On Tuesday 27 June, Danish MEP Karen Melchior (Renew Europe) presented the European Parliament’s Committee on Legal Affairs (JURI) with a draft own-initiative report aimed at digitising European administrative procedures. This text aims to “consolidate citizens’ rights” by “clarifying their interactions with administrations” within the framework of existing legislation, via a “minimum set of rights”.
Ms Melchior explained that when citizens come into contact with a European administration, they should receive “clear information” about their rights “in their own language”. In addition, citizens should only have to “submit their data once” and should “retain control over it throughout the procedure”. They should also receive a reference and have access to the data linked to their requests, be able to correct them and be informed in the event of an error. Finally, when administrations make decisions, the text supported by Ms Melchior states that the reasons for these decisions should be “transparent” and that options for complaints and appeals should be available.
For the European Commission, the Head of Unit for Institutional Affairs, Dorthe Christensen, recognised the importance of adopting rules specific to the particularities of interactions between administrations and citizens in the digital age. Ms Christensen also pointed out that many of the principles discussed had already been taken into account in legislative proposals “currently under discussion”, such as those relating to artificial intelligence (see EUROPE 13204/27), electronic identity and online privacy.
Dorthe Christensen also discussed the legal challenges that could arise from a single legislative approach due to the coexistence of sector-specific rules. Finally, she raised the question of the financial implications of digitalisation, which would require substantial investment.
Amendments are expected by 3 July.
Read the draft report: https://aeur.eu/f/7sb (Original version in French by Nithya Paquiry)