The right of petition

The right of petition


Despite the lack of any reference thereto in the founding Treaties, the submission of petitions to the Assembly and its examination thereof was provided for in the Rules of Procedure of the Common Assembly of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) from 1952-1953 and in those of its successor, the European Parliamentary Assembly, from 1958 onwards.


The right to submit a petition to the European Parliament was introduced into the Treaty by the 1992 EU Treaty [Article 21 and Article 194 of the Treaty establishing the European Community (EC) and Article 107(c) of the Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC or Euratom); see also Article 20(c) of the Treaty establishing the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), which expired on 23 July 2002].


Any citizen of the Union, and any natural or legal person residing or having its registered office in a Member State, has the right to submit, individually or in association with other citizens or persons, a petition to the European Parliament on a matter which falls within the Community’s spheres of activities and which affects him, her or it directly.


Petitions entered in the register are forwarded by the President of Parliament to the committee responsible, which may decide to draw up a report or take a decision in any other way that it sees fit on petitions it has declared admissible. The President informs petitioners of the decisions taken and the reasons therefor. Some petitions are announced in the House.


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