MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION on public consultations and their availability in all EU languages

11.6.2012 - (2012/2676(RSP))

to wind up the debate on the statement by the Commission
pursuant to Rule 110(2) of the Rules of Procedure

Marie-Christine Vergiat, Willy Meyer, Patrick Le Hyaric, João Ferreira, Inês Cristina Zuber, Jacky Hénin on behalf of the GUE/NGL Group

B7‑0317/2012

European Parliament resolution on public consultations and their availability in all EU languages

(2012/2676(RSP))

The European Parliament,

–   having regard to Articles 3(3) and 11(3) of the Treaty on European Union,

–   having regard to the 2005 UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions,

–   having regard to the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, in particular Articles 21 and 22 thereof,

–   having regard to its resolution of 24 March 2009 entitled ‘Multilingualism: an asset for Europe and a shared commitment’ (P6_TA(2009)0162),

–   having regard to the question for written answer (E-002327/2011) of 14 March 2011 to the Commission on the Commission communications strategy/Languages for public consultation and the Commission’s answer of 6 April 2011,

–   having regard to the question for oral answer (O-000076/2012) of 23 March 2012 to the Commission on public consultations and their availability in all the EU languages,

–   having regard to Rule 110(2) of its Rules of Procedure,

A. whereas multilingualism and respect for linguistic diversity are official objectives of the European Union;

B.  whereas citizens’ involvement in the decision-making process is a key element in democratic governance, and whereas well thought-out public consultations are important tools to use in ensuring that citizens and other parts of society are able to participate fully in that process, and in making headway with the European Union’s policy on transparency; whereas the potential of public consultations to bridge the communication and information gap between the citizens and the EU has not yet been fully exploited;

C. whereas access to documents is a guaranteed right for citizens, and whereas this goes hand in hand with translating and making available the official texts published by the European institutions in all the official languages of the European Union;

D. whereas the Commission has proposed that 2013 be designated the ‘European Year of Citizens’ in order to raise awareness among members of the public of the rights they enjoy as European citizens, enabling them to take full advantage of those rights and to participate in the decision-making process at European level;

1.  Regrets the fact that budget cuts have been made in the field of translation at various levels in the EU institutions and calls for high-quality translations in all official EU languages to be guaranteed for all official texts published by the institutions that are intended for the public; emphasises that this right cannot be limited on budgetary grounds;

2.  Calls on the Commission to step up communication with citizens by making full use of the existing channels of communication to disseminate the consultations, and to carry out the consultations together with all interested parties, including those involved in civil society;

3.  Urges the Commission to ensure that the right of every EU citizen to contact the European institutions in any official EU language is upheld in full and applied so as to ensure that all consultations are treated equally, with no discrimination on the basis of language, and with the consultations being made available to the public in all the official languages of the European Union;

4.  Calls on the Commission to ensure that all consultations can be understood by all citizens and are carried out over periods that are long enough to ensure that participation is as broad as possible;

5.  Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission.