15 Amendments of Heinz K. BECKER related to 2013/2013(INI)
Amendment 3 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas, subject to Protocol 30 of the Treaty, the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union has already acquired legally binding force through the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon1; and whereas Parliament objects to the restrictive interpretation of the scope of application of the Charter put forth by the European Commissionpursuant to Article 51 the Charter applies to the institutions and bodies of the EU and the Member States, only when they are implementing Union law; whereas the same Treaty also establishes the legal basis for the EU to accede to the European Convention on Human Rights, as well asnd to introduce the European Citizens’ Initiative;
Amendment 28 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H
Recital H
H. whereas 2013 has been designated the European Year of Citizens, and it is precisely the citizens and residents of the EU, individually or in association with others, who are best placed to both assess the effectiveness of European legislation as it is applied, and to signal possible loopholes which impair the proper implementation of legislation and the full exercise of rights; whereas a fundamental precondition for this is that information about European legislation should be made available to citizens in a practical fashion;
Amendment 29 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I
Recital I
I. whereas, for that reason, the Committee on Petitions devoted a great amount of time and effort in 2012 to discussing the meaning of citizenship, which is closely associated with the freedom of movement in the EU but which also comprises many other rights and is of benefit to citizens who do not leave their home country; whereas petitions give evidence that Union citizens still face widespread and tangible obstacles to exercising their cross-border rights in particular, a situation which has a direct and daily impact on the lives and welfare of thousands of households;
Amendment 43 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital M
Recital M
M. whereas it remains evident that there is both a lack of clearly structured and widely publicised information and a lack of awareness amongst EU citizens about their rights; whereas these constitute decisive obstacles to exercising active EU citizenship and whereas in this connection the Member States should comply more fully with their obligation to provide information and cultivate awareness;
Amendment 45 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital N
Recital N
N. whereas European citizens and residents are legitimately entitled to expect that the issues they raise with the Committee on Petitions may find a solution without undue delay within the legal framework of the European Union, and in particular that the Members of the Committee will defend the petitioner’s natural environment, health, freedom of movement, dignity and fundamental rights and freedomslegitimate wishes of all petitioners, irrespective of the area of life which they concern, with the requisite consistency and perseverance;
Amendment 58 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Notes that fundamental rights remain a key subject of the petitions submitted, notably raising issues related to the rights of persons with disabilities, children’s rights, property rights, the right of free of movement without discrimination on any grounds, including the portability of social security entitlements without any form of discrimination, the protection of freedom of expression and privacy, freedom of association, and the right of access to documents and information; calls on Member States to respect those rights as set out in the Treaty and calls on the European Commission to take the necessary measures to oblige non- compliant Member States to close the gap between national laws and the fundamental rights of EU citizens;
Amendment 73 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Calls on the Commission to come up with a proposal for legislation to finally solve the problems relating to the mutual recognition by Member States of civil status documents and their effects while at the same time respecting the social policy traditions of the individual Member States in accordance with the subsidiarity principle;
Amendment 77 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Observes that the environment remains another key subject of petitions, giving evidence that public authorities repeatedly fail to ensure the preservation of biodiversity and ecosystems, and that the highest standards of public health are guaranteed; points, in particular, to the numerous petitions submitted on waste management, on water, on the possible dangers of nuclear energy and genetic engineering and on the assessment of the impact of projects and activities on the environment and on public health; urges the Commission to strengthen the environmental legislative framework and, specifically, its correct implementation; regrets that some Member States, despite their efforts, have not been able to find sustainable solutions for problems related to waste management;
Amendment 95 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Welcomes the Committee’s conclusions from the fact-finding visit to Berlin on youth and family welfare matters, particularly in cross-border custody cases; notes, however, based on the continuing inflow of petitions of this nature, that it is clear the issue is ongoing, and that similar cases have also been brought to the Committee’s attentiothat the Committee is still receiving similar petitions from other Member States, particularly Denmark; therefore urges the Member States to scrutinise thoroughly all statutory rules and judicial rulings which could be contrary to the interests of the child in fcrom other Member States, notably Denmarkss-border custody cases;
Amendment 101 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Draws attention, in that regard, to the Eurobarometer of public opinion which indicates that only 36% of EU citizens consider themselves well informed about their rights and only 24% feel well informed about what they can do if their rights are not respected; stresses, therefore, the urgent need for improved access to information and for a clearer distinction between the functions of the various nathe establishment of a widely advertised single live point of contact in all Member States to which citizens can turn directly with any EU- related questionals and European institutions, so that peconcerns and which will forward the questions internally to the relevant bodies in the EU institutions and complaints can be addressed to the right bodie, including the Committee on Petitions;
Amendment 103 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Is determined to put in place a more practical and visible petitions web portal accessible to all citizens by the end of 2013, in order to facilitate access to the petitions process and to provide valuable information on petitions, as well as on other redress mechanisms; calls for the right of petition to be given greater visibility on the Parliament website homepage, given that in 2012 70% of all registered petitions were already received in electronic form, for all institutions and other bodies of the EU to place on the homepages of their websites and social media channels a clearly visible link to the online form for submitting a petition;
Amendment 105 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Emphasises that the Committee on Petitions, along with other institutions, bodies and instruments such as the European Citizens’ Initiative, the European Ombudsman, the European Commission, and the committees of inquiry, play an independent and clearly defined role as must remain a central points of contact for each individual citizen; further stresses that the Committee on Petitions must continue to be a point of reference for citizens whose rightscitizens when their rights guaranteed in EU law are being infringed;
Amendment 119 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22
Paragraph 22
22. Welcomes the Year of European Citizenship in 2013; calls on all institutions and bodies both of the European Union and of the Member States to enhance and advertise more widely their service to European citizens and residents during this year, in light of the principles contained in the Treaties and the facts revealed in this report;
Amendment 129 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27
Paragraph 27
27. Looks forward to organising public hearings for successful European Citizens’ Initiatives, alongside the legislative Committee responsible; reaffirms its belief that this new tool will strengthen the democratic institutions of the Union and will give meaning to the notion of European citizenship;Does not affect English version. Linguistic correction to German.
Amendment 132 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27 a (new)
Paragraph 27 a (new)
27a. Is nevertheless concerned about the red tape and technical obstacles which have emerged during the first months of the practical application of the Citizens' Initiative; calls therefore on the Commission to seriously consider bringing forward the date of the review prescribed in Article 22 of Regulation (EU) 211/2011;