Key Notes

Strengthening the citizens’ right of petition

Background

CITIZENSHIP OF THE UNION (ex part II of the Treaty establishing the European Community)

Article 17
1. Citizenship of the Union is hereby established. Every person holding the nationality of a Member State shall be a citizen of the Union. Citizenship of the Union shall complement and not replace national citizenship.
2. Citizens of the Union shall enjoy the rights conferred by this Treaty and shall be subject to the duties imposed thereby.

Article 194
Any citizen of the Union, and any natural or legal person residing or having its registered office in a Member State, shall have the right to address, individually or in association with other citizens or persons, a petition to the European Parliament on a matter which comes within the Community's fields of activity and which affects him, her or it directly.

Article 195
1. The European Parliament shall appoint an Ombudsman empowered to receive complaints from any citizen of the Union or any natural or legal person residing or having its registered office in a Member State concerning instances of European maladministration in the activities of the Community institutions or bodies, with the exception of the Court of Justice and the Court of First Instance acting in their judicial role.


I. What does the European Union do ?

The Committee on Petitions in the European Parliament was created already in 1985. The "legal" right however to petition the Parliament, came into existence by the Maastricht Treaty, when the European Citizenship was established. Later on, the right of petition for European citizens was adopted over in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (Art. 44) and in the Draft Charter of the European Convention (Art. II-44 and Art. III-236).

European citizens are also entitled to submit complaints to the European Commission (in its capacity of the Guardian of the Treaties), and even directly to the European Court of Justice, albeit under a number of restrictions. Although the right on petition is, since many years, clearly and loudly formulated in the Treaties, the citizens themselves remain rather uninformed and even confused on their right to petition European institutions and bodies.


II. What has the EPP-ED Group achieved ?

The lack of transparency of the Commission’s staff recruitment was lifted:
As a result of the common action, taken by the European Ombudsman and the Petitions Committee, the Commission accepted to draft common and clear guidelines for the recruitment of staff, valid for all bodies and institutions of the European Union.

The Council Directive on the implant of breast silicones was amended:
Commissioner Liikanen agreed with the Petititions Committee that the Council Directive on liability of the producers of silicone breast implants should be modified in favour of free of charge information by independent experts, health warnings on any advertising, a compulsory breast implant register to be kept by the Member States and no insertion of silicones into patients under 18 years of age.

The Petitions Committee’s call for a Code of Good Administrative Behavior was adopted:
Such a Code would apply to the administrations – and their officials – of all the Union’s institutions, bodies and agencies. The legal base of the Code is intended to be a Regulation, to be codified into primary Community law.

The European Council sustained openness and transparency on its agenda’s and meeting documents:
Following the Ombudsman’s recommendation on the issue, the Council announced before the Petitions Committee that all Council, Coreper and Working Party agenda’s would become available, including all document references.

The Commission was called to investigate thoroughly the practices of Lloyd’s of London regarding European legislation on non-life insurances:
Many Name holders of Lloyd’s, who went bankrupt after the Equitas operation by Lloyd’s, are seeking their rights by complaining their losses due to the late transposition and lack of application of the EC non life Insurance Directive 73/239/EEC.
The Committee on Petitions calls upon access to all documents concerned, held by the Commission – including the period prior to 1 December 2001. Case might be forwarded to the European Court of Justice.


III. Our goals for the next legislative period

The establishment of an inter-institutional agreement on the treatment of petitions
European citizens remain confused on how and to whom to submit petitions and complaints to European institutions. The Commission, the Parliament, and the Ombudsman have their own rules and procedures of dealing with complaints, whereas there is no inter-institutional instance, procedure or code on the treatment of petitions and complaints within the European Union.


Leo COX, Advisor