16 Amendments of Enrique GUERRERO SALOM related to 2014/2257(INI)
Amendment 12 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)
Recital C a (new)
Ca. whereas experience has highlighted the organisational and technical difficulties involved in launching a European Citizens’ Initiative, and the rules must be designed to make them as accessible as possible to citizens and organisers;
Amendment 36 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Calls on the Commission to provide as much guidance as possible – especially of a legal nature – to organisers of ECIs via the Europe Direct Contact Centre, so that they are aware of the possibilities open to them and will not fail by proposing an ECI that is outside the Commission’s powers, or else to assign the task of giving advice to another independent company or body so as to avoid a possible conflict of interest within the Commission itself; notes, however, that under the Treaty of Lisbon the issues raised by ECIs may not correspond entirely to the Commission’s jurisdiction and it should be possible to propose an initiative that also concerns the primary law of the Union or non- regulated acts; takes the view, furthermore, that the Commission should consider setting up a dedicated ECI office in each Member State;
Amendment 38 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Calls for the principle of material unity to be enshrined in the regulation to safeguard the wishes of citizens participating in an initiative, following the example set by similar legal systems;
Amendment 39 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 b (new)
Paragraph 2 b (new)
2b. Calls for a budgetary and time restriction to be set (so that initiatives cannot be presented on recently adopted legislation);
Amendment 42 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Stresses the need to provide more detailed guidelines on the interpretation of legal bases and more information on data protection obligations in each Member State in which the organisers run their campaigns, so as to provide them with legal security, and on the possibility for organisers to take out insurance;
Amendment 52 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Stresses that under the terms of Article 4 of Regulation 211/2011, in the event of a refusal by the Commission to register an ECI, ‘the Commission shall inform the organisers of the reasons for such refusal and of all possible judicial and extrajudicial remedies available to them’; acknowledges, in this connection, the many complaints from organisers about not receiving detailed and exhaustive reasons for the rejection of their ECIs, and invites the Commission to provide as many elements as possible in order to explain the reasons and guide organisers to a possible solution, reducing as much as possible the Commission’s power of discretion as judge and party in the assessment of an initiative’s admissibility;
Amendment 66 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7a. Calls on the Commission to introduce the necessary reforms to stop certain groups of citizens, such as those who are blind or living abroad, from being prevented from exercising their right to support citizens’ initiatives, as such exclusion limits equality among citizens;
Amendment 72 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Deems it too complicated for organisers to provide different personal data in support of ECIs in the 28 Member States, as laid down in Regulation 211/2011 on the basis of the various national provisions, and suggests that consideration be given to establishing an EU digital citizenship, and also suggests providing an interim solution until this EU digital citizenship is established, with a view to resolving the current problems caused by multiple registration; calls on the Commission, therefore, to explore this issue in its digital agenda;
Amendment 76 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9a. Considers the possibility of recommending to the Member States that the age limit for participation be reduced from 18 years to 16;
Amendment 79 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 b (new)
Paragraph 9 b (new)
9b. Takes the view that participation in a citizens’ initiative should not be restricted only to nationals of a Member State but that it should also include permanent residents who have been living in a Member State for more than five years;
Amendment 93 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)
Paragraph 12 a (new)
12a. Calls on the Commission and Member States to consider incorporating an additional administrative channel into Regulation (EU) No 211/2011 for initiatives that have been rejected because they fall outside the Commission’s remit but which could be dealt with using other policy instruments, given their public interest, such as recommendations to the Member States, opinions, etc., with the aim of avoiding the failure of worthwhile citizens’ initiatives and thereby strengthening citizens’ democratic involvement;
Amendment 101 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)
Paragraph 13 a (new)
13a. Calls for action to be taken to enhance the viability of citizens’ initiatives that have not achieved the threshold of 1 million signatures but whose proposals have received support from a quarter of the Member States;
Amendment 109 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)
Paragraph 14 a (new)
14a. Calls on organisers and institutions, but above all on the Commission, to ensure that contacts between those involved are not limited to the stage prior to the presentation of initiatives, since there should also be more transparency in the stage after an initiative has been accepted;
Amendment 114 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Invites the Commission to explore the possibility of funding ECIs through the EU budget, via European programmes such as the Europe for Citizens programme and the Rights, Equality and Citizenship programme, given that equality between citizens must be guaranteed and there is a real need for financial support for the organisation of ECIs and that numerous amendments to the EU budget have been submitted to this end;
Amendment 117 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 a (new)
Paragraph 15 a (new)
15a. Calls for the institutions to show greater commitment to making Union citizens aware of European Citizens’ Initiatives;
Amendment 125 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Welcomes the Commission’s report of 1 April 2015 on the ECI and calls on it to ensure that, in its revision of this instrument, all the appropriate legal measures are implemented when an ECI is deemed to have been completed successfully; this should include the presentation of a legislative proposal in the event of a successful ECI, and a duly reasoned reply in the event that it is rejected;