Dear Chair,

Dear Members,

It is a pleasure to appear before the Committee on Petitions for our first Structured Dialogue of this mandate.

I have just come from a similar engagement with the Committee on Constitutional Affairs.

I was pleased that this Committee was invited to my hearing last year, and I look forward to continuing our excellent cooperation under this legislature.

I want to start by underlining the significance the Commission attaches to your work.

Engaging with citizens remains of paramount importance, and petitions provide an effective channel for direct contact and open dialogue to help us effectively understand the issues affecting the daily lives of Europeans.

It is the Commissions duty to respond to all the petitions you send us, and it is a task we are committed to fulfilling.

For example, in 2024, we received 374 petitions and replied to 521. So far this year, we have received 179 and have replied to 159.

These numbers reflect the effort the Commission has made in recent years to improve the speed, quality, and relevance of our contributions to the Parliaments replies to the concerns of Europeans.

This includes outlining possible solutions at European or national levels.

However, when there are petitions that do not fall within the remit of the EUs competences, we must be honest with citizens to avoid creating false expectations.

Looking at the petitions we receive, the main topics raised are the environment, the economy, and fundamental rights.

These broadly align with the priorities of this Commission, as outlined in President von der Leyens political guidelines.

And they were reflected in the 2025 Commission Work Programme, adopted earlier this year, which focuses on bold action to bolster our security, prosperity, and democracy.

Making our rules simpler and more effective, key to boosting competitiveness and driving growth, lies at the heart of the Work Programme.

Let me highlight some of the key initiatives for 2025.

To strengthen our prosperity and competitiveness, we adopted the Competitiveness Compass.

To strengthen our societies and our unique social model, we will prioritize the continued implementation of the European Pillar of Social Rights through a new Action Plan.

To sustain our quality of life, we put forward our Vision for Agriculture and Food, an ambitious roadmap on the future of farming and food in Europe.

In addition, we will soon present the water resilience package.

Protecting our democracy and upholding our values is essential, and we will update our equality strategies.

Other initiatives focus on bolstering our defense and security, on leveraging our power, and preparing our Union for the future.

We must also strengthen our partnerships with like-minded partners around the world.

Here, I am happy to say – with my trade hat on – that we are making significant progress.

Just last week, I signed a Digital Trade Agreement with Singapore on behalf of the EU, to go with the one we agreed with South Korea earlier this year.

Work continues internally towards the adoption and signature of agreements with Mercosur and Mexico.

We have also been accelerating ongoing negotiations with India, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Malaysia.

In addition, we recently launched trade talks with the UAE, something which can serve as a catalyst for stronger ties between the EU and the Gulf Cooperation Council, with whom we are also negotiating Strategic Partnership Agreements.

We are also making use of other, more flexible forms of engagement.

For example, the Sustainable Investment Facilitation Agreement with Angola, which entered into force in 2024.

And the launch of talks with South Africa for the first Clean Trade and Investment Partnership to strengthen our clean supply chains, which we hope to conclude by the end of 2025.

Another core priority under this mandate is the implementation of EU law, crucial to maintaining the credibility of the EU Institutions.

Petitions play a key role in raising awareness of this.

In February, we adopted a Communication on implementation and simplification setting out our vision for fast and visible improvements for Europeans and European businesses.

When it comes to enforcement of EU law, the Commission takes action where necessary using the infringement procedure.

An example of a recent infringement procedure started following complaints and a petition, concerned delays in the Romanian health insurance fund paying independent pharmacies for their services.

The Commission sent a reasoned opinion to Romania in February of this year.

But the infringement procedure is not designed to offer concrete solutions for individuals or ensure individual redress.

Rather, it is aimed at addressing systemic problems affecting a large number of people, often across Member States.

Petitioners pointing to the incorrect application of EU law in individual cases would benefit more from the mechanisms available at national level, such as national courts, regulatory bodies, or ombudsmen.

If the problem has a cross-border dimension, the SOLVIT network may offer quick and flexible remedies.

We have heard your calls for more transparency and better information sharing with regards to the Commissions enforcement actions.

The Commission publishes its decisions on every step of an infringement procedure on the Europa webpage.

In the current version of the infringement register, the public can search for cases with a link to the Petition Portal of the Parliament.

Tools such as this make it easier to track the progress of specific infringements, and to verify if there is any petition linked to ongoing investigations.

The Petitions Portal now also links to the infringement register, allowing those who intend to file a petition to check whether an infringement procedure is already in progress on their topic.

In addition, the Commission has recently published a new Europa webpage to give user-friendly information on infringement cases, the transposition of directives, and EU Pilot dialogues.

Let me finish on this point by stressing that the Commission remains committed to addressing any further infringement-related issues.

Finally, I want to commend your committee for your work on European Citizens Initiatives.

In particular, for advocating to increase the impact of ECIs, and for contributing to the organization of public hearings for successful initiatives.

Having been involved in its creation in 2012, I am delighted to see the ECI thriving.

It has evolved into a powerful tool of democracy, a unique bottom-up mechanism enabling citizens to shape EU policymaking and come up with proposals for action at EU level.

Several legislative acts have been triggered by successful ECIs, such as the revised drinking water directive, the regulation on the transparency and sustainability of EU risk assessment in the food chain, and the nature restoration law.

I have had the pleasure of participating in recent ECI events, including ECI Day.

The next public hearing will be on the successful ECI on Cohesion policy for the equality of the regions and sustainability of the regional cultures.

I will stop there, and I look forward to our exchange.

Thank you.