45 Amendments of Marlene MIZZI related to 2017/0220(COD)
Amendment 18 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 5
Recital 5
(5) This Regulation aims to make the European citizens’ initiative more accessible, less burdensome and easier to use for organisers and supporters, in order to achieve the full potential of theencourage as many citizens as possible to get involved in organising, participating or supporting a European citizens’' initiative and to achieve the full potential of this instrument as a tool to foster debate and citizens’ participation at Union level, promote European integration and to bring the Union closer to its citizens.
Amendment 25 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 6
Recital 6
(6) To achieve those objectives, the procedures and conditions required for the European citizens’ initiative should be clear, simple, user-friendly including for persons with disabilities and proportionate to the nature of this instrument. They should strike a judicious balance between rights and obligations and ensure that successful initiatives receive an appropriate follow up from the Commission.
Amendment 33 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 9
Recital 9
(9) In order to ensure that an initiative is representative of a Union interest while ensuring that the instrument remains easy to use the minimum number of Member States from which citizens must come should be set at one quarter of Member States and the minimum number of signatories coming from each of those Member States should be degressively proportional and correspond to the number of Members of the European Parliament elected in each Member State, multiplied by 750.
Amendment 35 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 10
Recital 10
Amendment 40 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 13
Recital 13
(13) In order to make the European citizens’' initiative more accessible and to provide support to citizens and organisers, the Commission should provide information and assistance free of charge to organisers and make available an online collaborative platform to provide a dedicated discussion forum and information and advice about the European citizens’' initiative. To ensure proximity to citizens, Member Stat, that will serve also as a platform for the exchange of ideas and best practices and to enable citizens to discuss proposed citizens' initiatives and to formulate new ones. To ensure proximity to citizens, Member States building upon the Europe Direct Information Centres should establish one or more contact pointECI help desks in their respective territories to provide citizens with information and assistance regarding the European citizens’ initiative on technical issues related to the ECI, including how to promote the ECI at national and local level. An annual ECI conference at EU level should be organised on the ECI day with the aim of further strengthening dialogue and exchange of best practices between organisers, civil society and social partners and EU institutions and to assess the state of implementation and effectiveness of the ECI.
Amendment 48 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 15
Recital 15
(15) In order to ensure coherence and transparency in relation to initiatives and to avoid a situation where signatures are collected for an initiative which does not comply with the conditions laid down by the Treaties and this Regulation, initiatives that comply with the conditions laid down in this Regulation should be registered by the Commission before collecting statements of support from citizens. All registered initiatives should be made publicly available, prior to collecting the necessary statements of support from citizens, on the Commission website specially designated to ECI initiatives. The Commission should deal with registration in accordance with the general principles of good administration.
Amendment 52 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 16
Recital 16
(16) In order to make the European citizens’ 'initiative more accessible, and taking into account that the procedures and conditions required for the European citizens’ initiative should be clear, simple, user-friendly and proportionate, it is appropriate to partially register an initiative in cases where only part or parts of the initiative meet the requirements for registration under this Regulation. Initiatives should be partially registered where a substantial part of the initiative, including its main objectives, does not manifestly fall outside the framework of the Commission’'s powers to submit a proposal for a legal act of the Union for the purpose of implementing the Treaties and all the other registration requirements are met. Clarity and transparency should be ensured as regards the scope of the partial registration and potential signatories should be informed of the scope of the registration and of the fact that statements of support are collected only in relation to the scope of the registration of the initiative. In the case of partial registration the Commission should advise organisers about the legal basis of their proposal and propose possible solutions to avoid further inadmissibility.
Amendment 57 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 17
Recital 17
(17) Statements of support for an initiative should be collected within a specific time limit. In order to ensure that an initiative remains relevant, whilst taking into account the complexity of collecting statements of support across the Union, that time limit should not be longer than 12 months from the date of the start of the collection period determined by the group of organisers. If organisers decide not to use the central system for the online collection of statements of support provided by the Commission, the period shall start only after Member States verify the conformity of an alternative online collection systems within the requirements of this regulation.
Amendment 60 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 18
Recital 18
(18) In order to make the European citizens’ initiative more accessible, less burdensome and easier to use for organisers and citizens, the Commission should set-up and operate a central system for the online collection of statements of support incorporating the relevant technical and security measures necessary to comply with the provisions of this regulation. That system should be voluntary and made available free of charge to groups of organisers and should comprise the necessary technical features allowing online collection including the hosting and software as well as accessibility features ensuring that citizens' with disabilities can provide support to the initiatives. That system should be set-up and maintained in accordance with Commission Decision (EU, Euratom) 2017/4626 . _________________ 26 Commission Decision (EU, Euratom) 2017/46 of 10 January 2017 on the security of communication and information systems in the European Commission (OJ L 6, 11.1.2017, p. 40–51).
Amendment 63 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 21
Recital 21
(21) It is appropriate for Member States to verify the conformity of the individual online collection systems set up by the group of organisers with the requirements of this Regulation and issue a document certifying such conformity before organisers initiate the 12 month period for collecting statements of support are collected. The certification of the individual online collection systems should be carried out by the competent national authority of the Member States in which the data collected through the individual online collection system is stored. Without prejudice to the powers of the national supervisory authorities under the General Data Protection Regulation, Member States should designate the competent national authority responsible for the certification of the systems. Member States should mutually recognise the certificates issued by their competent authorities.
Amendment 71 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 23
Recital 23
(23) In order to promote participation and public debate on the issues raised by the initiatives, where an initiative supported by the required number of signatories and fulfilling the other requirements of this Regulation is submitted to the Commission, the group of organisers should have the right to present that initiative at a public hearing at Union level. The public hearing should be co- organised by the Commission and the European Parliament within three months from the submission of the initiative and ensure a balanced representation of relevant public and private interests, representation of civil society and social partners, as well as the representation at an appropriate level of the Commission and the Council. Other institutions and advisory bodies of the Union as well as interested stakeholders should have the opportunity to participate in the hearing. Within one month of the public hearing, the European Parliament should hold a plenary debate on the initiative, which may be followed by a vote on a motion for resolution proposing specific recommendations to the Commission.
Amendment 79 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 24
Recital 24
(24) To ensure the effective participation of citizens in the democratic life of the Union, the Commission should examine a valid initiative and respond to itafter the public hearing and plenary debate in the European parliament and after proper dialogue with the ECI organisers, should examine a valid initiative and respond to it in due time taking into account that successful initiatives should have an appropriate follow up. The Commission should therefore set out its legal and political conclusions as well as the legislative or non-legislative actions it intends to take within a period of five months from the receipt of the initiative. The Commission should explain in a clear, comprehensible and detailed manner the reasons for its intended action, and should likewise give its detailed and clear reasons if it does not intend to take any action, be it partial or complete refusal.
Amendment 84 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 25
Recital 25
(25) The support and funding for initiatives should be transparent. Therefore groups of organisers should provide updated information on the sources of support and funding for their initiatives between the date of registration and the date at which the initiative is submitted to the Commission. Entities, notably organisations which under the Treaties contribute to forming European political awareness and expressing the will of citizens of the Union, should be able to promote and provide support and funding to initiatives, provided that they do so in accordance with the procedures and conditions laid down by this Regulation and with full transparency. The Commission should perform quality and random checks on the financial and funding sources provided by the ECI organisers. Citizens should also be able to trigger an alert in case of suspicions of wrongdoings. The sources of support and funding should also be publicly available and regularly updated together with the rest of the information on the ECI initiative published online.
Amendment 89 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 28
Recital 28
Amendment 90 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 28 a (new)
Recital 28 a (new)
(28 a) Where the measures provided for in this Regulation entail the processing of personal data by the Commission or by organisers, that processing should be carried out in accordance with Union law on the protection of personal data, in particular Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council[1], Regulation (EU)2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council[2] and Directive (EU) 2016/680 of the European Parliament and of the Council[3] . 1. Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 of theEuropean Parliament and of the Council of 18 December 2000 on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data by the Community institutions and bodies and on the free movement of such data (OJ L 8,12.1.2001, p. 1). 2. Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of theEuropean Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Directive 95/46/EC (General DataProtection Regulation) (OJ L 119, 4.5.2016, p. 1). 3. Directive (EU) 2016/680 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data by competent authorities for the purposes of the prevention, investigation, detection or prosecution of criminal offences or the execution of criminal penalties, and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Council Framework Decision 2008/977/JHA (OJ L 119, 4.5.2016, p. 89).
Amendment 91 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 29
Recital 29
(29) In order to contribute to the promotion of active participation of citizens in the political life of the Union, the Commission and the organisers should be able to collect, in accordance with data protection rules, email addresses of signatories for the purpose of communication activities regarding an initiative, in particular for the purpose of providing information on the follow-up actions in response to an initiative. The collection of email addresses should be optional and subject to the explicit consent of signatories. Email addresses should not be collected as part of the statements of support forms and potential signatories should be informed that their right to support an initiative is not conditional on giving their consent to collecting their email addresses. Signatories should be able to withdraw their explicit consent for the collection of their email addresses at any time before and after the European citizens' initiative has been closed in which case the Commission and the ECI organisers should immediately delete the email address from their database and stop communication with the signatories.
Amendment 93 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 29 a (new)
Recital 29 a (new)
(29 a) In order to contribute to the promotion of active and equal participation of all citizens in the political life of the Union, the Commission and the organisers should ensure that their webpages and mobile applications are accessible for people with disabilities. While Directive (EU) 2016/2102 does not apply to websites and mobile applications of Union institutions, bodies, offices and agencies, for the purpose of the central online collection system, online register, or online collaborative platform and any webpages in relation to the European Citizens' Initiative that the Commission and organisers are responsible for should be accessible in a manner equivalent to the requirements of Directive (EU) 2016/2102. In particular, the Commission is encouraged to comply with the relevant European harmonised standards, providing compliance with the requirements perceivability, understandability, operability and robustness. The Commission should ensure compliance with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UN CRPD), especially Articles 9 and 21, in order to foster access to information for persons with intellectual disabilities, alternatives in easy-to-read language should be provided to the greatest possible extent and proportionately.
Amendment 106 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 3 – paragraph 2
Article 3 – paragraph 2
2. For the purpose of paragraph 1 a signatory shall be counted in its Member State of nationality irrespective of the place where the statement of support was signed by the signatory.
Amendment 108 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 1
Article 4 – paragraph 1
1. The Commission shall, upon request, provide information and assistanc provide easily accessible exhaustive information and legal and technical assistance and guidance free of charge about the European citizens’ 'initiative to citizens and groups of organisers to allow them to clarify and define the objective and facilitate the registration of their ECI.
Amendment 110 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 1 a (new)
Article 4 – paragraph 1 a (new)
1 a. The Commission shall also provide guidance to the Europe Direct Contact Centre so that they can also provide information and legal, technical assistance, guidance and advice to ECI organisers at national level.
Amendment 111 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1
Article 4 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1
The Commission shall make available an online collaborative platform providing citizens and groups of organisers with a discussion forum and information and advice about the European citizens’ initiative. The Commission shall engage regularly with the ECI organisers through the collaborative platform.
Amendment 115 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 3
Article 4 – paragraph 3
3. The Commission shall make available an online register ('the register') allowing groups of organisers to manage their initiative throughout the procedure. The register shall comprise a public website providing information on the European citizens’ initiative in general including on the ECI financing and funding sources as well as on specific initiatives and their respective status.
Amendment 119 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 4
Article 4 – paragraph 4
4. After the Commission has registered an initiative in accordance with Article 6, it shall provide the translation of the content of that initiative into all the official languages of the Union for its publication in the register and its use for the collection of statements of support in accordance with this Regulation. A group of organisers may, in addition, providerequest the Commission to translationse into all the official languages of the Union of the Annex for its publication in the register and also, as the case may be, of the draft legal act referred to in Annex II and submitted in accordance with Article 6(2).
Amendment 123 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 6
Article 4 – paragraph 6
6. Each Member State shall establish one or more contact points to provide information and assistancewithin their respective Europe Direct Contact Centre to provide information and assistance, as well as specific technical and legal guidelines to groups of organisers in setting up a European citizens’ initiative.
Amendment 138 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 6 – paragraph 1
Article 6 – paragraph 1
1. Statements of support for an initiative may only be collected after the initiative has been registered by the Commission and where relevant after Member States have verified the conformity of the individual online collection systems set up by the group of organisers within the requirements of this Regulation.
Amendment 147 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 6 – paragraph 3 – subparagraph 1 – point e
Article 6 – paragraph 3 – subparagraph 1 – point e
(e) the initiative is not manifestly contrary to the values of the Union as set out in Article 2 of the Treaty on European Union and rights enshrined in the European Charter of Fundamental Rights.
Amendment 155 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 6 – paragraph 4 – subparagraph 3 – point b
Article 6 – paragraph 4 – subparagraph 3 – point b
(b) partially register the initiative if a substantial part of the initiative, including its main objectives, does not manifestly fall outside the framework of the Commission’s powers to submit a proposal for a legal act of the Union for the purpose of implementing the Treaties;
Amendment 157 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 6 – paragraph 5 – subparagraph 1
Article 6 – paragraph 5 – subparagraph 1
Any initiative that has been submitted to the Commission for registration, including every initiative that has been registered, shall be made public in the register and on the website of the European Citizens' Initiative.
Amendment 159 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 6 – paragraph 6
Article 6 – paragraph 6
6. The Commission shall register an initiative under a single registration decision and a single registration number and inform the group of organisers thereof.
Amendment 160 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 6 – paragraph 7
Article 6 – paragraph 7
7. Where it refuses to register or only partially registers an initiative in accordance with paragraph 4, the Commission shall inform the group of organisers of the reasons for its decision and of all possible judicial and extrajudicial remedies available to them. The Commission shall provide robust, consistent and comprehensive reasons for its decision to refuse to register an ECI, so that citizens can understand and scrutinise its position and if necessary exercise their right to contest it. The Commission shall make public in the register and on the website of the European Citizens' Initiative the decision , reasoning and motivation of the Commission to register, partially register or refuse to register an initiative.
Amendment 167 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 6 – paragraph 7 a (new)
Article 6 – paragraph 7 a (new)
7 a. Where organisers are informed of a refusal to register, fully or in part, they can amend their initiative and resubmit to the Commission within one month. Decisions made by organisers regarding the registration of their ECI shall also be made available in the register and on the website of the European Citizens' Initiative.
Amendment 171 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 8 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1
Article 8 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1
All statements of support shall be collected within a period not exceeding 12 months from a date chosen by the group of organisers (the 'collection period'), without prejudice to Article 11(6). That date must be not later than threefour months from the registration of the initiative in accordance with Article 6.
Amendment 176 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 9 – paragraph 7 – subparagraph 1
Article 9 – paragraph 7 – subparagraph 1
The group of organisers shall inform the Commission of the number of collected statements of support in each Member State at least every twohree months during the collection period and of the final number within three months of the end of the collection period for publication in the register. The Commission should maintain regular communication with the ECI organisers during and after the campaign.
Amendment 177 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 10 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1
Article 10 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1
For the purpose of online collection of statements of support, the Commission shall set-up and operate, by 1 January 2020, a central online collection system, in accordance with Commission Decision (EU, Euratom) 2017/46 of 10 January 2017. The use of this system shall be voluntary and free of charge to all organisers.
Amendment 181 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 12 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 2
Article 12 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 2
Amendment 187 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 14 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1
Article 14 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1
Within three months after the submission of the initiative, the group of organisers shall be given the opportunity to present the initiative at a public hearing in the European Parliament in order to promote constructive and open public debate with all stakeholders, thus strengthening the European public sphere and democracy at EU level and reinforcing the importance of the initiative.
Amendment 190 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 14 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 2
Article 14 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 2
The Commission and the European Parliament shall co-organizse the public hearing at the European Parliament. Representatives of the other institutions and advisory bodies of the Union, as well as interested stakeholders and representatives of civil society and social partners, shall be given the opportunity to participate in the hearing. Within one month of the public hearing, the European Parliament should hold a plenary debate on the initiative, which may be followed by a vote on a motion for resolution proposing a specific recommendation to the Commission.
Amendment 200 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 14 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 3
Article 14 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 3
The Commission and the European Parliament shall ensure a balanced representation of relevant public and private interests, as well as the representation of institutions and advisory bodies of the Union.
Amendment 203 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 14 – paragraph 3
Article 14 – paragraph 3
3. The Commission and Council shall be represented in the hearing at an appropriate level.
Amendment 207 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 14 – paragraph 3 a (new)
Article 14 – paragraph 3 a (new)
3 a. The European Parliament may also develop appropriate forms of response to those citizens' initiatives, which have been successfully registered but do not meet the one million signatures, but nevertheless receive significant citizens' support.
Amendment 214 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 15 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1
Article 15 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1
Within five months after the publication of the initiative in accordance with Article 14(1), and after the public hearing referred to in Article 14(2), the Commission shall set out in a communication its legal and political conclusions on the initiative, the action it intends to take, if any, and its reasons for taking or not taking action. The Commission should give detailed and clear reasons and full justification for a decision not to take any action explaining its political conclusions to the public in a detailed and transparent manner.
Amendment 222 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 15 – paragraph 3 a (new)
Article 15 – paragraph 3 a (new)
3 a. The Commission should keep the organisers updated on its activities in relation to the initiative and on the evolution of the initiative after the Commission has delivered on its decision.
Amendment 228 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 16 – paragraph 2 a (new)
Article 16 – paragraph 2 a (new)
The Commission should ensure full transparency of funding and sponsorship information through quality checks, alerts and complaints system to ensure that funding and sponsorship information provided by ECI organisers are correct.
Amendment 230 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 17 – paragraph 1
Article 17 – paragraph 1
1. The Commission and member States shall raise public awareness about the existence of the European citizens’ initiative through communication activities and information ad hoc campaigns, grass- root initiatives and the use of social and digital media thereby contributing to promoting the active participation of citizens in the political life of the Union and promoting awareness of how citizens can influence and shape the European Union through a European citizens 'initiative.
Amendment 232 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 17 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1
Article 17 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1
For the purposes of communication and information activities regarding the initiative concerned and subject to explicit consent by a signatory, his or her email address may be collected by a group of organisers or by the Commission.