Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2001-09-06-Speech-4-040"
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"en.20010906.3.4-040"2
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".
Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, the subject of this debate is the same as for the previous one, namely relations between the European institutions and the citizens.
I should like to congratulate Mr Camisón Asensio on his report. In it he emphasises how petitions allow the citizens to make their legitimate aspirations known and also draw attention to the inherent weaknesses of Community legislation. The Commission is interested in your work on both these counts, ladies and gentlemen. As an outside observer, allow me to reiterate what I said earlier to Mrs González. I believe that the Committee on Petitions in this House does serve to bring the citizens closer to the institutions in general. The same is true of similar committees in other Parliaments I am acquainted with, for instance in my own country’s parliament, with which I am most familiar. They play a key part precisely in bringing the citizens closer to the institutions in general. They are also invaluable to the work of Members themselves, making them aware of issues a significant number of citizens feel are sensitive and worthy of concern.
This last year, not only have the Commission’s services cooperated with this Committee, but we Commissioners have also made it our business to cooperate actively with you, ladies and gentlemen. I would therefore like to thank Mr Gemelli for his remark. It is certainly the case that Mr Kinnock, Mr Liikanen, Mrs Wallström and Mr Bolkestein have contributed to your work. They have come in person to discuss and explain issues. They have tried to adduce reasons, possibilities or solutions to concerns expressed by the Committee on Petitions further to requests or complaints by citizens. This proves how much we in the Commission value your work, ladies and gentlemen.
In this connection I should like to reiterate what I said earlier. The Commission will respond in as open and constructive a manner as possible to your desire for strengthened cooperation. I appreciate that the time it sometimes takes for us to respond to a query is a problem. Nonetheless, I am sure the House is aware that on most if not all occasions when problems were experienced they arose because the Commission was dependent on a Member State for information.
We have to deal with different administrations. The only way we can obtain certain types of information from Member States is by exerting political pressure. There are no other means at our disposal. The Commission brings pressure to bear in the same way as you do, ladies and gentlemen. We publicise the fact that the Member State in question has failed to respond to a query or is hindering a response by the Commission. I can only promise that the Commission will continue to urge Member States to act on queries as quickly as possible, supplying the information requested. We will then be able to respond appropriately to the concerns raised by you. In that sense we shall endeavour to continue cooperating fully with the House."@en1
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