LET'S USE EUROPE TO IMPROVE OUR LIVES

A PARTICIPATORY DEMOCRACY INITIATIVE TO PUSH FOR A REFORM OF THE EUROPEAN UNION POLICY FOR DEMOCRACY, THE ENVIRONMENT AND THE QUALITY OF LIFE. 

LET'S USE EUROPE TO IMPROVE OUR LIVES 

 


Citizens are taking over the streets in different cities across the world. Concerned youth and citizens are expressing their concerns, like activists against climate change worldwide, spontaneous movements everywhere, professional categories like the judges for the rule of law in Poland, nonviolent activists facing repressive powers like in Hong Kong.

On the other side, the new European Commission started its mandate with high commitment to tackle the climate emergency, preserve the European values and the rule of law and calling for the Conference for the future of Europe, starting a new season for participatory democracy and the construction of the European institutions and citizenship.

Electoral campaign after the electoral campaign, national parties get stuck in their own promises and in the obsession of maintaining short-term consensus instead of long-term goals and accountability. Participatory democracy is not yet strong enough to represent an effective tool. Instruments such as the European Citizens Initiatives or the referendum at the national level are weapons for change often too weak to determine real change.

We believe European citizens should connect with each other and dare to push for an EU reform. Taking the streets is an important move. But a bridge needs to be built to ensure that requests and innovative ideas to improve the quality of life of people should be rooted in the democratic infrastructure and processes. And democratic processes should be constantly updated and innovated to reflect the need for citizens to be an active part of the evolution of the institutions that control their lives.

That's why Eumans invite citizens and organisations to partecipate in a paneuropean action. The goal of this phase is the elaboration and presentation of a "package of Petitions to the European Parliament" to put at the center of the political agenda urgencies and issues that needs to be addressed during the Conference on the Future of Europe, and beyond. 


 

AN OVERVIEW: EUROPEAN CITIZENS FOR URGENT REFORMS IN 2020

Here you can find a list of working groups for preparing a number of Petitions to the European Parliament,  asking for urgent reforms both in the functioning of the European institutions and in its policies, to benefit the life of people and the ecosystem they live in.

The draft texts and working groups are open for contributions, suggestions and new proposals until March 20, when a process of collection of support will be kicked off. Supports ideally should be found in three directions: academics, civil society organisations, and individuals Europan citizens who have stories that are representative of the political instance of the Petition. 

The process will be closed on May 8, the day before the opening of the Conference on the future of Europe, when the petitions will be delivered to the European Parliament.

The goal is to organise an action in Dubrovnik, Croatia - the day before the kick-off of the Conference on the future of Europe. 

IF YOU ARE A CITIZEN OR AN ORGANIZATION WHO WANT TO JOIN AN EXISTING WORKING GROUP, OR SUGGEST YOUR OWN PROPOSAL SEND AN EMAIL TO virginia.fiume@protonmail.com

 

RULE OF LAW AND DEMOCRACY 

  • Rule of law: creation of an impartial mechanism of evaluation to verify the application of the European values by all the Member States concerning the Rule of Law
  • Participatory democracy: establishment of European Citizens’ Assemblies based on sortition, reform of existing instruments, information and investment for their effectiveness
     
  • Strengthening the role of the European Parliament: responsibility of the European Parliament, empowerment of the role of the European Parliament in the process of reform of the Treaties starting from the Conference on the Future of Europe and in the decisions on the budget. 
     
  • Evaluation of public policy: the establishment of an independent agency for the evaluation of European policies and mandatory national system of evaluation 




ENVIRONMENT

  • Climate emergency: carbon pricing, green fiscal transition and fostering the European Green New Deal 
     
  • Intensive farming: abolishing funding and incentives both in CAP and ETS 


     

TECHNOLOGY, COMPETITION, DIGITAL RIGHTS

  • Fiscal equity: fair international taxation system against elusion and “tax heavens” 
     
  • Right to knowledge: interoperability of digital platform, file sharing, civic artificial intelligence, open data and data sovereignty, and Open Access


     

WELFARE AND SOCIAL RIGHTS

  • Gender Pay Gap: equal pay and mandatory paternity leave
     
  • European unemployment insurance 
     
  • Migration: free movement, economic and social integration, humanitarian help


     

BENEFIT OF SCIENCE

  • Freedom of research: genome editing in humans and animals and embryonic stem cells
     
  • New breeding techniques: genome editing in crops and innovation in agriculture
     
  • Controlled narcotics: medical use and scientific research


     

CIVIL FREEDOMS 

  •  Sexual health: reproductive rights and family planning
     
  • Cannabis: lay down minimum sanctions and guarantee freedom to regulate 
     
  • LGBTI rights: mutual recognition of same sex couple rights 
     



METHODOLOGY

The Methodology to build the Petitions Project is intrinsically connected with the construction of a paneuropean network of citizens and organisations that act together with similar political goals. 

These are the steps that we should try and follow to work on the document: 

a- - Each Petition will have a draft document structured according to the template "Need / Facts / Proposal" 

b -  This template should be filled with some essential information and circulated among organisations that are working on the same topic. 

c- Research on these organisations should be done via multiple channels (ECI Promoters, Single-issue organisations, Academics,...) - all contacts should be archived in the same way and in an "Actionable" manner 

d - Each topic should have at least 1 online public meeting to discuss the perspective of each partner (calendar should be public)  

e - A petition draft should be elaborated after the meeting 

f - Once the draft is completed, the subscription phase starts 

IF YOU ARE A CITIZEN OR AN ORGANIZATION WHO WANT TO JOIN AN EXISTING WORKING GROUP, OR SUGGEST YOUR OWN PROPOSAL SEND AN EMAIL TO virginia.fiume@protonmail.com


 

OUTCOMES

- A network of individuals and organisations across EU member states who share the same political vision and adopt a similar methodology to impact EU politics 

- A set of Petitions presented at the European Parliament 

- Concrete citizens proposals to be presented and pushed during the Conference on the future of Europe 

 

WHICH PROCESS IS TRIGGERED WHEN A PETITION IS SUBMITTED TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT 

The Right To Petition https://www.europarl.europa.eu/factsheets/en/sheet/148/il-diritto-di-petizione 

Depending on the circumstances, the Committee on Petitions may take one or more of the following actions:

  • Ask the European Commission to conduct a preliminary investigation on a petition and provide information regarding compliance with relevant EU legislation;
  • Refer the petition to other European Parliament Committees for information or further action (a committee might, for example, take account of a petition in its legislative activities);
  • If the petition concerns a specific case requiring individual attention, the Committee may contact the appropriate institutions or authorities or intervene through the permanent representation of the Member State concerned to settle the matter;
  • Take any other action considered appropriate to try to resolve an issue or deliver a suitable response to the petition.

The Committee also decides whether to place petitions on the Committee’s meeting agenda. In this case, the petitioner, the Commission and Member State representatives are invited. At this meeting, the petitioner presents his/her petition, the Commission gives its opinion orally and comments on its written response to the issues raised in the petition and the representatives of the Member States concerned can be invited to take the floor. Members of the Committee on Petitions then have the opportunity to exchange views on issues raised during the debate and to propose further actions to be taken.

In specific cases, the Committee can decide to hold a hearing or a workshop, conduct a fact-finding visit to the country or region concerned and adopt a mission report containing its observations and recommendations, or prepare and submit a full report to be voted on by Parliament in plenary. It can also decide to submit oral questions to the Commission and/or the Council and to hold a debate in plenary.

If a petition relates to a matter of general interest revealing incorrect transposition or application of EU law, it can lead the Commission to take action with the Member State in question, including through infringement proceedings.

IF YOU ARE A CITIZEN OR AN ORGANIZATION WHO WANT TO JOIN AN EXISTING WORKING GROUP, OR SUGGEST YOUR OWN PROPOSAL SEND AN EMAIL TO virginia.fiume@protonmail.com