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Digitalisation and Administrative Law (A9-0309/2023 - Karen Melchior) (vote)
Dear Colleagues, since the Treaty of Lisbon, we have witnessed an increasing number of citizens directly interacting with the Union. Which is great. But how do we meet them? Many of our Member States have rules to provide legal certainty and protect citizens interacting with national public administrations. However, as of now, no such rules exist for the European Union. Our House has already addressed these issues in: the resolution of 15 January 2013 with recommendations to the Commission on a Law of Administrative Procedure of the European Union; and in the resolution of 9 June 2016 for an open, efficient, and independent European Union administration and the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council for an open, efficient, and independent European Union administration. Only to be dismissed by the European Commission. We desperately need regulations for an open, efficient, and independent EU administration, outlining principles for the digitization of administrative procedures and the development and implementation of digital solutions. The call for rules at the level of EU bodies is rooted in the understanding that such regulations are necessary for good administration. It is emphasized that these rules should include special provisions related to digitalization, ensuring that European citizens can enjoy easy and efficient access to digital services and solutions, aligning with the principles of the rule of law and citizen rights. The Commission wants to - again - claim that the existing rules are sufficient and dismiss the need for additional regulations. Public administrations and digitalisation was highlighting by annual meeting European Ombudsmen this year. We must include aspects of digitalisation in the citizens’ rights when they faced with administrations. Therefore, our endeavour is also to incorporate new digital solutions to meet the needs of efficient administrations, while ensuring the full rights of citizens. With this vote that we are about to cast now, I urge the Parliament to maintain our strong signal to the Commission against their inability and reluctance to address these issues. The same signal that was displayed when the file was unanimously adopted across the entire political spectrum of groups in the JURI Committee on 24 October 2023. The time for action is now – and the Commission ought to listen this time.