What changed between the plenary report and the adopted text

Changed:X. whereas in 2019 the relations between the Committee on Petitions and the European Ombudsman were further strengthened, as demonstrated by the active participation of the Ombudsman in the meetings of the committee; whereas following Parliament’sits resolution of 12 February 2019 on theRegulations revisionand ofgeneral conditions governing the Statuteperformance of the EuropeanOmbudsman’s Ombudsman,duties, Emily O’Reilly took part in the committee’s meeting of 2 April 2019 for an exchange of views on her proposed new prerogatives, and presented her Annual Report for 2018 to the Committee on Petitions at its meeting on 4 September 2019;

Changed:10. Stresses that transparency and public access to the documents of all EU institutions, including the Council, should be the rule in order to ensure the highest level of protection of the democratic rights of citizens; points out that the current Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 no longer reflects the actual situation; calls on the Commission to submit a proposal for a recast of the 2001 Regulation, with a view to enhancing transparency and accountability by promoting good administrative practice;

Changed:11. Notes that the Committee on Petitions frequently receives complaints about rule of law violations by certain authorities; recalls that ensuring the effective, equal and uniform application of EU law is crucial for upholding the rule of law, which is one of the founding values of the Union and its Member States, pursuant to Article 2 of the TEU; while respecting the subsidiarity principle, calls on the Commission to respect the commitments made in its communication of 17 July 2019 entitled ‘Strengthening the rule of law within the Union: A blueprint for action’ (COM(2019)0343), in order to promote a culture of respect for the rule of law, reinforce cooperation with national authorities, and ensure an effective common response to actual threats within the Union;

Changed:21. Is seriously concerned about the severe health damage suffered by citizens - the highest negative impact being registered among children - who live in areas where huge amounts of carcinogenic substances are produced; strongly believes that the Commission must make full use of and consistently implement the provisions of Annex XIV to Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 (REACH) regarding substances subject to authorisation as being carcinogenic, persistent and bio-accumulative, ensuring their substitution by non-toxic alternative substances, including by promoting industrial processes with this in view;

Changed:28. Points to the important ongoing work of the Committee on Petitions aimed at ensuring the protection of animal welfare in the EU, as demonstrated by the significant number of petitions on this topic discussed in its meetings in 2019; believes it is of paramount importance to launch a new EU strategy on animal welfare to bridge all the existing gaps and ensure full and effective protection of animal welfare through a clear and comprehensive legislative framework that is fully in line with the requirements of Article 13 of the TFEU; draws attention to the public hearing on ‘Revaluation of the wolf population in the EU’, which the Committee on Petitions held on 5 December 2019 jointly with the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety and in association with the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development, in order to give voice to citizens’ concerns about the legal framework for the protection of the wolf as well as the impact of wolves and other large carnivores such as the brown bear population on the environment and rural communities; emphasises that in the framework of the Habitats Directive large carnivores are protected species in most of the Member States; calls on the Member States to make better use of the tools under the existing EU legislation to address possible conflicts concerning the conservation of protected large carnivores; invites the Commission to present as soon as possible an updated EU guidance on species protection rules in order to achieve a satisfactory coexistence between people and large carnivores in affected areas;

Changed:32. Recalls that the Petitions Web Portal is an essential tool for ensuring a smooth, efficient and transparent petition process; welcomes, in this regard, its alignment with the ‘look and feel’ of the European Parliament’s website (Europarl); recalls that since the end of 2017, documents such as agendas, minutes and communications from the Committee on Petitions have been automatically uploaded to the portal, providing citizens with a portal which is more responsive, transparent and accessible; stresses that efforts must be continued to make the portal more accessible to persons with disabilities, including developments which allow petitioners to submit petitions in the EU's national sign languages, in order to ensure that all citizens of the Union can exercise their right to petition the European Parliament as contained in ArticleArticles 20 and 24 of the TFEU and in Article 44 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union; suggests ensuring more visibility for the Petitions Web Portal on the European Parliament’s website; is of the opinion that the right to petition is directly linked to the institution’s activities and deserves a visible and easily accessible place on the EP’s website; calls for investigation into how to prevent the use of stolen or fake identities;