The European Parliament adopted by 641 votes to 13, with 15 abstentions, a resolution on the deliberations of the Committee on Petitions during the year 2008.

The resolution recalls that in 2008 the Committee on Petitions received 1 886 petitions, of which 1 065 were declared admissible and 821 were declared inadmissible.

MEPs welcome the involvement and contribution of petitioners at each meeting of the Committee on Petitions, which allows for a direct and open dialogue with European Parliament representatives . They encourage individual EU citizens and community associations to come forward with issues which concern the area of activity of the European Union and which affect them directly. The Commission is called upon to ensure that greater recognition is given to, and greater emphasis placed on, the petitions process.

The resolution urges national and regional parliaments, as representatives of EU citizens, to remain vigilant in relation to the way in which Member States apply the Treaties and EU legislative acts, notably as regards issues related to the environment, social and employment rights, the free movement of persons, goods and services, financial services, citizens' fundamental rights including their right to legitimately acquired property, recognition of their professional qualifications and all forms of discrimination.

The Parliament stresses that it cannot regard as admissible petitions which seek to appeal against decisions of competent authorities or judicial bodies of Member States and that information to that effect must be communicated in a clear and understandable way to the petitioners. It also notes that many petitions received by Parliament from individuals and associations largely concern matters which do not constitute an infringement of Community law and which should therefore be resolved by exhausting all legal avenues of redress existing in the Member States concerned.

MEPs call on the Commission, all Member States and their national, regional and local institutions, together with their Permanent Representatives, to cooperate fully with the responsible committee of the European Parliament when investigating allegations or proposals contained in petitions, on a loyal and constructive basis, with a view to finding solutions to issues raised through the petitions process. They request that a new interinstitutional agreement incorporating reinforced powers for committees of inquiry be negotiated in order to further strengthen the rights of EU citizens.

The Parliament is concerned by the large number of petitions received seeking voting rights for resident ‘non’-citizens of Latvia in local elections. It urges the European Commission to closely monitor and encourage the regularisation of the status of "non"-citizens in Latvia, many of whom were born in Latvia. It also calls: (i) for the implementation by all parties of UN Security Council Resolution 550 (1984) on the Cyprus issue , which would lead to the full restoration of property to its legitimate owners in Varosha; (ii) the Romanian authorities to adopt measures to conserve and safeguard Romania's cultural and architectural heritage ; (iii) the French authorities to prepare an epidemiological assessment to determine the impact on the area close to Fos-Berre, in the immediate vicinity of the incinerator plant under construction at Fos-sur-Mer .

The Commission is also called upon, inter alia, to: (i) ensure that the Habitats and Birds Directives are applied by the Member States in a manner which is consistent with the objective of ending biodiversity loss in the EU by 2010; (ii) step up its monitoring of the implementation of Directive 2006/114/EC concerning misleading and comparative advertising with regard to misleading business-directory companies.

MEPs welcome the constructive cooperation between the Ombudsman and the EU. They endorse the Ombudsman's repeated calls for the adoption of a Code of Good Administrative Behaviour , common to all EU institutions and bodies. Moreover, they believe that the Ombudsman, the Commission and Parliament should develop a common EU portal for the treatment of complaints addressed to the EU institutions.

The resolution recalls the recommendations contained in the 2007 Annual Report of the Committee on Petitions with a view to reviewing the administrative procedures for the treatment of petitions, such as, for instance, the transfer of the registration of petitions to the Petitions Committee secretariat, close cooperation with SOLVIT , further enhancement of the petitions database, the development of an EU portal for European citizens, etc. It welcomes the drafting by Members of a Code of Good Practice for the treatment of petitions, which would come into force at the beginning of the next parliamentary term.

Lastly, MEPs note that the " one-seat petition " signed by 1 500 000 people, which seeks to have the European Parliament meet in one location, has not yet been fully addressed. They recommend that the Committee on Petitions deal with this matter as a priority during the next parliamentary term.

The Committee on Petitions adopted an own-initiative report drawn up by Mairead McGUINNESS (EPP-ED, IE) on the deliberations of the Committee on Petitions during the year 2008.

MEPs welcome the involvement and contribution of petitioners at each meeting of the Committee on Petitions, which allows for a direct and open dialogue with European Parliament representatives. They encourage individual EU citizens and community associations to come forward with issues which concern the area of activity of the European Union and which affect them directly. The Commission is called upon to ensure that greater recognition is given to, and greater emphasis placed on, the petitions process.

The report urges national and regional parliaments , as representatives of EU citizens, to remain vigilant in relation to the way in which Member States apply the Treaties and EU legislative acts, notably as regards issues related to the environment, social and employment rights, the free movement of persons, goods and services, financial services, citizens' fundamental rights including their right to legitimately acquired property, recognition of their professional qualifications and all forms of discrimination.

MEPs call on the Commission, all Member States and their national, regional and local institutions, together with their Permanent Representatives, to cooperate fully with the responsible committee of the European Parliament when investigating allegations or proposals contained in petitions, on a loyal and constructive basis, with a view to finding solutions to issues raised through the petitions process. They request that a new interinstitutional agreement incorporating reinforced powers for committees of inquiry be negotiated in order to further strengthen the rights of EU citizens.

The committee is concerned by the large number of petitions received seeking voting rights for resident ‘non’-citizens of Latvia in local elections. It calls on: the Romanian authorities to adopt measures to conserve and safeguard Romania's cultural and architectural heritage; the French authorities to prepare an epidemiological assessment to determine the impact on the area close to Fos-Berre, in the immediate vicinity of the incinerator plant under construction at Fos-sur-Mer.

The Commission is also called upon, inter alia, to: ensure that the Habitats and Birds Directives are applied by the Member States in a manner which is consistent with the objective of ending biodiversity loss in the EU by 2010; step up its monitoring of the implementation of Directive 2006/114/EC concerning misleading and comparative advertising with regard to misleading business-directory companies.

MEPs welcome the constructive cooperation between the Ombudsman and the EU. They endorse the Ombudsman's repeated calls for the adoption of a Code of Good Administrative Behaviour , common to all EU institutions and bodies. Moreover, they believe that the Ombudsman, the Commission and Parliament should develop a common EU portal for the treatment of complaints addressed to the EU institutions.

The report recalls the recommendations contained in the 2007 Annual Report of the Committee on Petitions with a view to reviewing the administrative procedures for the treatment of petitions, such as, for instance, the transfer of the registration of petitions to the Petitions Committee secretariat, close cooperation with SOLVIT, further enhancement of the petitions database, the development of an EU portal for European citizens, etc. It welcomes the drafting by Members of a Code of Good Practice for the treatment of petitions, which would come into force at the beginning of the next parliamentary term.

Lastly, MEPs note that the "one-seat petition" signed by 1 500 000 people, which seeks to have the European Parliament meet in one location, has not yet been fully addressed. They recommend that the Committee on Petitions deal with this matter as a priority during the next parliamentary term.