22 Amendments of Eleonora EVI related to 2020/2044(INI)
Amendment 1 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E
Recital E
E. whereas the number of petitions remained modest in relation to the total population of the EU; whereas nevertheless this number indicates that a proportion of EU citizens are aware of and exercise the right to petitthe overall number of petitions received indicates that greater efforts and appropriate measures are necessary to raise citizens' awareness on the right to petition; whereas citizens in exercising the right to petition expect that the EU institutions bring forward an added value in solving their problems; whereas failure by the EU institutions to adequately treat petitions and take effective action upon them produce frustration and disaffection towards the Union;
Amendment 4 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E a (new)
Recital E a (new)
Ea. whereas a democratic governance based on full transparency, effective protection of fundamental rights and the inclusion of EU citizens’ requests in the EU political agenda is needed for increasing citizens' direct participation as well as for improving the quality of the EU decision-making process; whereas a democratic and fully transparent governance should be also considered a cornerstone for enhancing the effectiveness and the citizen-friendly work of the Committee on Petitions;
Amendment 10 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I
Recital I
I. whereas the right to petition should enhances the European Parliament’s responsiveness to complaints and concerns relating to respect for EU fundamental rights and compliance with Union legislation in the Member States; whereas petitions, therefore, are a very useful source of information on instances of misapplication or breaches of EU law and; whereas petitions enable Parliament and other EU institutions to assess the transposition and application of EU law and its impact on EU citizens and residents and to detect shortcomings and inconsistencies of EU law undermining the goal of ensuring full protection of citizens' fundamental rights;
Amendment 16 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital K
Recital K
K. whereas each petition ishould be carefully examined by the Committee on Petitions; whereas each petitioner has the right to receive a comprehensive reply and information on the decision on admissibility and follow-up actions taken by the committee within a reasonable period of timeout delay, in their own language or in the language used in the petition in full compliance with the right to good administration enshrined in Article 41 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union;
Amendment 24 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital R
Recital R
R. whereas the Committee on Petitions considers the European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) to be an important instrument of participatory democracy,; whichereas to enables citizens to become actively and truly involved in shaping the Union’'s policies and legislation through the ECI, a revision of the current EU treaties is needed in order to ensure a legislative follow-up to successful European citizens' initiatives;
Amendment 28 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital R a (new)
Recital R a (new)
Ra. whereas a merely formalistic approach to the treatment of petitions related to environmental assessments jeopardises the correct implementation of EU environmental law at Member States' level and undermine the credibility of the Commission's supervising role aimed at ensuring that citizens' fundamental rights are fully respected;
Amendment 30 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital U a (new)
Recital U a (new)
Ua. whereas the activities of the Petitions Network should be improved by ensuring a more effective cooperation among committees dealing with petitions; whereas the Petitions Network should strengthen the dialogue and collaboration with the Commission and other EU Institutions aiming at guaranteeing that issues raised by citizens in petitions are adequately addressed and solved;
Amendment 31 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital U b (new)
Recital U b (new)
Ub. whereas in her political guidelines for the European Commission 2019-2024, President Ursula von der Leyen committed to respond with a legislative act to resolutions adopted by the European Parliament based on article 225 TFEU, with a view to giving the European Parliament a stronger role in initiating EU legislation; whereas the Committee on Petitions should play a strategic role in creating a direct connection between the right of legislative initiative of the European Parliament and the issues raised by citizens through petitions;
Amendment 32 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Recalls the important role ofat the Committee on Petitions must enhance its key role in defending and promoting the rights of EU citizens and residents, ensuring that petitioners’ concerns and complaints are examined in timely fashion and, wherever possible, resolved, through an open, democratic and fully transparent petition process and a strengthened cooperation and dialogue with other EU institutions and national, regional and local authorities;
Amendment 38 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Emphasizes the importance of a continuous public debate on the Union’s fields of activity aimed at informing citizens about the scope of the Union’s competences and the different levels of decision-making, in order to reduce the number of inadmissible petitionraising public awareness on the right to petition the European Parliament, providing clearer and more detailed information about the powers of the EU and the urgency to adopt all necessary measures in order to implement a fully democratic EU governance based on full transparency, enhanced protection of fundamental rights and direct citizens' inclusion in the EU decision-making processes;
Amendment 44 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Calls for the swift adoption of legal reforms aimed at solving the lack of transparency of the EU decision-making process, conflicts of interests and all ethical issues at EU level affecting the legislative process related to issues raised by citizens through petitions;
Amendment 45 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 b (new)
Paragraph 2 b (new)
2b. Strongly believes that the Commission must rapidly and thoroughly investigate all citizens' complaints, including individual cases, to promptly counter breaches of citizens' rights and detect the existence of violations of systematic nature; calls, in this regard, on the Commission to revise its approach in dealing with citizens' complaints enshrined in its Communication titled 'EU Law: Better results through better application'1a; _________________ 1ahttps://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal- content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:5201 7XC0119(01)&from=EN
Amendment 53 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Points out that petitions offer the opportunity to the European Parliament and other EU institutions to maintain a direct dialogue with EU citizens who are affected by the misapplication of EU law; stresses the need for enhanced cooperation between the EU institutions and national, regional and local authorities on inquiries regarding implementation of and compliance with EU law or by inconsistencies and shortcomings of the current EU law which undermine the protection of their economic, social and cultural rights; stresses the need for enhanced cooperation between the EU institutions and national, regional and local authorities in order to ensure that EU institutions adopt the necessary legal acts aimed at achieving the highest levels of social justice and full and effective protection of all citizens' fundamental rights;
Amendment 60 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Recalls that petitions provide a valuable contribution to the Commission’s role as guardian of the Treaties; welcomes the commitment made by the Commission Vice-President for Interinstitutional Relations and Foresight, Maroš Šefčovič, during his hearing as commissioner- designate, to further improve the Commission’s handling of petitions and to ensure the submission of accurate answers within the three-month deadline; reiterates its call on the Commission for regular updates on developments in infringement proceedings and for access to relevant Commissionto ensure full access to documents and information on infringements and EU pilot procedures pertaining to petitions, especially when they were fully or partly opened on the basis of petitions and full transparency and access to documents onand infringements andormation to the EU pPilot procedures which relate to open petitionsand infringement procedures that have already ended;
Amendment 64 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Stresses that full transparency and full public access to the documents of the EU institutions shouldmust be the rule in order to ensure the highest levels of protection of the democratic rights of citizens; believes that a proposal to amend Regulation (EC) n. 1049/2001 must be put forward in this regard without delay; underlines that Regulation (EC) 1049/2001 is seriously outdated and no longer reflects the current legal situation and institutional practices implemented by EU institutions, offices, bodies and agencies;
Amendment 71 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. TrustUnderlines that the petitions network is amust become a more useful tool for ensuring an adequathe follow-up of petitions in parliamentary and legislative work; stresses that the petitions network must be considered as a strategic tool to foster the right of legislative initiative of the European Parliament enshrined in article 225 TFEU, thus addressing shortcomings and inconsistencies of the EU law highlighted in petitions in order to ensure full protection of citizens' fundamental rights; believes that meetings of the petitions network are key for enhancing cooperation between parliamentary committees through exchange of information and sharing of best practices among the network members;
Amendment 79 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Takes note that the environment was the main area of concern for petitioners in 2019; points in this regard to the motion for a resolution pursuant to Rule 227(2) on waste management, adopted on 21 March 2019 by the Committee on Petitions and on 4 April 2019 in plenary6 ; stresses that waste management is one of the main global socio-economic and environmental challenges, and reiterates its call for a reduction to adopt the zero waste strategy and maximise prevention, reuse, separate collection and recycling waste generaith a view to boosting the transition, the boosting of reuse and recycling and better implemowards a circular economy; draws attention to the final Report of the FFV held in Valledora adopted on 11 April 2019 and calls on the competent nation of waste legislation by Member Statesal, regional and local authorities to ensure a full and consistent implementation of all recommendations contained therein; _________________ 6 Texts adopted, P8_TA(2019)0338.
Amendment 82 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Draws attention to the hearing on ‘Climate Change Denial’ which the Committee on Petitions held on 21 March 2019 jointly with the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety; believes that the Committee on Petitions must continue to counter climate denialism, including by promoting the adoption of effective and dissuasive sanctions against stakeholders, which lobby the EU institutions, whose activities are directly or indirectly related to climate change denial; stresses the paramount importance of ensuring that the future work of the Committee on Petitions guarantees a specific focus on Climate Change with a view to strengthening the overall activities of the EU institutions aimed at consistently implementing the European Green Deal and the Paris Agreement;
Amendment 83 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Points to the studies on ‘Cross- border nuclear safety, liability and cooperation in the European Union’ and on ‘Endocrine Disruptors: From Scientific Evidence to Human Health Protection’, which the Committee on Petitions commissioned as a follow-up to a significant number of petitions raising concerns over these matters and which were presented at its meetings on 20 February 2019 and on 2 April 2019; regrets the fact that environmental rules are not always correctly implemented in the Member States, as described in numerous petitions; stresses the importance of delivering on EU citizens’ expectations on the protection of the environment, and therefore urges the Commission, together with the Member States, to ensure the correct implementation of EU legislation in this field; is convinced that the Commission must step up its activities to make sure that environmental assessments conducted by Member States for the authorisation of infrastructure projects, on which petitioners highlighted serious risks for human health and the environment, are based on accurate and comprehensive analyses in full compliance with EU Law;
Amendment 84 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)
Paragraph 13 a (new)
13a. Is seriously concerned about the severe health damages suffered by citizens, with the highest negative impact registered amongst children, living in areas where a huge amount of carcinogenic substances are produced; strongly believes that the Commission must make full use and consistently implement the provisions under Annex XIV to Regulation No 1907/2006 (REACH) on substances subject to authorisation as carcinogenic, persistent and bio-accumulative, ensuring their substitution with non-toxic alternative substances, including by promoting industrial processes aimed at this scope;
Amendment 85 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 b (new)
Paragraph 13 b (new)
13b. Criticises the introduction of new conformity factors on type approval of motor vehicles with respect to emissions from light passenger and commercial vehicles as they make impossible to respect the emissions limits currently in force, established in Regulation (EC) 715/2007; deeply regrets that the introduction of new conformity factors will exacerbate the air quality problems denounced by petitioners arising from road transport, which continue to be the largest contributor of outdoor pollutants whose concentrations are systematically above the limit values established by the pertinent EU legislation;
Amendment 95 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Points to the important ongoing work by the Committee on Petitions to ensure the protection of animal welfare in the EU, as demonstrated by the significant number of petitions on this topic discussed in its meetings in 2019; considers of paramount importance to launch a new EU strategy on animal welfare to bridge all the existing gaps and ensure full and effective protection of animal welfare through a clear and comprehensive legislative framework fully in line with the requirements of Article 13 TFEU; draws attention to the public hearing on the ‘Revaluation of the wolf population in the EU’, which the Committee on Petitions held on 5 December 2019 jointly with the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety and in association with the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development, in order to give voice to citizens’ concerns about the legal framework for the protection of the wolf as well as the impact of the wolf population on the environment and rural communities;