Parliament received 1 357 petitions during the European election year, marking an 11% increase from 2018, according to annual report.

On Thursday, Parliament adopted the 2019 Petitions Committee (PETI) report on its deliberations with 619 votes in favour, 11 against and 59 abstentions.

During the plenary debate, the rapporteur Kosma Złotowski (ECR, PL) reminded the chamber that: “the Petitions Committee is the only place where the problems and challenges petitioners face in their everyday life can be discussed, and most importantly it is where they can personally speak during its meetings. It is a priceless asset that someone who feels like a victim in a given situation can come to the Parliament and debate”.

Information provided in petitions is also valuable for learning about cases of misapplication or breaches of Union law, and allows Parliament and other EU institutions to assess its transposition and impact on EU citizens and residents, and whenever possible find resolutions, stresses the text.

Environment, fundamental rights and justice

Most petitions submitted in 2019 were related to environmental issues (252), in particular waste management, protection, preservation and pollution; followed by fundamental rights (189), notably the rights of the child, voting rights and EU citizens’ rights, in particular in the context of Brexit; and justice (184). Similar to previous years, the committee received a high number of petitions related to health (97), transport (90), the internal market (89), employment (79) and education and culture (62).

While the Parliament saw an 11, 23% increase in submitted petitions compared to the previous year, nearly 30% were deemed inadmissible revealing a widespread misunderstanding of the EU’s field of activity. MEPs therefor highlight the need to continue to raise awareness among citizens about their right to petition, the powers of the EU and the competence of the Petitions Committee.

Brexit

Members draw attention to the large number of petitioners who have turned to the Parliament in 2019 in relation to Brexit, fearing their rights could be endangered in case of a no-deal scenario. These petitions have contributed in guaranteeing citizens’ rights remain one of Parliament’s top priorities during the negotiations process.

European Citizens’ Initiative

MEPs deem essential citizens get directly involved in EU law making and welcome the new rules for the European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI), aimed at making the tool more user friendly and accessible. Yet more needs to be done by the European Commission to make this instrument a “real success of European participatory democracy” in the eyes of citizens. They therefor urge the Commission to put forward a legislative proposal for any successful ECI supported by Parliament.

Relations with the Commission and the EU Ombudsman

The report highlights the good cooperation with the European Commission and its commitment to handle petitions faster. However, MEPs reiterate their call to ensure transparency and access to documents, and a more active involvement in the committee and with national authorise when they fail to solve petitioners’ problems.

Throughout the year, European Ombudsman Emily O’Reilly, who was re-elected by Parliament in 2019, also regularly contributed to the committee’s work. As the committee responsible for maintaining relations with the EU watchdog, PETI played a key role in organising transparent and efficient public hearings for the candidates for the post in 2019, reminds the text.

Background

The right to petition the European Parliament on matters of the Union’s fields of activity is one of the fundamental rights of EU citizens (Art 277 TEU). It offers citizens an open, democratic and transparent mechanism to directly address their elected representatives. Each year, the Committee on Petitions gives a comprehensive overview its work, including statistics on received petitions and assessments of other parliamentary activities such as adoption of reports, organisation of hearings and relations with other EU institutions.

To find more information on petition statistics from 2019 by country, language, nationality and subject, click here.