Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2001-09-06-Speech-4-037"
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"en.20010906.3.4-037"2
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"Mr President, I should begin by saying how much I appreciate the work undertaken by the Committee on Petitions. I am aware that it is not one of the most influential committees in the House, and that not everyone appreciates it fully. Nonetheless, the work of this Committee does represent one of the few channels allowing us to establish direct contact with the citizens and bring the institutions closer to them.
I entirely agree with Mr Camisón Asensio’s report. I believe it reflects the concerns of those of us who are most closely involved with the Committee’s work. We shall therefore vote in favour of it. I should however like to highlight some of the everyday practical problems we encounter…
I do apologise, Mr Marinos. I was saying that we work well in the Committee on Petitions and that our work is very important.
I was hoping to highlight some of the everyday problems we encounter. Firstly, we enjoy a good relationship with the European Commission. The European Commission and the Ombudsman work closely with the Committee on Petitions. The opposite is true as far as the Council is concerned. We do not cooperate with it at all, yet the Council could have something to say on a good many petitions and we very much regret it is always absent. That is our first problem.
The second problem I would like to mention concerns swift and decisive action on petitions. I am very involved in the Committee on Petitions’ work on environmental issues. That is quite logical, as I also sit on the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Consumer Policy. It is often the case with environmental problems that if it takes a long time for a response to be received, the decisions taken in a particular country prompting the petition have had an irreversible impact on the natural environment by then. The petitioners lose patience. That therefore is another problem. Responses need to be swifter and more efficient. I am well aware that Member States are conscious of the fact that delaying responses can facilitate their political decisions. That is sometimes the case. It is not entirely the Commission’s fault. The Member States take a long time to respond.
As I said earlier, the Committee on Petitions is very important to me. It is however lacking in human, legal – and here I am addressing our own institution of course – and technical resources, and it does need them.
One of Mr Camisón Asensio’s proposals seems to me to be entirely appropriate. It would mean that in cases of lengthy delay in responding to the citizens, the President of Parliament would be requested to publicise the delay and its negative consequences for the petitioners. After all, the latter have enough to do familiarising themselves with Community legislation and assembling the documentation.
In conclusion, I do believe that work needs to be done to educate and inform citizens of their right to petition, because this is one of their rights. I recall that in the previous legislature it was even proposed to do away with the Committee on Petitions and the Committee on Women’s Rights and Equal Opportunities. For myself, I wish both Committees a great future in this House as they do at least bring the citizens closer to our work."@en1
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"(Interruption by Mr Marinos)"1
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