1

1. Stresses the need to reflect on how the Union can become more democratic and effective; believes that a profound reform of the Union and possible changes to the Treaties, which would make the Union more ~~effective, united, democratic, solidary, sovereign and resili~~focused, capable, and accountable, are necessitated, whereas this includes improving the democratic responsiveness of EU institutions towards Parliament, a~~re strengthened by directly engaging with citizens~~nd of Parliament itself towards the European electorate;

Amendment 4 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)

A a. whereas overall turnout at the recent European Parliament elections was 50.6%, the highest turnout since the 1994 elections and a notable increase from 2014 where the turnout was 42.6%; whereas, although the turnout in 2019 was higher among all groups of the population, the increase was led by the younger generation, with large increases among people aged under 25 and aged 25–39; whereas despite the overall increase in turnout large differences remain between individual Member States;

Amendment 40 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1

1. Stresses the need to reflect on how the Union can become more democratic and effective; believes that ~~a prof~~the Conference on the Future of Europe shounld ~~reform of the Union and possible~~provide an opportunity to forge a constructive dialogue with citizens on these key topics in order to consider and undertake a profound reform of the Union by chang~~es to~~ing the Treaties~~, which would~~ to make the Union more effective, united, democratic, solidary, sovereign and resilient~~, are strengthened by directly engaging with citizens~~;

Amendment 41 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1

1. Stresses the need to reflect on how the Union can become more democratic and effective; believes that a profound reform of the Union and possible changes to the Treaties, which would make the Union more effective, united, democratic, so~~lidary~~cial, equitable, cohesive, sovereign and resilient, are strengthened by directly engaging with citizens;

Amendment 42 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1

Amendment 43 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1

1. Stresses the need to reflect on how the Union can become ever more democratic and effective; believes that a profound reform of the Union and possible changes to the Treaties, which would make the Union more effective, united, democratic, solidary, sovereign and resilient, are strengthened by directly engaging with citizens;

Amendment 44 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1 a. Stresses that open government, which combines increased transparency and accountability measures and participatory tools, is a good response to the democratic deficit that results from a perceived lack of agency in EU decision- making by EU citizens;

Amendment 45 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1 a. Underlines that there is an underlying tension between the vision of a EU centred around Member States and a EU centred around EU institutions which can be surpassed by developing an approach and instruments for a European Union of citizens;

Amendment 46 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 b (new)

1 b. Welcomes the Conference on the Future of Europe and believes that it is a great opportunity to engage directly with citizens in a meaningful dialogue on the future of Europe and to provide responses to their demands;

Amendment 47 #

Helmut SCHOLZ, François ALFONSI, Pascal DURAND, Sandro GOZI

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

2. Points out that the existing participatory instruments should be improved to make citizens’ participation more accessible; opines that, to facilitate public participation in wider political discourse and equip the public with the opportunity to influence political outcomes, with synergies in existing mechanisms, it is imperative that citizen engagement is structured in a way that creates realistic expectations and provides a benefit to strategic agenda of the Union by further legitimising policy; believes that this bottom-up participatory agenda should be capable of complementing, not substituting, representative democracy in the EU;

Amendment 48 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

2. Points out that the existing participatory instruments should be improved and new ones developed, to make citizens’ participation more accessible, inclusive, meaningful and effective;

Amendment 49 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

2. Points out that the existing participatory instruments ~~should be improved to make citizens’ participation~~ have various shortcomings which make citizens’ participation difficult, if not impossible; asks that these instruments be improved and made more accessible to citizens;

Amendment 5 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)

C a. whereas Article 11 (1) and (2) of the Treaty on European Union requires the institutions to give citizens and representative associations the opportunity to make known and publicly exchange their views in all areas of Union action, and to maintain an open, transparent and regular dialogue with representative associations and civil society;

Amendment 50 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

2. Points out that the existing participatory instruments should be improved to make citizens’ participation more accessible and effective;

Amendment 51 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)

2 a. Notes that citizens' participation mechanisms include a wide range of tools that are complementary, such as citizens' assemblies, citizens' initiatives, public consultations, citizens’ dialogues, participative budgeting, referendums, etc.;

Amendment 52 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3

3. Underlines the benefit of engaging with citizens in the development of a European public sphere ~~and in the reinforcement of the democratic legitimacy of the EU~~by promoting exchanges between citizens of different countries at European, national, regional and local level, in particular through networks of towns and regions, and facilitating an inter-regional dialogue, which will also result in the reinforcement of the democratic legitimacy of the EU; calls on the Commission to ensure sufficient funding for that purpose through the ‘Citizens' engagement and participation' strand’ of CERV programme;

Amendment 53 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3

3. Underlines th~~e benefit of engaging with citizens in the development of a European public sphere and in~~at not all stakeholders, notably citizens and civil society groups, are equally active politically, equally vocal, and influential; the reinfor~~cement of the democratic legitimacy of the EU~~e, believes that EU participatory democracy requires supporting unorganized citizens and promoting their access to electoral and participatory opportunities within and outside EU channels;

Amendment 54 #

Pascal DURAND, Alin MITUȚA, Maite PAGAZAURTUNDÚA, Sandro GOZI

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3

3. Underlines the benefit of engaging with citizens and civil society in the development of a European public sphere and in ~~the reinforc~~complement ofing the democratic legitimacy of the EU provided by its representative institutions and democratic procedures;

Amendment 55 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3

3. Underlines the benefits of engaging with citizens in the development of a European public sphere and in the reinforcement of the democratic legitimacy of the EU;

Amendment 56 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4

~~4. Emphasises that the EU institutions have to be informed of citizens’ concerns and need to be more attentive to these concerns;~~deleted

Amendment 57 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4

4. Emphasises that the EU institutions have to be informed of citizens’ concerns and need to be more attentive to these concerns by ensuring adequate channels to reach citizens and gather input and by providing appropriate follow-up mechanisms; calls for EU citizens' participation mechanisms to be redesigned to enable for citizens' participation to have a meaningful impact on EU decision-making;

Amendment 58 #

Pascal DURAND, Maite PAGAZAURTUNDÚA, Sandro GOZI, Alin MITUȚA

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4

4. Emphasises that ~~the EU institutions have to be informed of citizens’ concerns and need to be more attentive to these concerns~~increased information sharing regarding citizens’ concerns will assist the EU institutions in their efforts to be attentive and responsive to these concerns under the Union's core principles of representative democracy;

Amendment 59 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4

4. Emphasises that the EU institutions have to be informed of citizens’ concerns and ~~need to be more attentive to these concern~~must provide appropriate follow-up in the ensuing decision-making process;

Amendment 6 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)

C a. whereas the European Union is founded on the idea of representative democracy; whereas in a representative democracy accountability through elections is the key source of legitimacy; whereas such accountability does not exist for other means of citizen's participation;

Amendment 60 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4

4. Emphasises that the EU institutions ~~have~~need to be ~~informed of citizens’ concerns and need to be more attentive to these concerns~~more attentive and reactive to citizens’ concerns and can benefit from additional channels of citizen input;

Amendment 61 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5

5. Underlines the need to engage with young people in particular in a political debate on the future of Europe~~, as today’s decisions will determine their futur~~ and involve them consistently in participatory mechanisms and regularly held citizens' dialogues, as today’s decisions will determine their future; stresses the need for a module on EU functioning and history to be included in educational curricula and calls on the Commission to propose guidelines for such a module;

Amendment 62 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5

5. Underlines the need to engage with young people in particular in a political debate on the future of Europe, as today’s decisions will determine their future, and to engage with educational institutions and civic education organisations to ensure that active European citizenship becomes part of the curriculum across the EU;

Amendment 63 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5

5. Underlines the need to engage with young people in particular in a political debate on the future of Europe, as today’s decisions will determine their future; emphasises that the Erasmus+ programme should be utilised to enhance European citizenship education, especially amongst students and young people;

Amendment 64 #

5. Underlines the need to engage with young people in particular in a political debate on the future of Europe, as today’s decisions will determine their future; emphasizes the need to identify new means of communication and interaction adapted to the interests of young people;

Amendment 65 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5 a. Highlights that it is clear there is a mismatch between the expectations of citizens from the European Citizens' Initiative (ECI) and the ECI’s capacity to lead to legislative output; underlines that communication on citizen engagement needs to highlight the practical role of any mechanisms, otherwise failing to meet expectations will reduce participation, and in turn legitimacy; points out that new mechanisms should seek to increase the transparency of the follow-up stage and enhance the deliberative character of the ECI model; believes that the Commission should proactively address the concerns of the initiators and carry out a sufficient assessment including possible instruments to achieve stated goals; notes that the Commission must fully comply with its legal obligation to state sufficient reasons for why it did or did not take action on an ECI, and believes this needs to be more comprehensive to ensure citizens are provided with an accurate picture of what should be expected from engagement with or launching of an ECI;

Amendment 66 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5 a. Calls on the Commission to launch an annual European Union Olympiad competition on EU functioning and history for young people in high-schools, in order to boost interest, participation and debate on EU affairs;

Amendment 67 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 b (new)

5 b. Notes that the COVID-19 pandemic has encouraged the use of digital media and online conference systems, therefore sees further opportunities that digitalisation offers for civic engagement in times of crisis; points out that this has helped citizens to participate more quickly, widely and inclusively in decision-making; believes that the EU should promote new and innovative ways of citizen engagement, enabling the use of digital technology tools that facilitate multilingual dialogue with citizens;

Amendment 68 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 c (new)

5 c. Points out the New European Bauhaus initiative as a recent innovation to encourage and facilitate citizens’ participation; highlights that the initiative brings citizens, experts, businesses, and institutions together and facilitates conversations about making tomorrow’s living spaces more affordable and accessible;

Amendment 69 #

Helmut SCHOLZ, Sandro GOZI, Pascal DURAND

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6

~~6. Stresses the need for permanent participatory mechanisms to allow for citizens’ participation in EU decision- making;~~deleted

Amendment 7 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital C b (new)

C b. whereas Article 165 (2) of the Treaty on European Union mandates the EU to encourage the development of youth exchanges and of exchanges of socio-educational instructors, and to encourage the participation of young people in democratic life in Europe;

Amendment 70 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6

6. Stresses the need for permanent participatory mechanisms to allow for citizens’ participation in EU decision- making; considers that the Conference on the Future of Europe should discuss mechanisms for the active participation of citizens in the consultation process leading to the establishment of the annual Work Programme of the Commission and of the State of the Union address; notes that such a mechanism could work on an annual basis, starting in the first months of each year with national citizens agoras that should prepare the priorities to be discussed in a transnational European Citizens Agora which could be held on Europe Day; points out that the priorities resulting from the European Citizens Agora should be presented to the EU institutions in order to feed into the consultation mechanism that leads to the establishment of the annual Work Programme of the Commission;

Amendment 71 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6

6. Stresses the need for permanent participatory mechanisms at European, national, regional and local level to allow for citizens’ participation in EU decision- making and for adequate horizontal and vertical coordination among institutions at different levels;

Amendment 72 #

Helmut SCHOLZ, Pascal DURAND, Sandro GOZI

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6

6. Stresses the need for permanent participatory and effective mechanisms to allow for citizens’ participation in EU decision- making; supports awareness- raising activities of these mechanisms to maximize their impact and effectiveness;

Amendment 73 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6

6. Stresses the need for permanent participatory mechanisms to allow for citizens’ participation in EU decision- making at all stages and beyond the act of voting and other existing channels and instruments;

Amendment 74 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6

6. ~~Stress~~Reiterates the need ~~for permanent participatory mechanisms to allow for citizens’ participation in EU decision- making~~to fully engage citizens in EU decision-making in order to enhance the legitimacy of the EU and increase public trust in the work of the institutions;

Amendment 75 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6

6. Stresses the ~~need for permanent~~importance of effective participatory mechanisms to ~~allow for~~further facilitate and encourage citizens’ participation in EU decision- making;

Amendment 76 #

Helmut SCHOLZ, François ALFONSI, Pascal DURAND, Sandro GOZI

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)

6 a. Recalls that European policies and legislation are most of the times implemented by local and regional administrations and that they have the capacity to reach out more easily and play a central role in educating citizens about the EU, as it is the level of government closest to the citizens; stresses that a first step could be to strengthen the resources allocated to the liaison offices of the European institutions and to develop their territorial network throughout Europe;

Amendment 77 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)

6 a. Points out that the current concept and practice of Citizens’ Dialogues should be reinforced and updated;

Amendment 78 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 b (new)

6 b. Welcomes the Committee of the Regions opinion on ‘Local and regional authorities in the permanent dialogue with citizens’; requests, in addition to EU wide tools of citizens' participation, to establish a network of multi-level governments that should serve as a transmission chain between European institutions and citizens;

Amendment 79 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

7. Highlights the fact that regularly held citizens’ dialogues could serve different purposes, such as determining annual political or legislative priorities, developing specific proposals in relation to specific questions, or discussing institutional matters ~~or deciding on the spending of certain public resources;~~ ; underlines, however, that while citizens’ dialogues will prove to be beneficial in some areas, it is important that citizens have a clear understanding of engagement outcomes, including inherent limitations, with appropriate, and transparent, follow-up procedures; stresses the need for them to be of non- binding and advisory character only;

Amendment 8 #

Helmut SCHOLZ, François ALFONSI, Pascal DURAND, Sandro GOZI

Motion for a resolution
Recital D

D. whereas EU citizens may not institute proceedings directly before the Court of Justice, nor do they have recourse to effective instruments with which to enforce their rights under the Treaties, including the Charter of Fundamental Rights; whereas the legal and political impact of the only bottom-up instruments for citizens in the EU, namely the European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI), complaints to the European Ombudsman and petitions to Parliament, is rather minimal;

Amendment 80 #

Sven SIMON

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

7. Highlights the fact that regularly held citizens’ dialogues could serve different purposes, such as determining annual political or legislative priorities, developing specific proposals in relation to specific questions, discussing institutional matters or deciding on the spending of certain public resources; recognizes the limitations of such dialogues; stresses the need for them to be of non-binding and advisory character only as they lack democratic accountability;

Amendment 81 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7

7. Highlights the fact that regular~~ly held citizens’ dialogue~~ participation processes with citizens could serve different purposes, such as determining annual political or legislative priorities, developing specific proposals in relation to specific questions, discussing institutional matters or deciding on the spending of certain public resources;

Amendment 82 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8

8. Recalls that citizens’ dialogues should intend to provide a means for individuals to express their ideas and concerns; underlines the fact that they have to be participatory, inclusive, open, deliberate, transnational, transparent, non- partisan, accountable, effective, visible and attractive;

Amendment 83 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8

8. Recalls that citizens~~’ dialogue~~' participation mechanisms should intend to provide a means for individuals to express their ideas and concerns; underlines the fact that they have to be participatory, inclusive, open, deliberate, transnational, transparent, accountable, effective, visible and attractive;

Amendment 84 #

Pascal DURAND, Maite PAGAZAURTUNDÚA, Sandro GOZI, Helmut SCHOLZ, Alin MITUȚA

8. Recalls that citizens’ dialogues should ~~intend to~~ provide a means for individuals to express their ideas and concerns; underlines the fact that they have to be participatory, inclusive, open, deliberate, transnational, transparent, accountable, effective, visible and attractive;

Amendment 85 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)

8a. Calls on the EU to enable citizens to institute proceedings directly before the Court of Justice so that they may take direct action against any violations of EU law and their own fundamental rights enshrined in the Charter of Fundamental Rights;

Amendment 86 #

Helmut SCHOLZ, François ALFONSI, Pascal DURAND, Sandro GOZI

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 b (new)

8b. Regrets the fact that citizens have no recourse to effective instruments with which to enforce their rights under the Treaties, including the Charter of Fundamental Rights;

Amendment 87 #

Helmut SCHOLZ, Pascal DURAND, Sandro GOZI, Seán KELLY

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)

8 a. Stresses the need to enhance the European dimension of citizenship education in order to enable citizens’ participation and ability to act as responsible citizens and to fully participate in civic and social life at both, the European level as well as the Member State level, based on understanding of social, economic, legal and political concepts and structures, as well as global developments and sustainability;

Amendment 88 #

Helmut SCHOLZ, Seán KELLY, François ALFONSI, Pascal DURAND, Sandro GOZI

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 b (new)

8 b. Proposes to establish a European Network for Citizenship Education to provide a platform for exchange on best- practices and knowledge on methods of enhancing the European dimension of citizenship education;

Amendment 89 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 c (new)

8 c. Calls on the Commission to develop a comprehensive European strategy to enhance citizenship competences in the EU and develop supportive measures aimed at providing equal access to citizenship education to all people residing in the EU to enable them to exercise their political rights;

Amendment 9 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital D

D. whereas ~~the legal and political impact of~~democratic elections to the European Parliament constitute the ~~only~~main bottom-up instruments for citizens in the EU, whilst other means, namely the European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI), complaints to the European Ombudsman and petitions to Parliament~~, is rather minimal~~ are important supplements for vibrant Parliamentarism;

Amendment 90 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9

9. Emphasises that, in order to reach out to as many citizens as possible, an inclusive approach must be taken; underlines the fact that the selection of participants should ensure a well-balanced representation of the population, so that the societal diversity is fully reflected; stresses that all citizens should have equal access to exercise their rights, including those living in disadvantaged areas or those who have a lower exposure to EU information; emphasizes that citizens living in another Member State, different from the one whose EU citizenship they have and also the citizens of EU Member States living in non-EU Member States should be included in the citizens’ consultations and be offered special mechanisms adapted to their needs;

Amendment 91 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9

9. Emphasises that, in order to reach out to as many citizens as possible, an inclusive approach must be taken that should encompass an inclusive selection process but also adequate communication mechanisms to reach a diverse public and inclusive processes of participation paying attention to the content of the materials used, the topics put on the table, the skills of moderators in deliberative processes to ensure an inclusive debate, ensuring an analysis on the impact of the policies discussed on women and on persons put in vulnerable situation, etc; underlines the fact that the selection of participants should ensure a well-balanced representation of the population, so that the societal and territorial diversity is fully reflected;

Amendment 92 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9

9. Emphasises that, in order to ~~reach out to as many citizens as possible~~incorporate the full diversity of the European population, an inclusive approach must be taken; underlines the fact that the selection of participants should ensure a well-balanced representation of the population, so that the societal diversity is fully reflected;

Amendment 93 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9

9. Emphasises that, in order to reach out to as many ~~citizens~~people as possible, an inclusive approach must be taken; underlines the fact that the selection of participants should ensure a well-balanced representation of the population, so that the societal diversity is fully reflected;

Amendment 94 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)

9 a. Stresses the need for citizens to have access to participation mechanisms in their mother tongue; recalls that language barriers make the European institutions distant from the citizens and prevent the development of a truly inclusive European democracy;

Amendment 95 #

Sven SIMON, Loránt VINCZE, Vladimír BILČÍK

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 b (new)

9 b. Calls for participatory mechanisms to be extended to all residents;

Amendment 96 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10

10. Highlights that civil society organisations, s~~hould~~takeholders and other lobby groups already play a major role in participatory instruments; underlines the fact that, in order for such instruments to be successful, the Committee of the Regions (CoR) and the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) must be involved;

Amendment 97 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10

10. Highlights that civil society organisations and social partners should play a major role in participatory instruments; considers that proper methodologies and instruments enabling a better engagement and supporting civil societies’ and social partners' participation are crucial; underlines the fact that, in order for such instruments to be successful, the Committee of the Regions (CoR) and the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) must be involved;

Amendment 98 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)

10a. Stresses that although the new ECI arrangements that came into effect in January 2020 are intended to encourage wider public participation in EU decision- making, they do not oblige the Commission to follow up citizens' requests, but rather leave it a high degree of discretion in deciding whether to act on or disregard the will of the people; asks that the regulation that established the ECI be amended to oblige the Commission to table a legislative proposal where the conditions for submitting an ECI have been met;

Amendment 99 #