45 Amendments of Cristina MAESTRE related to 2020/2275(INI)
Amendment 13 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E a (new)
Recital E a (new)
Ea. whereas some petitions are declared inadmissible due to the lack of information or confusion from the citizens about the competences of the European Union;
Amendment 19 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H a (new)
Recital H a (new)
Ha. whereas the EU must guarantee the citizens the right to participate actively in the democratic activities of the European Union in their mother tongue to avoid any kind of discrimination;
Amendment 20 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I
Recital I
I. whereas the ECI thereby helps strengthen the democratic functioning of the Union through the participation of citizens in its democratic and political life; whereas the ECI should be regarded as one of the ways in which citizens can bring certain issues to the attention of the EU institutions and approach them to legislate on the issues that are within the EU competences and concern the citizens, alongside dialogue with representative associations and civil society, stakeholder consultations, the right to petition and the right to submit complaints to the European Ombudsman;
Amendment 23 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital K
Recital K
K. whereas, in order to achieve those objectives, the procedures and conditions required for the ECI should ensure that initiatives on valid subjects are considered and responded to appropriately by the Commission; whereas at least one million signatures from at least a quarter of the Member States are required for an ECI to be submitted to the Commission; whereas the Commission has made the deadline for submitting signatures more flexible in response to the COVID-19 pandemicto the impacts caused by COVID-19 pandemic on the signature collection procedure;
Amendment 27 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital M
Recital M
M. whereas one of the EU’s priority objectives must be to strengthen the democratic legitimacy of its institutions through instruments of citizen participation which are more effective and transparent;
Amendment 29 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital Q
Recital Q
Q. whereas the right to petition, the right to refer to the European Ombudsman, and the ECI are participatory tools that foster the transparency; the participatory democracy and active European citizenship;
Amendment 31 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Points out that the right to petition is the oldest instrument involving the direct participation of citizens at EU level and that it is the easiest and most direct way for citizens to contact thereach an EU institutions and express their view when there are loopholes oin the legislation adopted and the policy choices made at EU levelnd contact the EU institutions and express their concerns and complaints about European law that affects them directly;
Amendment 46 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Points out that the petitioners' frustration at the lack of real solutions to their problems can result in detachment from the EU institutions, as well as a feeling of Euroscepticism due to the lack of answers;
Amendment 47 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 b (new)
Paragraph 3 b (new)
3b. Calls for common criteria when dealing with the different petitions to guarantee a standardized and coherent treatment of the petitions and avoid the arbitrary or partisan use of the citizens’ requests; stresses that the lack of homogeneity in the treatment of petitions can cause confusion among petitioners and result in limited will to exercise the right to petition by citizens;
Amendment 51 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Draws attention to the potential that the right to petition has when it comes to warning the EU institutions about possible loopholes in Union law, or breaches or poor implementation thereof, both systemically and as regards specific cases; calls on the Commission, as guardian of the Treaties, to pay closera serious attention to the issues raised in petitions and to ensure that they give rise to proper inquiries so that genuine improvements can be made; emphasises that, in cases where the Commission does not have legislative powers, the Commission still has and should use the possibility to act by providing coordination or support in order to offer a diligent response to the problems and needs of the petitioners;
Amendment 54 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6a. Calls for the implementation of a detailed analysis that allows to know the reasons why the number of registered petitions in recent years has decreased; calls on the European Commission to coordinate with the Committee of Petitions to carry out a study to detect the main obstacles encountered when exercising the right to petition, as well as any communication problems that may exist; calls for the implementation of the necessary mechanisms in order to sort out the potential shortcomings and problems found in the study;
Amendment 57 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Calls on the Commission to monitor, assess, and report annually on the petitions dealt with and to ensure that this assessment feeds into political decision- making at the level of the Commission;
Amendment 59 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Calls on the Council and the Member States to show more interest inan active involvement and participatinge in discussions and debates on petitions and to provide responses to questions raised by petitioners at EU level, in particular by sending the petitions to the relevant and competent authorities, ensuring adequate follow-up and participating in parliamentary debates;
Amendment 62 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Calls for the EU institutions and Parliament’s committees, as well as the Member States, to better cooperate with the Committee on Petitions in order to answer petitioners efficiently and satisfy their requests; in this context, urges the Commission to avoid general answers and to provide targeted and tailored responses to the petitioners and their demands;
Amendment 64 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Calls on civil society as a whole to tap the full potential of the right to petition when it comes to effecting policy and legislative changes at EU level; calls on civil society organisations to make betthigher use of petitions as instruments of direct democracy to convey to the European institutions their concerns, as well as possible legislative infringements related to Union law;
Amendment 67 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Calls on the Conference on the Future of Europe to reflect on and debate the right to petition, and, along with members of the public, to look at ways to improve knowledge of and access to the right to petition to turn it into a democratic instrument truly useful to the citizens;
Amendment 68 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Calls for the position of the Committee on Petitions to be strengthened within the European Parliament and in its inter-institutional relations, as it is the only committee that communicates directly with citizens; emphasises that more staff and resources need to be allocated to the Committee on Petitions, given the extent of its work;
Amendment 69 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Calls on the other committees to contribute in a timely manner to Parliament’s efforts to respond more rapidly and effectively to citizens’ concerns and to take into account, in ongoing legislative work, the issues raised by petitioners; calls on the other committees to give more prominence to petitionstake into account the petitions related to their areas of competence in Parliament’s day-to-day legislative activities, and to respond formally and specifically to the expectations raised by citizens’ petitions;
Amendment 76 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 a (new)
Paragraph 16 a (new)
16a. Calls on the Conference on the Future of Europe to promote the right to petition as a useful tool at the service of citizens enabling them to be in direct contact with the European institutions and to transmit them their problems and needs;
Amendment 79 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Calls for the Petitions Web Portal to be improved to make it more user- friendly, easier and intuitive to navigate and accessible to all citizens, especially to persons with disabilities; calls for the possibility of co- signing the petitions submitted via the Petitions Web Portal to be streamlined and accelerated;
Amendment 82 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Calls for more information to be made public and available on the Petitions Web Portal, including, for example, the progress of the petition and inquiries launched with other institutions; in this regard, calls for more synergy between the portal and Parliament’s internal database to promote greater transparency in the treatment of petitions;
Amendment 83 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Points out the importance of the right of any EU citizen and any natural or legal person residing in the EU to complain to the European Ombudsman about instances of maladministration within the EU institutions; takes the view that citizens’ complaints to the Ombudsman represent an essential element of participatory democracy and of the legitimacy of the Union’s decision-making process; points out that the right to refer a matter to the Ombudsman increases citizens’ engagement with and trust in the EU institutions as it promotes transparency and good administration of the EU institutions and bodies;
Amendment 85 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21
Paragraph 21
21. Emphasises the development of the role of the Ombudsman, who can use own- initiative powers to help to tackle systemic problems in EU administration and make efforts to promote good administration, i.e. ensuring the institutions, bodies, offices and agencies of the Union meet the very highest standards; with that in mind, considers the role of the Ombudsman to be more important than ever in view of the fact that the administration of the EU, via its agencies, is taking on an increasingly important role in citizens’ lives when it comes to issues such as environment, migration and health;
Amendment 88 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22
Paragraph 22
22. Calls on the Ombudsman to look more closely at the manner in which EU funds and the EU budget are spent, and to check that the Union’s interests are not undermined by breaches of the rule of law or any sort of infringement of the EU principles and values, corruption or conflicts of interest, includingespecially in the context of Next Generation EU, the European recovery plan; emphasises that respect for the rule of law is an essential condition for access to EU funds; takes the view that this conditionality concerning respect for the rule of law and the fact that the European Union does not compromise on its values are factors that can strengthen citizens’ trust in the Union and show EU firm commitment with the democratic quality throughout the European territory;
Amendment 91 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23
Paragraph 23
23. Welcomes the recent changes made to the Statute of the European Ombudsman, which will further enhance the right of EU citizens and residents to complain about maladministration, in particular in the areas of whistle-blower protection, harassment and conflicts of interest; recalls the importance of keeping necessary resources and budget so the Ombudsman institution can continue to work competently at the service of European citizens;
Amendment 95 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 a (new)
Paragraph 24 a (new)
24a. Invites the co-legislators to follow the recommendations of the Ombudsman in relation with Regulation 1049/2001 on public access to documents and foster their revision; recalls that this regulation is currently obsolete due to technological advances and access to documentation in recent decades; calls on the institutions to promote the revision of this Regulation in order to place the Union at the forefront of public access to documents and democratic transparency for citizens;
Amendment 100 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25 a (new)
Paragraph 25 a (new)
25a. Recalls that one of the ways to improve the perception of the EU by citizens is making it more understandable and transparent to them; considers the Council should continue working to improve its transparency and invites it to implement some of the recommendations issued repeatedly by the European Parliament and by the Ombudsman;
Amendment 103 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27 a (new)
Paragraph 27 a (new)
27a. Recalls that only a few successful European initiative have received adequate follow-up by the Commission;
Amendment 104 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27 b (new)
Paragraph 27 b (new)
27b. Emphasises that ECI is a fundamental tool that allows citizens to put on the European political agenda those issues or matters that concern them or in which they consider that the Union, within its field of competence, should legislate;
Amendment 115 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30
Paragraph 30
30. Calls on the Commission to study the necessary mechanisms to improve the ECI tool and implement them to make citizens’ participation more accessible, given the low number of ECIs that have ultimately been successful;
Amendment 124 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 35
Paragraph 35
35. Emphasises the role of these three participatory instruments, which is to facilitate and encourage the engagement of citizens and residents of the EU; calls for the establishment and promotion of a large- scale, one-stop interinstitutional website to provide information on all the democratic instruments that enable the public to participate directly in and influence decision-making at EU level;
Amendment 127 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 35 a (new)
Paragraph 35 a (new)
35a. Considers essential to analyse the communication problems between European institutions and citizens that cause citizen participation mechanisms to be underused by Europeans; calls for the necessary resources be put in place to disseminate information about the existence and functioning of this tools among the general public;
Amendment 130 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 36
Paragraph 36
36. Calls for public awareness of these three participatory instruments to be raised to ensure that they become effective and useful tools for democratic participation; emphasises that all the European institutions should maximise their communication efforts to ensure that as many citizens as possible know about, and are encouraged to participate in, the instruments;
Amendment 142 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 39 a (new)
Paragraph 39 a (new)
39a. Insists on the need to discuss the role and the dimension of the Committee on Petitions by the Parliament; points out that more consideration to citizen’s demands can be given only if a competent body makes the follow-up; highlights that currently the Committee on Petitions does not have the proper dimension and powers in order to satisfy citizen’s demand;
Amendment 145 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 41
Paragraph 41
41. With a view to improving public participation, emphasises the need for citizens to have clear guidance to help them choose the most appropriate participatory tool to respond to their concerns; takes the view that there is a need to understand and overcome the obstacles people encounter when they are drawing up petitions to Parliament, complaints to the Ombudsman and initiatives for the Commission;
Amendment 146 #
42. Emphasises, furthermore, that where ECIs and petitions have an impact – especially involving mass media coverage or consideration by the Commission or Parliament – they should be examined to pinpoint successful strategies and best practices that could be used as learning in the future;
Amendment 149 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 43 a (new)
Paragraph 43 a (new)
43a. Stresses that the debate on the future of the EU should result in improvement of the instruments for citizen participation that will make it possible to achieve a Union which is more democratic, transparent and open to its citizens;
Amendment 159 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30
Paragraph 30
30. Calls on the Commission to study the necessary mechanisms to improve the ECI tool and implement them to make citizens’ participation more accessible, given the low number of ECIs that have ultimately been successful;
Amendment 168 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 35
Paragraph 35
35. Emphasises the role of these three participatory instruments, which is to facilitate and encourage the engagement of citizens and residents of the EU; calls for the establishment and promotion of a large- scale, one-stop interinstitutional website to provide information on all the democratic instruments that enable the public to participate directly in and influence decision-making at EU level;
Amendment 171 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 35 a (new)
Paragraph 35 a (new)
35 a. Considers essential to analyse the communication problems between European institutions and citizens that cause citizen participation mechanisms to be underused by Europeans; calls for the necessary resources be put in place to disseminate information about the existence and functioning of this tools among the general public;
Amendment 174 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 36
Paragraph 36
36. Calls for public awareness of these three participatory instruments to be raised to ensure that they become effective and useful tools for democratic participation; emphasises that all the European institutions should maximise their communication efforts to ensure that as many citizens as possible know about, and are encouraged to participate in, the instruments;
Amendment 186 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 39 a (new)
Paragraph 39 a (new)
39 a. Insists on the need to discuss the role and the dimension of the Committee on Petitions by the Parliament; points out that more consideration to citizen’s demands can be given only if a competent body makes the follow-up; highlights that currently the Committee on Petitions does not have the proper dimension and powers in order to satisfy citizen’s demand;
Amendment 189 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 41
Paragraph 41
41. With a view to improving public participation, emphasises the need for citizens to have clear guidance to help them choose the most appropriate participatory tool to respond to their concerns; takes the view that there is a need to understand and overcome the obstacles people encounter when they are drawing up petitions to Parliament, complaints to the Ombudsman and initiatives for the Commission;
Amendment 190 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 42
Paragraph 42
42. Emphasises, furthermore, that where ECIs and petitions have an impact – especially involving mass media coverage or consideration by the Commission or Parliament – they should be examined to pinpoint successful strategies and best practices that could be used as learning in the future;
Amendment 193 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 43 a (new)
Paragraph 43 a (new)