Rule 216  : Examination of petitions

1.    Admissible petitions shall be considered by the committee responsible in the course of its normal activity, either through discussion at a regular meeting or by written procedure. Petitioners may be invited to participate in meetings of the committee if their petition is to be the subject of discussion, or they may ask to be present. The right to speak shall be granted to petitioners at the discretion of the Chair.

2.    The committee may, with regard to an admissible petition, decide to draw up an own-initiative report in accordance with Rule 52(1) or to submit a short motion for a resolution to Parliament, provided that there is no objection by the Conference of Presidents. Such motions for resolutions shall be placed on the draft agenda for the part-session held no later than eight weeks after their adoption in committee. They shall be put to a single vote and shall also be without debate unless the Conference of Presidents exceptionally decides to apply Rule 151.

The committee may request opinions from other committees that have specific responsibility for the issue under consideration in accordance with Rule 53 and Annex VI.

3.    Where the report deals with, in particular, the application or interpretation of Union law or proposed changes to existing law, the committee responsible for the subject-matter shall be associated in accordance with Rule 53(1) and the first and second indents of Rule 54. The committee responsible shall accept without a vote suggestions for parts of the motion for a resolution received from the committee responsible for the subject-matter which deal with the application or interpretation of Union law or changes to existing law. If the committee responsible does not accept such suggestions, the associated committee may table them directly in plenary.

4.    An electronic register shall be set up in which citizens may lend or withdraw support to the petitioner, appending their own electronic signature to petitions which have been declared admissible and entered in the register.

5.    When investigating petitions, establishing facts or seeking solutions the committee may organise fact-finding visits to the Member State or region concerned by the petition.

Reports on the visits shall be drafted by their participants. They shall be forwarded to the President after approval by the committee.

Fact-finding visits and the reports on those visits are aimed solely at providing the Committee with the requisite information to enable it to consider the petition further. Such reports are drafted under the exclusive responsibility of the participants in the visit, who shall seek to reach a consensus. Failing such a consensus, the report must set out the divergent findings of fact or assessments. The report is submitted to the Committee for its approval by a single vote, unless the Chair declares, where appropriate, that amendments may be tabled to parts of the report. Rule 56 does not apply to these reports, either directly or mutatis mutandis. In the absence of approval by the Committee, reports shall not be forwarded to the President.

6.    The committee may request assistance from the Commission particularly in the form of information on the application of, or compliance with, Union law and information or documents relevant to the petition. Representatives of the Commission shall be invited to attend meetings of the committee.

7.    The committee may ask the President to forward its opinion or recommendation to the Commission, the Council or the Member State authority concerned for action or response.

8.    The committee shall inform Parliament every six months of the outcome of its deliberations.

The committee shall, in particular, inform Parliament of the measures taken by the Council or the Commission on petitions referred to them by Parliament.

9.    The petitioner shall be informed of the decision taken by the committee and the reasons for that decision.

When consideration of an admissible petition has been concluded, it shall be declared closed and the petitioner informed.