Activities of Marina ALBIOL GUZMÁN related to 2014/2218(INI)
Plenary speeches (2)
Activities of the Committee on Petitions 2014 (debate) ES
Activities of the Committee on Petitions 2014 (A8-0361/2015 - Lidia Joanna Geringer de Oedenberg) ES
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on the activities of the Committee on Petitions 2014 PDF (751 KB) DOC (500 KB)
Amendments (36)
Amendment 7 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas 2 714 petitions were received in 2014, which is almost 6 % down on the figure for 2013 when 2 885 petitions were lodged with Parliament, of which petitions only 29.1 % were admissible and followed up, while 39.4 % were declared inadmissible and 30.1 % were admissible and closed;
Amendment 10 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas although this figure is modest when compared to the EU’s total population, it does nonethelesswhich indicates that the vast majority of EU citizens are not yet aware of the right to petition and have expectations regarding the usefulness of the petition procedureits possible usefulness as a means of drawing the attention of the EU institutions and the Member States to matters which affect them and about which they are concerned;
Amendment 16 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas EU citizens are directly represented by the only EU institution whose members may be elected by them, namely the European Parliament; whereas the right to petition gives them the means to address theirdraw the attention of the elected representatives directly;
Amendment 19 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas the right to petition may strengthens Parliament’s responsiveness to EU citizens and residents, providing them withif there is an open, democratic, inclusive and transparent mechanism at all stages of the petitions procedure;
Amendment 25 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E
Recital E
E. whereas, if taken duly into account, petitions may provide valuable feedback to legislators and executive bodies both at EU and national level;
Amendment 35 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G
Recital G
G. whereas each petition ismust be carefully assessed and dealt with and each petitioner has the right to receive a reply within a reasonable period of time;
Amendment 43 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H
Recital H
H. whereas petitions are discussed in meetings of the Committee on Petitions and whereas petitioners may take part fully in the discussion and have the right to present their petition along with more detailed information and thus actively contribute to the work of the Committee, providing its members, the Commission and any representatives of the Member States who may be present with additional information; whereas in 2014, 127 petitioners attended and were actively involved in the Committee’s deliberations;
Amendment 47 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I
Recital I
I. whereas the Committee on Petitions bases its activities on information provided by petitioners and their input during meetings, supplemented by expertise from the Commission, the Member States or other bodies of political representation;
Amendment 53 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital K
Recital K
K. whereas through petitions the EU’s citizens may monitor the drawing up and application of EU law, it being possible for the former beingto be a useful source of information in regard to detecting citizens' requests and breaches of EU law, the latter especially in regard to the environment and the internal market, to fields connected to recognition of vocational qualifications and consumer protection and in the financial services sector;
Amendment 56 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital M
Recital M
M. whereas the key issues of concern dealt with in petitions relate to environmental legislation (in particular issues concerning water and waste management, and hydrocarbon prospection and extraction), fundamental rights (in particular the rights of the child and of the disabled), free movement of persons, various forms of discrimination (, immigration, ethnic, cultural or language-based grounds in particular), visas, immigration, employmentmployment, negotiations on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), animal welfare, the application of justice, and many other areas of activity;
Amendment 62 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital N
Recital N
N. whereas,, although the web portal of the Committee on Petitions was launched on 19 November 2014 to replace the Europarl site’s previous electronic platform for filing petitions, said web portal is not yet fully operational; whereas this portal has been designed asto provide an integrated solution covering the specific needs of the petition process and which gives EU citizens wishing to file a petition an Internet tool better suited to their needs; whereas the portal will help improve the service and its visibility for citizens and committee members, increase transparency and improve petitioners' access to information at the various stages of the petition procedure; whereas the portal should help to ensure greater and easier involvement for citizens throughout the petition procedure, and will act as an electronic register (planned in Rule 216(4) of the Rules of Procedure) through which citizens may lend or withdraw their support for existing petitions and affix their electronic signature to their own petitions; whereas the new portal has been designed to make the petition procedure more transparent and interactive, and administrative aspects more efficient, in the interest of petitioners, Members and the general public; whereas there can be no question but that its launch in November 2014 has helped to promote EU citizenship;
Amendment 65 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital O
Recital O
O. whereas the European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) is an extraordinarycould be and innovative tool for participatory democracy in the European Unionmportant tool to enable citizens to participate in the EU's political decision-making process, whose potential mustshould be exploited fully and further enhanced in order to achieve the best results;
Amendment 72 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital P
Recital P
P. whereas the Committee on Petitions continues to maintain an active interest in the implementation of the Regulation on the European Citizens’ Initiative, and is mindful of the manyneed for a new regulation to eliminate the many deficiencies, obstacles and weaknesses and rather cumbersome nature of the existing legal framework;
Amendment 74 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital R
Recital R
R. whereas the public hearings organised for successful initiatives have been a success, and the involvement and participation of the Committee on Petitions as the committee associated in ECI hearings has been greatly appreciated by the members and by civil society; whereas the Committee on Petitions supports this process and places its long experience of working with citizens at the service of this objective;
Amendment 76 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital S
Recital S
S. whereas it should be noted that owing to the workload of the Committee on Petition and the need to increase human resources at the Secretariat of the Committee on Petitions, no fact-finding visits took place for petitions for which an inquiry was ongoing during 2014, but fact-finding visits have been scheduled for 2015;
Amendment 80 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital U
Recital U
U. whereas the Committee on Petitions is a member of the European Network of Ombudsmen, to which, where they exist, petitions committees from the national parliaments also belong, and whereas cooperation between petitions committees is important and should, where pit is important that parliaments of Member States equip themselves with petitions committees and strengthen them where they exist, and that cooperactical, be stron betweeng thenm be improved;
Amendment 82 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Stresses the fundamental role playedwork undertaken by the Committee on Petitions, allowing EU citizens and residents some involvement in defending and promoting their rights of EU citizeand in monitoring correct application of Community regulations, and residents,s their petitions ensuringe that thecitizens' concerns of petitioners are better recognised andare known so that their legitimate grievances are resolved wherever possible and within a reasonable timeframe;
Amendment 86 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Stresses that the Committee on Petitions, as the contact point for citizens, the European Ombudsman and the European Citizens’ Initiative together may constitute a set of basic tools for democracy in the European Union and thatgreater political involvement for citizens, for whom appropriate access to them has to be ensured along with their smooth running; regrets that additional mechanisms for the direct involvement of citizens in the decision-making process of European institutions do not exist;
Amendment 91 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Stresses that increased cooperation with national, regional and local authorities on matters linked to the application of EU law plays a vital role inis essential in working towards reconnecting with EU citizens and reinforcing the democratic legitimacy and accountability ofin the European UnionParliament’s decision-making process;
Amendment 97 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Stresses the Commission’s significant role in assisting with cases raised by petitioners, and calls on it to monitor proactively certain projects reported by petitioners in which there is well-founded evidence that EU law may be breached; calls on the Commission, as guardian of the Treaties, to remedy those cases of incorrect transposition of EU law reported in a large number of petitions filed with Parliament; calls on the Commission to keep the Committee on Petitions informed of developments in infringement proceedings directly linked to any one petition;
Amendment 102 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
(a) Points out the importance of the European Commission responding to all petitions in a detailed and proactive manner and as promptly as possible; calls on the European Commission to ensure that representatives participating in meetings of the Committee on Petitions be of the highest political rank possible;
Amendment 103 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 b (new)
Paragraph 4 b (new)
(b) Requests that, due to the special nature of this Committee and the significant workload relating to contact with the thousands of citizens and residents who file petitions every year, the human resources available to the Secretariat be increased;
Amendment 117 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
(a) Points out the importance of the other committees of the European Parliament including in their meetings the handling of relevant matters set forth in the petitions relating to their areas of responsibility, and using the relevant petitions received as a source of information for legislative processes;
Amendment 124 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
(a) Stresses citizens' concern regarding and rejection of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership and the opaque negotiations in which the European Commission is participating, as highlighted in numerous petitions received during 2014; points to the importance of the European Commission urgently implementing the recommendations made by the European Ombudsman in this regard; regrets that the European Commission has ignored the European Citizens’ Initiative against TTIP and CETA, which has received over three million signatures;
Amendment 125 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 b (new)
Paragraph 8 b (new)
(b) Points to the opinion issued by this Committee regarding the Recommendations of the European Commission on the negotiations for the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), in which, as highlighted in numerous petitions received, it rejects the arbitration instrument known as ISDS and regrets that the European Citizens’ Initiative against TTIP was rejected;
Amendment 129 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Paragraph 9 a (new)
(a) Stresses the high number of petitions received which reject the use of hydraulic fracturing for the extraction of gas and oil from the subsoil and highlight the harmful environmental, economic and social consequences linked to use of this technique;
Amendment 137 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)
Paragraph 10 a (new)
(a) Points out the large number of petitions received which fiercely criticise and warn of the consequences of the EU's migration, trade and external policies with regard to complying with the human rights of migrants; points out the obligation of all EU agencies, bodies and institutions, including FRONTEX, to ensure, at all times, compliance with human rights and with the Charter of Fundamental Rights in their field of activity;
Amendment 142 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Stresses the wide range of the subjects raised in the petitions filed by citizens, such as fundamental rights, human rights, the internal market, environmental law, labour relations, migration policies, trade agreements, public health issues, child welfare, transport, the disabled andor animal rights;
Amendment 145 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Believes that the organisation of public hearings is a veryn important way of examining problems raised by petitioners; wishes to draw attention to the public hearings organised with the Committee on the Environment in regard to the European Citizens’ Initiative on ‘Water is a Human Right’ and with the Committee on Legal Affairs for the ECI entitled ‘One of Us’; believes that the ECI is the first instrument of transnational participatory democracy that willtransnational instrument that, once a new regulation is approved, may enable citizens to become active more directly involved in the framing of EU policies and legislation; reaffirms its commitment to being involved in proactively organising public hearings for successfulthe most significant initiatives; undertakes to give priority, at institutional level, to the effectiveness of this participative process;
Amendment 151 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)
Paragraph 13 a (new)
(a) Stresses the approval of the Resolution on mortgage legislation and risky financial instruments in Spain (based on petitions received), although regrets that all the issues expressed in the numerous petitions received have not been recognised,
Amendment 153 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Welcomes the Commission’s decision to continue in 2014 activities under the banner of the ‘European Year of Citizens’ by focusing more on the European elections (held between 22 and 25 May 2014); welcomes the Commission’s readiness to inform citizens about the tools placed at their disposal so that they could better participate in the EU’s democraticcision-making process, as well as its readiness at that point in time to provide EU citizens with information and advice on their rights and the democratic instruments available to defend them;
Amendment 155 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Points to the importance of the Committee on Petitions having launched its Internet portal through which petitioners may register, submit their petition, upload supporting documents, support admissible petitions, receive information about their petition and also automatic e-mail alerts about changes to the status of their petition; regrets the delays which have meant that it is not currently fully operational, and asks that outstanding work be accelerated;
Amendment 161 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Acknowledges the important role of the SOLVIT network, which regularly uncovers and resolves problems linked to the implementation of internal market legislation; urges the Commission to upgrade this tool, allow members of the Committee on Petitions access to all information and keep them informed in cases relating to filed petitions;
Amendment 163 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Highlights the need for the Committee on Petitions to step up its collaboration with other EU institutions and bodies, and with the national authorities in the Member States; considers enhanced dialogue and systematic cooperation with Member States, especially with national parliaments’ petitions committees, to be essential; recommends the forming of petitions committees to all parliaments of Member States where these have not yet been formed; considers the visit on 2 December 2014 by the petitions committee of the Scottish Parliament to be an example of said collaboration and that a partnership of this kind will make it possible to share best practices, pool experience gained and bring to fruition an efficacious and systematic procedure for forwarding petitions to the bodies responsible;
Amendment 167 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Recalls that fact-finding visits are one of the most important investigation tools the Committee on Petitions has, even thoughand regrets that there were none during 2014; calls on Greece to take note of the recommendations made in the report on the fact-finding visit on waste collection and the siting of landfills in Greece, which was adopted in committee in February 2014; calls on the Commission to monitor carefully the use made of funds allocated to waste collection; calls on Member States to comply with the EU directives on recycling waste and treating wastewater;
Amendment 170 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Attaches great importance to the presence and active cooperation of representatives of the Member States during meetings of the Committee on Petitions; welcomes the presence of representatives from the public authorities of the Member State concerned, their participation and their active cooperation, with particular reference to the representatives of certain Member States such as Greece, Italy and Spain; encourages other Member States to follow their example;