Petitions Committee: addressing issues close to EU citizens

The financial and economic crisis and the attendant fall in demand and increase in competition has put a lot of pressure on small- and medium-sized enterprises and on employees. On 21 November two citizens came to present different aspects of the problems faced by many citizens to the Parliament's Petitions Committee - the difficulties faced by SMEs and collective redundancy.

Izabella Mészárosné Györvári from Hungary raised the problem of discrimination against small businesses in comparison with multinationals notably on the part of banks, which are much less willing to lend to SMEs, meaning many of them are facing bankruptcy.  

Better protection for SMEs

"We would like to direct attention to the problems of small enterprises. I believe that strengthening the productivity of small businesses that produce high added value...and employ skilled workers, would be a way out of the economic crisis," she said on behalf of the Union for the Protection of Business Interests.

To help SMEs weather crisis, "the most important thing would be to improve legislation protecting small enterprises. Their economic role must be recognised. Dishonest customer behaviour should be strictly sanctioned," she said.

Representing one of the difficulties faced by employees, Gino Trevisanato from Italy has been seeking redress for 15 years over the failure to include him in consultations about collective dismissal when he lost his job. "When I was fired there was not the economic crisis of nowadays, but the directive (on collective redundancies) was created because they have an economic impact and an impact on competition in every member state."

More about petitions

Any EU citizen or resident can, individually or with others, submit a petition to the EP on a subject that falls within the EU's field of activity and affects them directly.

The Petitions Committee works to resolve infringements of citizens' rights through cooperation with national, regional and local authorities on the application of EU law on a range of issues from the environment and social affairs to freedom of movement.

It is an investigative committee and has no legal power, but tries to find non-judicial remedies for citizens whose claims are substantiated. It can organise fact-finding visits and report to plenary.