Activities of Ádám KÓSA related to 2019/2132(INI)
Shadow opinions (1)
OPINION on monitoring the application of European Union law 2017, 2018 and 2019
Amendments (8)
Amendment 4 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Recalls that ensuring the effective, equal and uniform application of EU law is crucial for upholding the rule of law, which is one of the founding values of the Union and its Member States, as set out in Article 2 of the Treaty on European Union; is, therefore, worried about the increasing number of petitions expressing citizens’ concerns over alleged violations of the rule of law in the Member States, including regarding disputed reforms of national judiciaries; stresses that non-compliance with the rule of law, including by sub- national entities, has a direct impact on citizens’ lives, as demonstrated in petitions received and by the outcome of Special Eurobarometer 489; calls on the Commission to respect the commitments made in its 2019 communication entitled ‘Strengthening the rule of law within the Union: A blueprint for action’ (COM(2019)0343), in order to promote a culture of respect for the rule of law, reinforce cooperation with national authorities and ensure an effective common response to actual threats within the Union;
Amendment 20 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Welcomes the Commission’s commitment, as clearly set out in its 2017 annual report on monitoring the application of EU law (COM(2018)0540), to placing great value on the contributions of citizens, businesses and other stakeholders in detecting alleged breaches of EU law; notes, in this regard, the Commission’s efforts to illustrate the impact of petitions on its enforcement action in a number of policy areas such as the environment, migration, taxation and the internal market; deplores, however, the lack of figures on the number of petitions handled by the Commission and the number; deplores, however, that the Commission did not publish the number of petitions that lead to the initiation of EU Pilots and infringement procedures;
Amendment 29 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Welcomes, in this regard, the increased transparency and the disclosure of more information in the 2018 report about the number of petitions dealt with by the Commission and about its follow-up actions; notes, however, that in the large majority of cases the Commission did not open an investigation and did not take any further action; is particularly concerned due to the fact that no breach of EU law has been detected; notes, in this respect, about the practice of referring a significant number of petitioners to other bodies at national, regional or local level in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity; acknowledges that this practice reflects the Commission’s new enforcement policy announced in its 2016 communication entitled ‘EU Law: Better Results through Better Application’ (C(2016)8600), which aims to direct citizens to the national level when complaints or petitions do not raise issues of wider principle or systematic failure to comply with EU law and can satisfactorily be dealt with by other mechanisms;
Amendment 31 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Reiterates its concern that this approach may cause citizens to believe that their voice goes unheard by the EU institutions and may ultimately deprive them of legal protection should a remedy at EU level prove more effective due to the national circumstances or the nature of the interests involved; calls on the Commission to clarify how it intends to address the gap between citizens’ expectations and reality regarding the possibility of obtaining a remedy at EU level, and to explain how its approach fits with its role as a guardian of the Treaties and its oversight responsibilities under Article 17(1) of the TEU;
Amendment 37 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Amendment 41 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Notes that the number of new complaints registered by the Commission in 2018 and 2017 reached its highest level since 2011, with a record 3 850 new complaints in 2018; welcomes citizens’ increasing empowerment as regards the process of monitoring and enforcing EU law, as evidenced by the significant flow of complaints and petitions; points out, however, that, as is the case for petitions, the number of complaints leading to investigations remained very low in 2018 and in 2017 as a proportion of the total number of complaints received; asks the Commission to clarify how it intends to address the gap in citizens’ expectations regarding the possibility of obtaining a remedy at EU level;
Amendment 44 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8a. Encourages the European Commission to work on new mechanisms to reduce the time of response when processing a complaint.
Amendment 47 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Recalls, in this regard, that both the European Court of Auditors’ 2018 Landscape Review entitled ‘Putting EU law into practice: The European Commission’s oversight responsibilities under Article 17(1) of the Treaty on European Union’ and the 2017 decision of the European Ombudsman setting out suggestions following her strategic inquiry OI/5/2016/AB on timeliness and transparency in the European Commission’s handling of infringement complaints invite the Commission to ensure that pre-infringement cases are dealt with in a more timely and, transparent wayand equitable way, taking into account the principle of subsidiarity and equal treatment.