On the deliberations of the Committee on Petitions in 2024

MOTION FOR A EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RESOLUTION

on the deliberations of the Committee on Petitions in 2024

(2025/XXXX(INI))

The European Parliament,

– having regard to its previous resolutions on the deliberations of the Committee on Petitions’,

– having regard to Articles 10 and 11 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU),

– having regard to Articles 24 and 227 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) on the right of EU citizens and residents to petition the European Parliament,

– having regard to Article 228 TFEU on the role and functions of the European Ombudsman,

– having regard to Article 44 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union concerning the right to petition the European Parliament,

– having regard to the provisions of the TFEU relating to the infringement procedure and, in particular, to Articles 258 and 260 thereof,

– having regard to Rules 55 and 233(7) of its Rules of Procedure,

– having regard to the report of the Committee on Petitions (A100000/2025),

A. whereas following the European elections, which took place from 6 to 9 June 2024, and the constitution of the new Parliament on 16 July 2024, the Committee on Petitions held its constitutive meeting on 23 July 2024;

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 4.3 % compared to the 1 452 petitions it received in 2023 and of 19.8 % compared to the 1 217 petitions it received in 2022;

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;

E. whereas the overall number of petitions remains modest in relation to the total population of the EU, revealing that efforts still need to be stepped up to increase citizens’ awareness of their right to petition and the possible usefulness of petitions as a means of drawing the attention of the EU institutions and the Member States to matters that affect and concern citizens directly; whereas in exercising the right to petition, citizens expect the EU institutions to provide added value in finding a solution to their problems;

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 who is resident or has a registered office in a Member State and is directly affected by matters falling within the EU’s fields of activity;

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 %) 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 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;

I. whereas Parliament has long been at the forefront of the development of the petitions process internationally and has the most open and transparent petitions process in Europe, allowing petitioners to participate fully in its activities;

J. whereas the activities of the Committee on Petitions are based on the input of petitioners and the information they provide; whereas this information along with the expertise delivered by the Commission, the Member States and other bodies is essential for the work of the Committee on Petitions; whereas admissible petitions often provide input that is valuable to the work of the other parliamentary committees; whereas petitions can therefore also play a role in the legislative process, providing concrete feedback on the impact of EU policies and enabling policies to address emerging needs;

K. 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 are therefore 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;

L. 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;

M. 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;

N. whereas the main subjects of concern raised in petitions submitted in 2024 related to the environment, fundamental rights, the internal market, justice, consumer rights and health;

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

P. 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 82.4 %, reaffirming the portal as by far the most widely used channel for citizens to submit petitions to Parliament;

Q. 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 EU official 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 Portal were replied to successfully in a timely manner and in any of the EU official languages;

R. whereas no fact-finding visits took place in 2024 for petitions for which an inquiry was ongoing, owing to the European election recess period; whereas the committee carried out the follow-up assessment and adopted two reports on previous fact-finding visit which took place in 2023; whereas a number of fact-finding visits were scheduled for the first half of 2025;

S. whereas on 4 November 2024, the Committee on Petitions participated in the confirmation hearing of Commissioner-designate for Trade and Economic Security, Interinstitutional Relations and Transparency, Maroš Šefčovič, as an invited committee; whereas, in reply to the written and oral questions put to him by the Committee on Petitions in the context of the confirmation hearing, Maroš Šefčovič made a number of commitments concerning the petition process and the transparency of the Commission’s enforcement action;

T. whereas under Parliament’s Rules of Procedure, the Committee on Petitions is also responsible for relations with the European Ombudsman, who investigates complaints about maladministration within the institutions and bodies of the EU; whereas in 2024, the Committee on Petitions played a key role in the organisation of the election of the European Ombudsman by holding the public hearing of the candidates under Rule 237 of Parliament’s Rules of Procedure; whereas on 17 December 2024 Teresa Anjinho was elected European Ombudsman for the 2024-2029 Parliamentary term;

U. whereas in 2024, relations between the Committee on Petitions and the European Ombudsman remained constructive, as demonstrated by the active participation of the previous European Ombudsman, Emily O’Reilly, in the meetings of the committee; whereas she presented her annual report for 2023 to the Committee on Petitions at its meeting of 4 September 2024 and took part in the committee’s Annual Workshop on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities on 2 December 2024;

V. whereas the Committee on Petitions is a member of the European Network of Ombudsmen, which also includes the European Ombudsman, national and regional ombudsmen and similar bodies in the Member States, the candidate countries and other European Economic Area countries, and which aims to promote the exchange of information about EU law and policy, and to share best practice;

1. Recalls the Committee on Petitions’ important role in protecting and promoting the rights of EU citizens and residents by ensuring that petitioners’ concerns and complaints are examined in a timely, effective and appropriate manner and that petitioners are informed about the actions taken and progress made on their petitions; recalls that all petitions are treated through an open, democratic and transparent petition process;

2. Reiterates the importance of a continuous public debate on the EU’s fields of activity in order to ensure that citizens are properly informed about the scope of the Union’s competences and the different levels of decision-making in order to reduce the number of inadmissible petitions; reiterates its call, in this regard, for broader awareness-raising campaigns through the active involvement of the existing EU communication services across the Union to help increase citizens’ knowledge about their right to petition, as well as the scope of the EU’s responsibilities and the competences of the Committee on Petitions;

3. Recalls the European dimension of the Committee on Petitions, which can be addressed by citizens from all 27 Member States on issues that fall within the scope of the EU Treaties and EU law; believes that the Committee has a special responsibility to uphold this European dimension and to demonstrate the added value of European unity and integration to citizens;

4. Points out that petitions constitute a unique opportunity for Parliament and the other EU institutions to directly connect with EU citizens and maintain a regular dialogue with them, particularly in cases where they are affected by the misapplication or breach of EU law; stresses the need for enhanced cooperation between the EU institutions and national, regional and local authorities on inquiries regarding the implementation of, and compliance with, EU law; believes that such cooperation is crucial to address and resolve citizens’ concerns over the application of EU law and that it contributes to strengthening the democratic legitimacy and accountability of the Union; calls, therefore, for the participation of Member States’ representatives in committee meetings and for timely and detailed responses to requests for clarification or information sent by the Committee on Petitions to national authorities;

5. Recalls that petitions contribute considerably to the exercise of the Commission’s role as the guardian of the Treaties by providing citizens with an additional tool to report alleged breaches of EU law; stresses that constructive cooperation between the Committee on Petitions and the Commission through timely and detailed answers from the Commission, which are based on thorough examinations of the issues raised in petitions, is essential to ensure the successful treatment of petitions; reiterates that these answers, which are forwarded to petitioners, should be clear, simple and empathic in order to convey better understanding;

6. Welcomes the creation of a new Commission webpage on infringement cases, transposition of directives and EU Pilot dialogue; reiterates, however, its call on the Commission to regularly update the Committee on Petitions on developments in infringement proceedings and to ensure that the Committee on Petitions gets access to the relevant information on infringement proceedings and EU Pilot procedures that relate to open petitions; reiterates the need to improve the transparency of infringement procedures as well as communication with petitioners on the state of play of such procedures and stresses that this would benefit the petition process; welcomes the Commission’s initiative to include petitions in the Commission’s public register of infringement decisions portal, as well as the inclusion of a link to the Commission’s public register in the Petitions Portal; welcomes Commissioner Šefčovič’s commitment to further interlink the Commission’s public register and Parliament’s petitions portal; reiterates its call to the Commission to include all these requirements in the Framework Agreement on relations between the European Parliament and the European Commission;

7. Considers that more active cooperation between the Member States and the Committee on Petitions is needed to unblock those petitions requiring prompt responses and reactions from the national authorities;

8. Recalls that the e-Petition database is an essential internal tool that allows the members of the Committee on Petitions to access all necessary information in order to follow up on the state of play of each petition and to be able to make informed decisions on the treatment of the petitions; notes that the e-Petition database also plays an important role in communication with petitioners;

9. Recalls the Commission’s commitment to create an interinstitutional IT tool between the Commission and Parliament aiming to share information and documents on all follow-up actions taken on petitions, such as infringement procedures, legislative proposals or replies by national authorities, thus enhancing the transparency and efficiency of the treatment of petitions, which, in a wider context, would contribute to increasing citizens’ trust in the EU institutions and the European project;

10. Recalls that cooperation with other committees in Parliament is essential for the comprehensive treatment of petitions; notes that in 2024, 30 requests for opinion and 450 requests for information were sent to other committees; notes that 26 opinions were received by the end of 2024; recalls that petitioners are informed of decisions to request opinions from other committees for the treatment of their petitions; underlines that parliamentary committees should step up their efforts to actively contribute to the examination of petitions by providing their expertise so as to enable Parliament to respond more swiftly and comprehensively to citizens’ concerns;

11. Believes that the petitions network is a useful tool for facilitating the follow-up of petitions in parliamentary and legislative work; trusts that regular meetings of the petitions network are crucial in order to ensure more visibility for the Committee on Petition’s activities and a better understanding of its work and mission, as well as to strengthen cooperation with the other parliamentary committees;

12. Takes note that the environment remained the main area of concern for petitioners in 2024, with more than 20 % of petitions raising environmental issues; stresses the importance of delivering on EU citizens’ expectations regarding the protection of the environment and urges the Commission, together with the Member States, to ensure the correct implementation of EU legislation in the environmental field;

13. 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 1056/2016 on the submission of petitions in national sign languages; recalls the annual workshop of 2 December 2024 on the rights of persons with disabilities held by the Committee on Petitions, focussing on the state of play of the strategy for the rights of persons with disabilities 2021-2030;

14. 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;

15. Recalls the fact that relations with the European Ombudsman represent one of the responsibilities conferred on the Committee on Petitions by Parliament’s Rules of Procedure; welcomes Parliament’s constructive cooperation with the European Ombudsman, with whom the Committee on Petitions shares the objectives of ensuring the transparency, professionalism and integrity of the EU institutions vis-à-vis European citizens, as well as its involvement in the European Network of Ombudsmen;

16. Acknowledges the European Ombudsman’s regular contributions to the work of the Committee on Petitions throughout the year; firmly believes that the Union’s institutions, bodies and agencies must ensure consistent and effective follow-up to the recommendations of the Ombudsman;

17. Notes that, despite the parliamentary recess due to the European elections, the Committee on Petitions expressed its position and made recommendations on important issues raised in petitions, including adopting two mission reports following fact-finding visits;

18. 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;

19. Underlines that the Petitions Web Portal is an essential tool for ensuring a smooth, efficient and transparent petitions process; welcomes the improvement made on 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 persons with disabilities; notes that the Petitions Web Portal has been one of Parliament’s most visited websites, thus serving as a first point of contact with Parliament for many EU citizens;

20. 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: ENTITIES OR PERSONS FROM WHOM THE RAPPORTEUR HAS RECEIVED INPUT

The rapporteur declares under his exclusive responsibility that he did not receive input from any entity or person to be mentioned in this Annex pursuant to Article 8 of Annex I to the Rules of Procedure.