2012/2024(INI) | [ParlTrack]

Draft opinion
Paragraph 2

2. Considers that, with the development of the competences of the European Union, citizens are increasingly directly confronted with the Union's administration, without always having the corresponding procedural rights which they could enforce against it in cases where such actions may prove necessary;

Amendment 10 #

Margrete AUKEN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7

7. Considers that the introduction of the service principle – that is, that the administration seeks to guide and help citizens, acts with appropriate courtesy and avoids unnecessarily cumbersome procedures thus saving the time and effort of both citizens and officials – would benefit both citizens and the administration in terms of improved service and increased efficiency;

Amendment 11 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 8

8. ~~Calls on the Commission~~Stresses the urgent need to introduce ~~an appropriat~~more extensive administrative ~~provis~~regulation s for the procedure applicable under current Regulation No 1049/2001 on public access to documents held by the EU institutions adopted on the basis of Article 15 TFEU~~; similarly,~~, with particular regard to codifying the relevant case law of the European Court of Justice and extending the scope of the Regulation to the whole of the EU’s administration; similarly, more effective provisions ought to exist concerning the procedure applicable to the processing of personal data – particularly regarding implementation of the citizens’ rights guaranteed therein – under current Regulation No 45/2001, laying down rules relating to the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data adopted on the basis of Article 16 TFEU; acknowledges, however, that the regulations mentioned led to the codification of two areas of general EU administrative law which has already enabled relatively clear administrative procedures to be introduced, and that the further development of these should build on what has been achieved.

Amendment 12 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 9

9. Considers that generally applicable rules are necessary in order to guarantee the procedural rights – such as the right to be informed and the right to be heard – of natural or legal persons when a decision is taken on a matter in which they can be considered a party and which implies legal effects on the person or entity concerned, and regarding the right to access one’s own files;

Amendment 13 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 10

10. Calls on the Commission to introduce a specific administrative provision for the infringement procedure based on Article 258 TFUE, in order to prevent any possibility of abuse of power and arbitrary decisions; ~~asks for~~considers that such a provision should regulate the whole relationship between the Commission and a citizen or an undertaking who/which submits a complaint which may lead to an infringement procedure, thereby strengthening primarily the position of the individual complainant; regards it as particularly advisable that the Committee on Petitions to be provided with clear information on the stages reached in infringement procedures covered by an open petition in order to ensure parliamentary scrutiny of the fundamental right to petition the European Parliament;

Amendment 14 #

Margrete AUKEN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 10

10. Calls on the Commission to introduce a specific administrative provisions for ~~the~~ infringement proce~~dure~~edings based on Article 258 TFUE, in order to prevent any possibility of abuse of power and arbitrary decisions; asks for the Committee on Petitions to be provided with clear information on the stages reached in infringement procedures covered by an open petition in order to ensure parliamentary scrutiny of the fundamental right to petition the European Parliament;

Amendment 15 #

Jarosław WAŁĘSA

Draft opinion
Paragraph 11

11. Notes that the Staff Regulations lay down general rules on conflicts of interest as regards when an official must inform his/her superiors, etc., but these would need to be complemented with rules governing the consequences, such as the possible revocation of decisions taken in violation of the rules on conflicts of interests, as well as the establishment of a deadline for enforcement of all decisions, in order to ensure the predictability of administrative processes;

Amendment 16 #

Jarosław WAŁĘSA

Draft opinion
Paragraph 12

12. Considers that EU citizens should expect a high level of transparency from the Commission, regardless of whether they are making a formal complaint or exercising their right of petition under the Treaty, together with information as to the possibility of their taking any further action in the matter.

Amendment 17 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 12

12. Considers that EU citizens should expect a high level of transparency, efficiency and swift execution from the Commission, regardless of whether they are making a formal complaint or exercising their right of petition under the Treaty.

Amendment 18 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 12

12. Considers that EU citizens should expect a high level of transparency and responsiveness from the Commission, regardless of whether they are making a formal complaint or exercising their right of petition under the Treaty.

Amendment 19 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 12 a (new)

12a. Calls on the Commission to engage in sufficient consultation with all relevant actors when drawing up a regulation on the introduction of general EU administrative procedures and in particular to make use of the special knowledge and expertise of the European Ombudsman, since it is to him that public complaints about abuses in the bodies and institutions of the EU are made;

Amendment 2 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Points out that, after the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon, the right to good administration is a fundamental right of citizens and ‘soft law’ administrative procedures, which can be modified unilaterally by the institution concerned, ~~can~~is not always sufficiently to protect the individual's right to good administration;

Amendment 20 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 12 b (new)

12b. Considers that the Commission should also investigate the use of a further extension of IT-based services under the regulation; recalls in this regard systems such as EU Pilot, which are already successfully proving that not only is the potential of IT-supported administrative procedures not limited to new online information systems but can also encompass interactive ‘settlement systems’ between administrative authorities and also between the authorities and citizens;

Amendment 21 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 12 c (new)

12c. Calls on the Commission when drawing up a general administrative act to increase public awareness of the right of EU citizens to good administration, including through its relevant information services and networks (such as Europe Direct); stresses that such information initiatives should also take into account the appeal procedures in the event of a presumed violation of the right to good administration and, in particular, the specific limits of these procedures, as laid down, for example, in Article 228 TFEU on the European Ombudsman; is convinced that constructive public pressure will result from increased knowledge and awareness of citizens concerning this right and the associated complaints procedures, and this may be conducive to the formation of an open, efficient and independent administration in everyday affairs.

Amendment 3 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3

3. Points out that, after the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon, the right to good administration is a fundamental right of citizens and ‘soft law’ administrative procedures, which can be modified unilaterally by the institution concerned, cannot sufficiently protect the individual’s right to good administration; however, they will retain their importance for an overall culture of good administration as an addition to ‘hard law’ provisions;

Amendment 4 #

Margrete AUKEN

Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3a. Recalls that, previously, the first European Ombudsman proposed the adoption of a binding code on good administrative behaviour and that the European Parliament supported that proposal and called on the Commission to present a proposal, based on the code, for a general regulation on administrative procedures, but that the Commission agreed only to the adoption of non- binding guidelines;

Amendment 5 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 4

4. Calls on the Commission to envisage a regulation, based on Article 298 TFEU, that provides for minimum standards of ~~minimum~~ quality and procedural guarantees which would be horizontally applicable to all European Union administration; this general law should be limited to direct EU administration, in accordance with Article 298 TFEU;

Amendment 6 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 5

5. Calls on the Commission to guarantee the right to good administration by an open, efficient and independent European administration, with the right to good administration, as defined by Article 41 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights and subject to the general restrictions of Article 51, being understood as everyone’s right to have his or her affairs handled impartially, fairly and within a reasonable time;

Amendment 7 #

Andreas MÖLZER

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6

6. Notes that the general principles of the future European administrative regulation cshould include the principle of equality and the principles of impartiality and independence, while ~~provision ought to be made~~there should be provisions to guarantee fairness and legitimate expectations, lawfulness and legal certainty and the principles of proportionality and openness;

Amendment 8 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 6

6. Notes that the general principles of the future European administrative regulation cshould include the principle of equality and the principles of impartiality and independence, while ~~provision ought to be made to~~ guaranteeing fairness ~~and legitimate expectations~~, lawfulness and legal certainty and the principles of proportionality and openness;

Amendment 9 #

Draft opinion
Paragraph 7

7. Considers that the introduction of the service principle – that is, that the administration seeks to guide ~~and help~~, help, serve and support citizens and therefore avoids unnecessarily cumbersome and lengthy procedures, thus saving the time and effort of both citizens and officials – would help to meet the legitimate expectations of citizens and benefit both citizens and the administration in terms of improved service and increased efficiency;

source: PE-488.048

2012/09/19 JURI 34 amendments...

Amendment 1 #

Luigi BERLINGUER

Proposal for a recommendation
Citation 13 a (new)

- having regard to the 'Public service principles for the EU civil service' published by the European Ombudsman on 19 June 2012;

Amendment 1 #

Draft opinion
Section 1 – Recital A

A. whereas a pressing problem of the European Union today is th~~at the citizens question its legitimacy~~e lack of confidence from citizens which can affect its legitimacy; whereas the EU needs to address swift, clear and visible answers to the citizens in order to respond to their worries;

Amendment 10 #

Draft opinion
Section 1 – Recital D a (new)

Da. whereas an independent EU Administration could be an effective response in reducing the current perception of the lack of activity of the European Union;

Amendment 11 #

Draft opinion
Section 1 – Recital D b (new)

Db. whereas a Regulation on European Administrative law could aim towards a future convergence of the National rules on administrative law, as far as the general principles concerning citizens are concerned, and could help strengthening the process of integration in this field;

Amendment 12 #

Draft opinion
Section 1 – Recital D c (new)

Dc. whereas, taking into account the recommendations of the Group of States against corruption (GRECO) of the Council of Europe, a clear and binding set of rules for the EU administration would be a positive signal in the fight against corruption in public administrations;

Amendment 13 #

Draft opinion
Section 1 – Recital D d (new)

Dd. whereas a Regulation could foster the cooperation and the exchange of best practices between National administrations and the EU administration, in order to fulfil the objectives set up by article 298 TFEU;

Amendment 14 #

Draft opinion
Section 1 – paragraph 1

1. Requests the Commission to submit, on the basis of Article 298 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, a proposal for a regulation including the basic principles of sound administration and laying down minimum quality standards and procedural guarantees to be respected by all institutions, bodies, offices and agencies of the Union;

Amendment 15 #

Morten MESSERSCHMIDT

Draft opinion
Section 2 – paragraph 2

2. The Regulation should establish a guarantee and lay down more detailed procedural rules in order to ensure respect of the fundamental principles of separation of powers, good administration, namely lawfulness and legal certainty, proportionality, impartiality and fairness, legitimate expectations and equality;

Amendment 16 #

Draft opinion
Section 2 – paragraph 2

2. The Regulation should establish a guarantee and lay down more detailed procedural rules in order to ensure respect of the fundamental principles of good administration, namely lawfulness and legal certainty, proportionality, independence, impartiality and fairness, legitimate expectations and equality;

Amendment 17 #

Draft opinion
Section 2 – paragraph 2

2. The Regulation should establish a guarantee and lay down more detailed procedural rules in order to ensure respect of the fundamental principles of good administration, namely the principles of lawfulness ~~and~~, legal certainty, proportionality, impartiality and fairness, legitimate expectations and equality;

Amendment 18 #

Draft opinion
Section 2 – paragraph 2 a (new)

2a. The Regulation should act as a framework legislation providing the EU administration with a universal set of principles and should lay down a procedure applicable as a de minimis rule where no lex specialis exists;

Amendment 19 #

Draft opinion
Section 2 – paragraph 2 a (new)

2a. Given that the duty of the administration to act in the public interest for it is legally responsible is a basic tenet of administrative activity, this principle should be incorporated as a specific and separate provision in the regulation to be adopted;

Amendment 2 #

Luigi BERLINGUER

Proposal for a recommendation
Recital J a(new)

Ja. whereas a European Law of Administrative Procedure would help the Union´s Administration in using its power of internal organisation to facilitate and promote the highest standards of administration;

Amendment 2 #

Draft opinion
Section 1 – Recital A a (new)

Aa. whereas the Lisbon Treaty provides for the drafting of a Regulation on European Administration, on the basis of article 298 TFEU, which still needs to be implemented;

Amendment 20 #

Draft opinion
Section 2 – paragraph 2 b (new)

2b. Given that good faith is now similarly recognised as a basic legal principle and must be regarded as indispensable in creating a climate of confidence and predictability in relations between individuals and the administration, it should accordingly be included as a separate entry in the list of general principles which should govern administrative activity;

Amendment 21 #

Draft opinion
Section 2 – paragraph 2 c (new)

2c. The principle of acting in the public interest and the principle of good faith should therefore be included among the general principles of good administration;

Amendment 22 #

Draft opinion
Section 2 – paragraph 3

3. The administration of the European Union should be guided by the service principle which means that the administration should act in the spirit of service to citizens, for example by providing citizens with the advice they need and responding to their questions, stating in writing reasons for the decisions adopted and ~~giving an indication~~informing them of the remedies available to ~~all persons concerned~~them;

Amendment 23 #

Draft opinion
Section 2 – paragraph 5

5. The procedural rules must guarantee, in accordance with point (a) of Article 41(2) of the Charter of Fundamental Rights, that the person concerned will be heard before any individual measure that would affect hims or her ~~adversely~~rights or interests, is taken;

Amendment 24 #

Marietta GIANNAKOU

Draft opinion
Section 2 – paragraph 6

6. The citizens’ right to information should be implemented by means of a rule obliging the institutions, bodies, offices and agencies to provide citizens promptly with any information that they may need in order to defend their rights and further, by affording them the access to documents provided for by Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2001 regarding public access to European Parliament, Council and Commission documents, together with the right to access their own file; the institutions, bodies, offices and agencies should be under an obligation to keep a register of their documents;·

Amendment 25 #

Draft opinion
Section 2 – paragraph 7 a (new)

7a. The regulation must include provisions guaranteeing adequate protection for third parties holding legally protected rights or interests which might be affected by the decision to be adopted under the administrative procedure;

Amendment 26 #

Draft opinion
Section 2 – paragraph 7 b (new)

7b. In order to encourage the extrajudicial resolution of disputes, procedures should be laid down for administrative appeal against decisions adopted by Union institutions, bodies, services and agencies;

Amendment 3 #

Eva LICHTENBERGER

Proposal for a recommendation
Annex – Recommendation 3 – indent 4 – paragraph 2

The Union's administration shall always act in the Union's interest and for the public good. No action shall be guided by any personal (included financial), family or national interest or by political pressure. The Union's administration shall guarantee a fair balance between different types of citizens' interests (business, consumers and other) when processing experts analyses and consulting interested parties in expert groups and other advisory bodies.

Amendment 3 #

Morten MESSERSCHMIDT

Draft opinion
Section 1 – Recital B

B. whereas all the actions of the Union must comply with the principles of the rule of law and the separation of powers;

Amendment 4 #

Eva LICHTENBERGER

Proposal for a recommendation
Annex – Recommendation 3 – indent 7 - paragraph 1

Principle of transparency: the Union's administration shall document the administrative procedures and keep adequate records of incoming and outgoing mail, documents received and the decisions and measures taken. All contributions from advisory bodies and interested parties should be made available in the public domain.

Amendment 4 #

Draft opinion
Section 1 – Recital C

C. whereas Article 41 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, which recognises the right to good administration as a fundamental right of the citizens, became legally binding under Article 6(1) of the Treaty on European Union;

Amendment 5 #

Eva LICHTENBERGER

Proposal for a recommendation
Annex – Recommendation 3 – indent 7 - paragraph 2

Requests for access to documents shall be dealt with in accordance with ~~internal rules and with~~ the general principles and limits laid down in Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001.

Amendment 5 #

Draft opinion
Section 1 – Recital C

C. whereas Article 41 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union recognises the right to good administration as a fundamental right of the citizens, which is now legally binding as primary law;

Amendment 6 #

Luigi BERLINGUER

Proposal for a recommendation
Annex – Recommendation 3 – indent 7 – paragraph 1

Principle of transparency: the Union's administration shall be open. It shall document the administrative procedures and keep adequate records of incoming and outgoing mail, documents received and the decisions and measures taken.

Amendment 6 #

Morten MESSERSCHMIDT

Draft opinion
Section 1 – Recital C

C. whereas Article 41 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union recognises the right to good administration as a fundamental right ~~of the citizens~~;

Amendment 7 #

Dimitar STOYANOV

Proposal for a recommendation
Annex – Recommendation 4.3 – paragraph 2

Any conflict of interest shall be communicated by the member of staff concerned to his or her immediate superior, who mayust take the decision to exclude the member of staff concerned from the procedure~~, having regard to the particular circumstances of the case~~ when the grounds exist to do this. The assessment of whether grounds exist for a conflict of interest in respect of the administrative procedure of the Union shall be made on a case-by-case basis by the immediate superior of the member of staff concerned.

Amendment 7 #

Draft opinion
Section 1 – Recital C a (new)

Ca. whereas Article 298 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union provides a suitable legal basis for adoption of an EU Administrative Procedure Law;

Amendment 8 #

Dimitar STOYANOV

Proposal for a recommendation
Annex – Recommendation 4.8 – paragraph 2

They must contain an individual statement of reasons. If this is not possible due to the fact that a large number of persons are concerned by similar decisions, standard communications should be allowed. In that case, however, any citizen who expressly requests an individual statement of reasons should be provided with itAny Union administrative body contacted with regard to a given matter must provide an individual statement of reasons for its decision, regardless of whether or not the party concerned by the procedure has requested this.

Amendment 8 #

Anneli JÄÄTTEENMÄKI

Draft opinion
Section 1 – Recital D

D. whereas the Code of Good Administrative Behaviour prepared by the European Ombudsman and approved by Parliament on 6 September 20011 provides a good basis for the new Regulation, as does the set of ‘public service principles for the EU civil service’ published by the Ombudsman on 19 June 2012 and the Council of Europe’s Recommendation on good administration;

Amendment 9 #