EP houdt hoorzitting over de impact van de crisis op het dagelijkse leven van EU-burgers (en)

Much has been written about the crisis, but there has been little analysis of how it has affected ordinary Europeans. To remedy this, a hearing was held at the Parliament by the petitions committee and MEPs Jo Leinen i and Andrew Duff i on 23 September to discuss the situation and talk about what could be done. We talked to committee chair Erminia Mazzoni i, an Italian member of the EPP group, about the importance of defending people's fundamental rights.

What are the objectives of the hearing?

The first objective is to acknowledge people's requests. We have received several petitions concerning the impact of the crisis on people's fundamental rights, therefore we are obliged to consult and give answers.

The second objective is to analyse in detail how the crisis has affected ordinary people, since politicians and the media often focus on how the crisis affects the markets, but almost no-one has analysed its impact on people's everyday life. We have several matters we wish both national and European institutions to take into account such as the impact of the crisis on fundamental rights such as work, family or mobility.

What can the committee do to defend people's rights?

Our committee works to help people every time there is an alleged violation or incorrect application of European legislation.

Could you give an example of a petition that led to legislation being changed?

By calling attention to the situation of visually impaired people, we produced results on an international scale: the treaty on the protection of intellectual property was modified to recognise the right of visually impaired citizens to have all publications (books, news paper etc.) in braille. I believe this is a great success, as it concerns 11% of the 70 million Europeans with a disability.

REF. : 20130923STO20626

Updated: ( 24-09-2013 - 13:55)