Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-03-08-Speech-2-329"
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"en.20050308.26.2-329"2
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".
Mr President, I wish to begin by thanking Mr Wieland for his analysis in this useful report on the deliberations of the Committee on Petitions in the 2003-2004 parliamentary year. The Commission welcomes this report.
This debate represents a good opportunity to highlight why the right to petition the European Parliament is such an important way for Europeans to exercise their democratic rights. It must be said straight away that citizens’ exercise of the right to petition does not just concern the European Parliament. The petitions also represent a valuable opportunity for the Commission to get closer to citizens and their concerns.
Although no less than 1 313 petitions were tabled in the 2003-2004 period, it is clear that many citizens remain unaware of their right to petition. Therefore I very much welcome the fact that the European Parliament is currently considering how this can be remedied and I can assure the Committee on Petitions and the rapporteur that they enjoy the total support of the Commission in that effort.
On that note, the Commission would like to congratulate the committee on its excellent work. It is also very satisfactory to note the rapporteur’s assessment that cooperation between the Commission and the Committee on Petitions is generally good.
There is, of course, always scope for improvement, and I agree with the rapporteur on the need to further strengthen the partnership between the Committee on Petitions and the European Ombudsman, the Council and the Commission. I know this is particularly important since, due to resource constraints, the Committee on Petitions often has to rely on the resources of the Commission and the Council to give its petitions in-depth legal consideration. I can assure Parliament that the Commission is pursuing its efforts to rationalise and accelerate internal procedures in response to requests for information.
As underlined in the report, the draft Constitutional Treaty confirms the right to petition. In that context, the report refers to the need to establish common rules of conduct for all Community institutions and Member States. It also suggests that this could be done along the lines of the Code of Good Administrative Behaviour drawn up by the European Ombudsman.
The Commission can largely endorse this approach, although it draws attention to the anticipated development of the legal framework. In particular, the text of the future Constitution introduces a legal basis that will make requests to the Committee on Petitions possible on the basis of the codecision procedure.
The report also calls on the Council and the Commission to review the 1989 interinstitutional agreement concluded with the European Parliament by an exchange of letters. Such a review would aim to define a stronger framework for cooperation between the three institutions. The Commission is open to that request.
To conclude, I should reiterate that I am committed to improving the way the European Union in general and the Commission in particular communicate with European citizens. The right of EU citizens to good administration and access to documents and their right to submit complaints to the European Ombudsman and file petitions with the European Parliament all benefit communication and, ultimately, democracy. I am available to talk to the European Parliament at any time, at the invitation of Parliament or any of its committees."@en1
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