Madam President, the report on the deliberations of the Committee on Petitions in 2001-2002, for which I have the honour of acting as rapporteur, and the parallel annual report on the activities of the European Ombudsman, which are being debated jointly today, should not be seen as two routine reports. And there are very specific reasons why not. These reports concern two fundamental rights – the right of petition and the right of complaint – of European citizens. These rights are inextricably linked to their nationality and are the main means of consolidating political control by the European Parliament of where and how Community law is being applied by the Community institutions and the Member States. These petitions and complaints give us a very specific idea of the degree to which European citizens' expectations of Europe are being fulfilled. We can, to a large degree, give real expression to the aim of bringing Europe closer to its citizens, the promised strengthening of the democratic credentials of the European Union and, more especially, of the European Parliament, and the much-vaunted objective of greater transparency, by properly developing the institutions of petition and complaint. This being so, I should like, if I may, to invite my honourable friends to carefully study these reports and the proposals, all of which are designed to increase the reliability of the Community institutions and ensure that measures taken are implemented more efficiently. Many of these proposals can be implemented within the framework of the current Treaties. Others need the Treaties to be revised and the report drafted by Mr De Rossa on behalf of the Committee on Petitions for the president of the convention on the future of Europe is of interest here. In both cases, whatever else, these issues should be at the top of the agenda of the political groups. As to the proposals contained in my report, which were adopted unanimously by the Committee on Petitions, I should like to start by commenting on one which I consider is of both practical and symbolic value. Parliament examines three reports every year. The first is the report by the Committee on Petitions, examining the petitions filed by European citizens on shortcomings in the application of Community law by the Member States. The second, the Ombudsman's report, examines complaints about the failure of Community institutions to comply with Community law. The third, which is submitted by the Committee on Legal Affairs and the Internal Market, concerns the application of Community law by the Member States. In other words, three reports which are directly related and have common objectives and which do not warrant separate consideration. They should be dealt with jointly in a part-session with as much publicity as possible. At the same time, in view of the fact that, one way or another, all three reports involve national authorities, such as national parliaments, national courts and national administrative departments, and many of the issues touched on in them depend on their degree of involvement and control, I think that the possibility of these reports being debated in the European Parliament in the presence of representatives of the national authorities should be addressed. This will improve cooperation, especially with the national parliaments, and the debate will gain maximum publicity and incite the interest of European citizens. Another point to emerge from the study is the increased number of petitions and complaints which, from one point of view, is a good thing, because it shows that citizens are broadly involved in the exercise of these rights. But, after a certain point, it creates practical problems which need to be addressed. Obviously these problems will increase with enlargement. So, sooner or later, we will need to set these institutions on a new footing. To be precise, we shall need to examine the possibility of decentralising services with the help of national ombudsmen or committees on petitions and, possibly, the offices of the European Parliament in the capitals of the various Member States. There are other proposals which merit consideration, but there is too little time for me to comment on them. I shall confine myself to a few words on the content of the report. Social issues were again the most sensitive area in the year under review. Problems connected with free movement, such as violation of the right of residence, double taxation, failure to safeguard insurance rights, environmental issues and the recognition of diplomas and skills. What is encouraging is that, in numerous cases, once the relevant national authorities were contacted, petitioners obtained justice. It is also encouraging that there has been an increase in the number of collective petitions, i.e. petitions with more than a thousand signatures. The potential of collective petitions is something we should be looking at, because it also involves non-governmental organisations. To close, it would be a huge oversight on my part, in view of the imminent departure of the Ombudsman, Mr Söderman, if I were to fail not just to congratulate him but to express my admiration for the work he has done, work which justifies the institution of the ombudsman in the eyes of the citizens of Europe and leaves behind it an important heritage which needs to be safeguarded and strengthened in the future.

Political group: PSE