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Monthly Highlights: Research digest for committees - March 2026
PETI Fact-finding visit to Almaraz and Cabañeros, Spain 16-18 February 2026 On the closure of a nuclear power plant in Almaraz and to the Cabañeros National Park
Petition 0445/2025 on the closure of a nuclear power plant in Almaraz, Spain Petition 0819/2024 and Petition 1334/2024 concerning the environmental damage to Cabañeros National Park resulting from the ban on the hunting of ungulates
Analysing Malta's implementation of Directive 2002/49/EC on the Assessment and Management of Environmental Noise
This study, undertaken by Ecocentric, evaluates Malta’s implementation of Directive 2002/49/EC on the assessment and management of environmental noise. It evaluates the reasons for the several complaints about noise pollution in Malta and provides suggestions to overcome these. The study has been commissioned by the European Parliament’s Committee of Petitions and managed by the Policy Department for Citizens, Equality and Culture.
Monthly Highlights: Research digest for committees - February 2026
Air Pollution in the European Union
This study, commissioned by the Policy Department for Citizens, Equality and Culture for the Committee on Petitions of the European Parliament, provides an analysis of the current legislative framework on ambient air quality, highlights the most relevant case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union concerning air quality, and examines selected infringement procedures and petitions. The study identifies best practices for air protection among Member States and offers policy recommendations ...
Communication policy
The need for effective communication has a legal basis in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (the Charter), which guarantees the right to be informed about EU issues for all citizens. The EU institutions have developed several tools and services to stay in contact with and inform the public. Since its formal launch in 2012, the European Citizens’ Initiative has allowed citizens to become more directly involved in new legislation and EU issues.
European Citizens’ Initiative
The European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) is an important instrument of participatory democracy in the EU, allowing one million citizens residing in one quarter of the Member States to invite the Commission to submit a proposal for a legal act to implement the EU Treaties. Since the application of a 2011 Regulation establishing detailed procedures for the ECI, thirteen initiatives have been successfully submitted to the Commission. Since January 2020, new rules have applied to make the ECI more accessible ...
Monthly Highlights: Research digest for committees - December 2025
UNCRPD Concluding Observations in relation to the EU report, from the perspective of petitions received
This briefing considers the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities 2025 concluding observations to the European Union. The briefing assesses their relevance to the issues raised in petitions submitted to the European Parliament.
The right to petition
Since the entry into force of the Treaty of Maastricht, every EU citizen and all natural or legal persons residing in the Member States have had the right to submit a petition to the European Parliament, in the form of a complaint or a request on an issue that falls within the European Union’s fields of activity. Petitions are examined by Parliament’s Committee on Petitions, which takes a decision on their admissibility and is responsible for dealing with them.