What changed

MOTION FOR A EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RESOLUTION

P10_TA(2025)0228

on the deliberationsDeliberations of the Committee on Petitions in 2024

(2025/2114(INI))

Committee on Petitions

PE773.363

European Parliament resolution of 9 October 2025 on the deliberations of the Committee on Petitions in 2024 (2025/2114(INI))

The European Parliament,

B. whereas the purpose of the annual report on the deliberations of the Committee on Petitions is to present an analysis of the petitions received in 2024 and of relations with other institutions, as well as to present an accurate picture of the objectives achieved in 2024;

C. whereas in 2024, Parliament received 1 518 petitions, which represents an increase of 4.34,3 % compared to the 1 452 petitions it received in 2023 and of 19.819,8 % compared to the 1 217 petitions it received in 2022; whereas the total amount of petitions received continues to be sensibly lower than the peaks reached in 2013 and 2014, where the Parliament received 2 891 and 2 715 petitions respectively;

D. whereas in 2024, 15 661 users supported petitions on Parliament’s Petitions Web Portal – a significant decline compared to 26 331 in 2023 and 22 441 in 2022; whereas the number of support clicks also dropped to 17 745 in 2024, compared to 29 287 in 2023 and 27 927 in 2022;

F. whereas the criteria for the admissibility of petitions are laid down in Article 227 TFEU and Rule 232(1) of Parliament’s Rules of Procedure, which require that petitions must be submitted by an EU citizen or by a natural or legal person, either individually or in association with others, who is a resident of or has a registered office in a Member State, on matters which fall within the EU’s fields of activity and which affect the petitioners directly, with the latter condition having a very broad interpretation;

G. whereas of the 1 518 petitions submitted in 2024, 611 were declared inadmissible and 31 were withdrawn; whereas the high and rising percentage of inadmissible petitions in 2024 (40.25(40,25 %) confirms that there is still a widespread lack of understanding about the scope of the EU’s areas of responsibility; whereas in order to reduce the number of inadmissible petitions, efforts still need to be made to clarify further the scope of the EU’s fields of activity;

H. whereas the right to petition Parliament is a fundamental right of EU citizens, offering both citizens and residents an open, democratic and transparent mechanism to address their elected representatives directly; whereas many persons with disabilities lack equal access to information and communication due to the limited availability of accessible formats and due to the fact that national sign languages are not recognised as part of the EU’s multilingualism; whereas this essential tool empowers citizens to actively and effectively participate in the life of the Union; whereas through petitions, EU citizens can complain about failures to implement EU law and help detect breaches of EU law, in accordance with the sovereignty of the Member States and the application of the EU Treaties;

L. whereas the right to petition enhances Parliament’s responsiveness to complaints and concerns relating to respect for EU fundamental rights and compliance with Union law in the Member States; whereas petitions could be a useful source of information on instances of misapplication or breaches of EU law and enable Parliament and other institutions to assess the transposition and application of EU law and its impact on the rights of EU citizens and residents;

M. whereas each petition is considered and examined carefully, efficiently and transparently; whereas all petitioners have the right to receive a reply informing them about the decision on admissibility and follow-up actions taken by the committee within a reasonable period of time and in their own language or in the language used in the petition; whereas petition No 1056/2016 discussed on 19 March 2024 is requesting that Parliament allow for the tabling of petitions in national sign languages used in the EU;

N. whereas the Committee on Petitions attaches the utmost importance to the examination and public discussion of petitions at its meetings; whereas petitioners have the right to present their petitions and frequently take the floor in the discussion, thereby actively contributing to the work of the committee; whereas in 2024, the Committee on Petitions held eight committee meetings, in addition to its constitutive meeting, at which 106 petitions were discussed with 106 petitioners present and actively participating by taking the floor;

P. whereas when adopting its meeting agenda, the Committee on Petitions endeavours to discuss petitions and topics with a high degree of relevance for discussion at EU level and the need to maintain a balanced geographical coverage of topics according to the petitions received;

Q. whereas 82 % of the petitions submitted to Parliament in 2024 were made through Parliament’s Petitions Web Portal, a figure nearly identical to 2023’s 82.482,4 %, reaffirming the portal as by far the most widely used channel for citizens to submit petitions to Parliament;

R. whereas the revamped Petitions Web Portal automatically publishes information on the adoption of petitions and status changes, additional information (e.g. country, themes) and summaries in all 24 official EU languages; whereas in 2024, all petitions were again prepared and published in a timely manner, within a few days of their adoption, and all internal and external requests for support with the use and content of the Petitions Web Portal were replied to successfully in a timely manner and in any of the official EU languages;

15. Takes note that other subject matters were dealt with by the Committee on Petitions, such as the protection of children’s rights, including online safety, and the improvement of animal welfare; draws attention to petitions highlighting violations of passengers’ rights; notes, also, that numerous petitions raised concerns about data protection and, in particular, the enforcement of the General Data Protection Regulation; highlights also the number of petitions addressing the housing crisis across Member States; notes that the Committee on Petitions dealt with the responsibilities of fossil fuel companies in the cost of living crisis, with concerns relating to rail safety, and with the protection of workers’ rights; notes the consideration of petitions on culture and national heritage; recalls that the Committee on Petitions discussed several petitions on the cancellation of permanent residence permits of Russian citizens; notes that the Committee on Petitions received a substantial number of petitions on the rule of law in Member States, which were debated in committee; notes the petitions submitted on the conditions of reception of immigrants and asylum seekers in the Member States and notes the petitions reporting cases of discrimination; expects a due follow-up and updated information from the Commission on all these petitions;

16. Stresses the important contribution made by the Committee on Petitions to the protection of the rights of persons with disabilities, as revealed by its treatment of a number of petitions on this topic, including consideration of petition No 1056/2016 on the submission of petitions in national sign languages; acknowledges, in this context, the efforts of Parliament’s services and notes that not just the best technical, but the most accessible solution for deaf citizens must be found in order to communicate with them in their own mother tongue – in national sign languages; requests the modification of the Rules of Procedure in close cooperation with the Committee on Constitutional Affairs in order to eliminate the mandatory exclusively written communication with citizens who are sign language users, deaf or hard of hearing so that, upon their request, they can use sign language during the procedure; notes that the education of pupils with disabilities, denial of healthcare services for persons with disabilities and the accessibility of public spaces and services were of further concern to petitioners in 2024; recalls the annual workshop of 2 December 2024 on the rights of persons with disabilities held by the Committee on Petitions, focusing on the state of play of the strategy for the rights of persons with disabilities 2021-2030 and urges the swift integration of petition findings into the mid-term review of the strategy for the rights of persons with disabilities 2021-2030, with measurable targets and budgetary commitments;

17. Underlines the specific protection role played by the Committee on Petitions within the EU in the framework of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities; points to the committee’s important ongoing work in connection with petitions concerning issues related to disabilities; recalls that reference to petitions on the need for an EU-wide disability card has been included in Directive (EU) 2024/2841 establishing the European Disability Card and European Parking Card; underlines that petitions can significantly contribute to the legislative process;

22. Welcomes the adoption of Parliament’s resolution of 10 April 2024 on the handling of heavy goods vehicles at border crossing points based on Petition 0146/2023;

23. Underlines that the Petitions Web Portal is an essential tool for ensuring a smooth, efficient and transparent petitions process; welcomes the improvements made to the portal for the benefit of petitioners and stresses that efforts to make the portal more accessible must be continued, including making it more accessible for sign language users as requested in petition No 1056/2016 and for persons with disabilities; notes that the Petitions Web Portal is one of Parliament’s most visited websites, thus serving as a first point of contact with Parliament for many EU citizens;

24. Instructs its President to forward this resolution and the report of the Committee on Petitions to the Council, the Commission, the European Ombudsman, and the governments and parliaments of the Member States, their petitions committees and their national ombudsmen or similar competent bodies.

EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

Pursuant to Rule 233(7) of the Rules of Procedure of the European Parliament, the Committee on Petitions shall report annually on the outcome of its deliberations. The report aims to provide an overview of the work carried out by the committee in 2024 and includes a statistical analysis of the petitions received and processed as well as a stocktaking of other parliamentary activities such as the adoption of reports and opinions, the organisation of hearings and the committee’s relations with other EU institutions. It is worth recalling that the core work of the Committee on Petitions generates from the right to petition the European Parliament exercised by EU citizens and residents under Article 227 TFEU and is not directly linked to the work programme of the Commission.

2024 marked again a pivotal moment for European democracy, with EU citizens being asked to elect a new European Parliament. Between 6 and 9 June 2024, almost 359 million citizens across 27 EU Member States were invited to vote to elect their representatives to the European Parliament. With a turnout of almost 51% — similar to the 2019 election, which was the highest in twenty years — citizens made their voices heard in electing members of the European Parliament. The newly elected Parliament convened for its constitutive session on July 16, 2024, when the 720 newly elected Members of the European Parliament took office.

The Committee on Petitions held its constitutive meeting on 23 July 2024 and elected Mr Bogdan Rzońca (ECR, PL) as Chair, Ms Dolors Montserrat (EPP, ES), as first Vice-Chair, Mr Fredis Beleris (EPP, EL), as second Vice-Chair, Mr Nils Ušakovs (S&D, LV) as third Vice-Chair and Ms Cristina Guarda (Greens/EFA, IT), as fourth Vice-Chair.

To facilitate the organisation of the European elections, a parliamentary recess was observed from 26 April 15 to July 2024, during which regular parliamentary activities were temporarily suspended. This explains the reduced number of reports, opinions, resolutions, and hearings adopted in 2024. In contrast, EU citizens and residents continued to exercise their right to petition throughout the recess, as evidenced by the continuous flow of petitions registered in 2024.

Statistical analysis of petitions received in 2024 compared to 2023

According to the statistics, the European Parliament received 1.518 petitions in 2024, which represents an increase by 4.3 % compared to the 1.452 petitions submitted in 2023 and by 19.8 % compared to the 1.217 petitions registered in 2022.

Users of the Petitions Web Portal have the possibility to support petitions. In 2024, 15.661 users acted as supporters as compared to 26.331 in 2023 and 22.441 in 2022. It follows, that in 2024 the number of users supporting petitions in the web portal significantly decreased in comparison with the previous years. The number of supports similarly decreased in 2024, reaching 17.745 compared to 29.287 in 2023 and 27.927 in 2022.

In 2024, 3 petitions were co-signed by more than one citizen. Of the 3 petitions signed by more than one citizen, 2 were signed by more than 100 citizens; of those 2 petitions 1 was signed by more than 10.000 citizens.

Format of petitions

In 2024, 82 % of petitions were submitted via the Petitions Web Portal, while almost 18 % of petitions were submitted by post. The proportion of petitions submitted via the Petitions Web Portal remained practically the same in 2024 as in 2023, the Petitions Web Portal remaining by far the most used channel for submitting citizens’ petitions to the European Parliament.

Status of petitions per calendar year

The following table shows the status of petitions from 2003 to 2024. It can be noted that in 2024, a very large majority (more than 3/4) of petitions were closed within a year after being received and examined by the committee. This long-standing trend, evident in annual reports since 2010, shows that a majority of petitions are closed within a year of receipt and examination. Overall, less than 10 % of the petitions received each year since 2003 remain open, except for the very recent years (2024 and 2023) as well as 2016 (15.7%). Very small percentages (between 0.2 % and 1.3 %) of petitions from 2004 to 2014 remain open. Most of these open petitions relate to environmental issues and ongoing infringement proceedings before the Court of Justice of the European Union or to issues that members of the committee want to follow closely. An important number of petitions on beach concessions in Italy have been submitted from 2012 to 2024 (with the highest numbers in 2016, 2023, and 2024) and are still open, which has a significant impact on the statistics.

Outcome of petitions

The tables show that the percentage of petitions declared inadmissible in 2024 is significantly higher than the percentage of petitions declared inadmissible in 2023. On the contrary, the percentage of admissible petitions (36.3 %) that were closed immediately by providing information to the petitioner has dropped in 2024 compared to 2023 (49.17 %). The percentage of petitions that have been kept open in 2024 remained almost stable (20.45 % in 2023 compared to 21.34 % in 2024).

It is also to be noted that in 2024, almost a quarter (24.83 %) of the admissible petitions were sent to the Commission for opinion, less than in 2023 when 36.6 % of admissible petitions where referred to the Commission.

Finally, the percentage of petitions sent to other bodies for opinion also decreased in 2024 compared to 2023.

Number of petitions by country

The following two tables illustrate, both in numbers and percentage terms, the changes in petitions by country from 2023 to 2024. A large number of petitions submitted in both years concern the EU. It means that these petitions either raise EU-wide issues or call for common measures to be implemented throughout the EU. Petitions concerning the EU may also relate to one or more Member States and are therefore registered under both the EU and the concerned Member State(s). This explains why the sum of the petitions concerning the EU and of those only related to Member States exceeds the total number of petitions submitted in 2023 and 2024.

Additionally, it is worth stressing that the nine countries mostly concerned by petitions remained the same in both years although the ranking of the most concerned countries has changed in 2024 compared to 2023. The majority of petitions submitted in 2024 concern Spain - as was the case in 2023. While the number of petitions concerning Spain and Italy decreased (respectively from 267 to 229 and from 202 to 170), an opposite flow of the number of petitions related to Germany is observed, with an increase from 120 to 142 petitions submitted in 2024.

The number of petitions concerning non-EU countries continue decreasing in 2024, with 125 petitions compared to 176 petitions submitted in 2023.

As regards the countries featuring at the bottom of the list, Slovenia, Latvia and Ireland are the least concerned countries in 2024, while in 2023 it was the case for Slovakia, Cyprus and Luxembourg.

Languages of petitions

In 2024 - as in 2023 - petitions were submitted in 22 of the official languages of the European Union. English and Spanish were the most used languages in both 2023 and 2024, with Spanish re-confirmed as the second most used language for the third consecutive year. German was the third most used language in 2024, due to the decrease in petitions submitted in Italian in 2024 compared to 2023. The tables illustrate that English continued to account for more than 1/4 of the total of petitions submitted and that English, Spanish, German and Italian languages account for almost 3/4 of the petitions received in 2024 (73.1 %), slightly decreasing compared to the previous years (77.5% in 2023 and 76.2% in 2022). Slovenian, Slovak and Latvian were the least used languages in 2024 while in 2023 it was the case of Slovak, Estonian and Croatian.

Nationality of petitioners

As regards nationality, petitions submitted by Spanish citizens represented the highest number in 2024, as was the case in 2023 and 2022. The number of petitions from Italian citizens decreased while those from German petitioners increased, German becoming in 2024 the second nationality in submitting petitions.

In addition, the tables below show a significant increase in the number of petitions submitted in 2024 by Polish and Greek nationals in comparison with the previous year.

Main subjects of petitions

The tables below include the top ten petition themes. It appears that the main area of concern for petitioners remains the same in 2024 as in 2023, namely the environment. Petitions relating to internal market and fundamental rights remain at the top of the ranking, although they both registered a decrease in 2024 compared to 2023. It is important to note that the ‘Personal Matters’ theme, which ranks second, predominantly covers inadmissible petitions. When admissible petitions fall within this category, they are typically linked to a secondary theme as well, which makes the ‘Personal Matters’ theme less relevant for the purpose of this assessment.

Among the other themes, it is interesting to note that the number of petitions on external relations significantly decreased in 2024 compared to 2023 (from 96 to 63), which confirms the trend already registered in 2023 (from 126 in 2022 to 96 in 2023). Similarly, the committee received a lower number of petitions (28) on constitutional affairs as compared to the 68 petitions received under the same theme the previous year. By contrast, the number of petitions related to institutions increased in 2024 compared to 2023 (from 52 to 90). It is also worth recalling that in 2024 the European elections took place, which partly explains that the number of petitions on voting rights and elections was higher (30) than in 2023, when 9 petitions were registered. Finally, the number of petitions on health slightly decreased in 2024 compared to 2023.

Petitions Web Portal

Two key priorities shaped the 2024 developments of the Petitions Web Portal.

To align with EU rules on data protection, an extensive archiving process concerning not only the Petitions Web Portal but also all relevant Europarl domains was initiated at the end of the 2019-2024 legislature. The implementation required careful data selection, migration, and deletion, all while maintaining the uninterrupted functionality of all IT applications.

A major technical milestone was reached with the fully automated and synchronised publication of adoptions of petitions, status changes, additional information (country, themes) and the summaries in all 24 EU languages on the Petitions Web Portal. This replaced the previous manual publication process, significantly improving efficiency.

The PETI Portal team continued in 2024 to ensure that all petitions were published within days of their adoption and promptly responded to numerous petitioner queries – in all EU official languages – received through the chatbot and Smart Helpdesk.

Overall, the Petitions Web Portal maintained its citizen-focused approach by strengthening technical foundations, streamlining workflows and investing in inclusive digital features.

Relations with the Commission

The Commission remains the natural partner of the Committee on Petitions in processing petitions as the responsible EU institution for ensuring the implementation of and compliance with EU law. The committee and the Commission have a well-established and consistently maintained level of cooperation. The main contact point in the Commission is the Secretariat-General, which coordinates the distribution of petitions to the relevant Commission’s services and transmits the Commission’s replies to the secretariat of the committee. The Commission’s services participate in the meetings of the Committee of Petitions when petitions are discussed in committee on the basis of the Commission’s written reply or of other documents received. While the Commission has stepped up its efforts to provide timely responses to requests for information made by the Committee on Petitions, the committee emphasised that the responses should be clear, simple and empathic, in order to convey better understanding to petitioners.

Commission representatives intervened in two committee events. On 14 February 2024, the advisor for Methane, Fossil Fuel Phase-out, and International Just Transition at DG Energy spoke at a hearing on ‘The responsibilities of fossil fuel companies in the cost of living crisis,’ focusing on the EU’s response to energy price increases. On 2 December 2024, a Senior Expert on disability from DG Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion participated in the annual workshop on the rights of persons with disabilities.

Following the European elections and the establishment of the new Parliament, the commissioners-designate appeared before the parliamentary committees and took part in hearings to enable the recently elected MEPs to evaluate their competence and suitability for their positions. In this respect, the Committee on Petitions participated on 4 November 2024 in the confirmation hearing of Commissioner-designate for Trade and Economic Security, Interinstitutional Relations and Transparency, Maroš Šefčovič, as invited committee.

In this context, the committee had the opportunity to ask questions to Commissioner-designate Šefčovič. In response to the committee’s request for higher-level Commission staff attendance to better address petitioners’ concerns, Commissioner-designate Šefčovič stated that Commissioners or directors-general could participate if petitions were addressed in clusters during the committee meetings.

In addition, the committee emphasised the need for greater transparency in infringement procedures and better communication with petitioners of the state of play of these procedures. Commissioner-designate Maroš Šefčovič highlighted the new option to search the Commission’s public register for petitions linked to infringement cases and pledged to explore further integration with the European Parliament’s Petitions Portal. He also committed to enhancing transparency with new, user-friendly webpages on infringement cases. In response to the committee’s reiterated call for a new inter-institutional IT tool between the Commission and Parliament to improve access to petition-related information, Mr Šefčovič said he was open to assessing its feasibility within budgetary limits.

Relations with the Council

Members of the Council’s Secretariat may attend the meetings of the Committee on Petitions. Regrettably, in 2024 as in previous years, the committee did not observe Council’s participation in the debates. In this respect, the committee considers that a more active cooperation with Member States would be necessary to unblock those petitions requiring prompt responses and reactions from the national authorities. Although some local or regional authorities may have participated in the discussions on petitions in committee meetings, this did not happen in 2024.

Relations with the European Ombudsman

The Committee on Petitions continued its constructive, long-standing working relations with the office of the European Ombudsman, Ms Emily O’Reilly, contributing to the increase of the democratic accountability of the EU institutions.

On 4 September 2024, Ms Emily O’Reilly presented her annual report for 2023 to the Committee on Petitions. The report documents the Ombudsman’s work on dealing with citizens’ complaints concerning the EU administration. In 2023, the Ombudsman opened 398 inquiries – of which 5 on her own initiative – with complaints related to transparency and accountability accounting for the biggest proportion (34,2 %), while the average length of time for an inquiry was less than six months. Ms O’Reilly stressed the Ombudsman’s role as a bridge between the EU administration and civil society and thanked the Committee for the excellent cooperation.

At its meeting of 14 November 2024, the committee adopted by a very large majority (31 votes in favour, 2 votes against and 0 abstention) the Report on the annual report on the activities of the European Ombudsman in 2023.

It is also worth noting the participation of the European Ombudsman, Ms O’Reilly, at the committee’s annual workshop on the rights of persons with disabilities, which took place on 2 December 2024.

Finally, the election of the new European Ombudsman took place at the plenary part-session in Strasbourg on 17 December 2024, following a public hearing of the candidates organised on 3 December 2024 in the Committee on Petitions. The hearing of the six admissible candidates for the Office of the European Ombudsman was open to all Members of the European Parliament. Following the introductory statement setting out their priorities, candidates answered numerous questions from Members of the Committee on Petitions and other Members of the European Parliament. Finally, candidates were given time to make concluding remarks.

Relations with the European Court of Auditors

Over recent years, the Committee on Petitions has built constructive working relations with the European Court of Auditors (ECA). As in previous years, it has actively contributed to the ECA annual work programme for 2025.

Relations with other EU bodies

On 2 December 2024, the Head of Human Rights Structures and Mechanisms sector at the Fundamental Rights Agency spoke at the Committee on Petitions’ “Annual Workshop on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities”, which focussed on ‘The Strategy for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities 2021-2030: State of Play’.

Fact-finding visits

In 2024, the Committee on Petitions did not organise fact-finding visits due to the European election recess period. However, the committee carried out the follow-up assessment of and adopted two reports on fact-finding visits which took place in 2023 (see below in section on reports).

Public Hearings

On 14 February 2024, the Committee on Petitions organised a public hearing on ‘The responsibilities of fossil fuel companies in the cost of living crisis’. The aim of the first panel was to analyse the impact of the Ukraine war on energy prices. In the same context, the panel discussed the cost-of-living crisis and energy poverty in the EU, examining the alleged responsibilities that fossil fuel companies bear for the social and economic difficulties faced by EU citizens. The aim of the second panel was to analyse EU’s response to the energy crisis in order to secure energy supply and ensure affordable prices for consumers. The panel also discussed in this context the need for an open, transparent and regular dialogue with representatives associations and civil society, independent from the fossil fuel industry.

Studies

At its meeting of 22-23 January 2024, the committee heard the presentation of the study on ‘Linguistic and cultural diversity – Minority and minoritised languages as part of European linguistic and cultural diversity’ commissioned by the Policy Department for Citizens’ Rights and Constitutional Affairs at its request.

In addition, in the frame of the of the Annual Workshop on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities held on 2 December 2024, the following briefing has been presented by Magdi Birtha (European Centre for Social Welfare Policy and Research): ‘The EU Strategy for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities 2021-2030 - Achievements and perspectives’.

Key issues

Environmental issues

In 2024, environmental issues remained high in citizens’ concerns and the committee paid paramount attention to them. The protection of the environment was discussed in almost all committee meetings, on the basis of petitions. Topics such as the environmental impacts of works projects in different Member States (e.g. an airport extension, a planned motorway) the protected status of wolves in the EU, an alleged destruction of a Natura 2000 site in France, a proposal for establishing a national park in Germany, the application of EU regulations on pesticides in France, the preservation of natural land, the alleged pollution caused by a plant in Italy, the alleged environmental damage caused in a national park in Spain, and waste treatment were debated in committee. The committee also examined several petitions alleging undue influence of fossil fuel companies in the EU decision-making process.

The Committee also considered Petition No 0798/2024 on amending the EU Deforestation Regulation, in which the petitioner pointed out to alleged shortcomings of the current legislation. This petition partly based the request for a fact-finding visit to be organised in 2025.

Fundamental Rights

Still in 2024, the committee received a high number of petitions on fundamental rights, including on alleged breaches of the General Data Protection Regulation and on the respect of the rule of law and democracy. The committee considered eight petitions on the rule of law in Spain at its January meeting. The use of artificial intelligence and the protection of privacy, in particular in the context of child pornography was also among the topics discussed by the members of the Committee on Petitions. In addition, the committee continued to receive petitions on the rule of law and human rights violations in several third countries – including candidate countries – where the awareness of European citizens’ right to petition should be enhanced.

Internal Market

The committee dealt mostly with the following issues in committee meetings: the recognition of qualifications for teachers in Italy, the recognition of medical specialty in the EU, the importation and distribution chains in Malta, and alleged infringement of EU law in the Spanish car insurance market.

Disability issues

The Committee on Petitions plays a specific protection role as regards compliance with the United Nations Convention on the Rights for Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) within the policymaking and legislative actions at EU level. Within this responsibility, the committee deals with petitions on disability issues. It is worth stressing that in 2024 the number of petitions on disability (25) remained overall stable compared to the previous years (22 in 2023 and 28 in 2022). In 2024, the committee continued examining petitions on disability revealing that the main challenges remain accessibility, respect for disability rights, access to education and inclusion. In most of its meetings, the committee has considered petitions raising issues on disability matters. Special attention was given by the committee to petitions on accessibility (to education and to public spaces) and on disability rights, including the implementation of the UNCRPD. Petition No 1056/2016 requesting the European Parliament to allow for the tabling of petitions in national sign languages used in the EU was also discussed in committee.

Finally, on 2 December 2024, during the European Parliament’s Disability Rights Week, the committee hosted its Annual Workshop on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities on ‘The Strategy for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities 2021-2030: State of Play’. The European Ombudsman, Ms O’Reilly opened the workshop. The briefing entitled ‘Strategy for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities 2021-2030 - Achievements and perspectives’ was presented. Based on available quantitative and qualitative evidence, including petitions to the European Parliament, the briefing identified nine key recommendations to move forward with the implementation of the Strategy. Despite progress registered across the EU, petitions addressed to the Committee on Petitions still reveal persistent obstacles encountered by persons with disabilities. The invited speakers from the European Commission, the Fundamental Rights Agency and the European Disability Forum, discussed the achievements of the Strategy so far and shared their reflections on areas where new actions could be proposed.

Reports, Motions for Resolutions and Opinions

In 2024, the Committee on Petitions adopted the following:

- On 18-19 March 2024, the committee adopted the Mission Report following the fact-finding visit to Catalonia (Spain) from 18 December to 20 December 2023.

- On 18-19 March 2024, the committee adopted the Mission Report following the fact-finding visit to Ireland from 30 October to 1 November 2023.

- On 14 November 2024, the committee adopted the Report on the annual report on the activities of the European Ombudsman in 2023 (2024/2056(INI)), Rapporteur: Alex Agius Saliba.

- On 18-19 March 2024, the committee adopted the Short motion for resolution pursuant to Rule 227(2) of the Rules of Procedure on the handling of heavy goods vehicles at border crossing points based on Petition 0146/2023 (2024/2540(RSP)), Rapporteur: Dolors Montserrat (Chair).

- On 22-23 January 2024, the committee adopted the Oral Question on ‘Working conditions of teachers in the EU’ (2023/3015(RSP)), Rapporteur: Dolors Montserrat.

ANNEX: DECLARATION OF INPUT

The rapporteur declares under his exclusive responsibility that he did not include in his report input from interest representatives falling within the scope of the Interinstitutional Agreement on a mandatory transparency register, or from representatives of public authorities of third countries, including their diplomatic missions and embassies, to be listed in this Annex pursuant to Article 8 of Annex I to the Rules of Procedure.

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