Secretariat of the Committee on Petitions - Post A

The Directorate-General for Internal Policies of the Union (DG IPOL) is responsible for organising the work of the Parliament’s committees dealing with the EU’s internal policies, and for assisting Members in the exercise of the legislative, budgetary and oversight powers conferred upon the European Parliament.

The Committee on Petitions (PETI) is specific among the committees within DG IPOL, because of its direct contact with citizens. Treatment of petitions is its main responsibility, but it is also in charge of Parliament’s relations with the European Ombudsman, and the organization of public hearings on the European citizens’ initiative.

PETI is the pulse of EU citizens’ concerns and the bridge between the EU citizens and the EU institutions, when citizens exercise their right to petition.  Any citizen of the Union residing in one of the member states has the right to address, individually or in association with others, a petition to the European Parliament on one of the Union’s fields of activity, which affects him, her or it directly.

The Committee makes sure that the information received from citizens goes to the relevant authorities for further inquiry and then assesses the replies received with the objective of ensuring a diligent follow-up of all petitions. When possible, the Committee seeks a non-judicial remedy to legitimate concerns on issues related to EU fields of activity. In this regard, the Committee has an important role in helping to identify problems with the national implementation of EU law, or in providing the European legislator with crucial information to take into account in future legislative work. Throughout its activities, the Committee is supported by a Secretariat composed of a multilingual team of EU civil servants.

You will find more information on PETI and the petition process through the following links:

http://www.europarl.europa.eu/committees/en/peti/home.html 

https://petiport.secure.europarl.europa.eu/petitions/en/home 

• Analyse and summarize petitions, and propose a way forward;
• Draft letters to petitioners, national authorities, and other EU institutions on the basis of the decisions taken by the Committee on Petitions; ability to write in several EU languages is an asset;
• Conduct research and prepare background documentation and information notes on recurring themes in petitions received, e.g. environmental concerns, discrimination and minority rights, animal welfare;
• Occasionally assist with the organization and logistics of Committee meetings.

• Interested in EU affairs and possess knowledge of EU policy areas and legislative competences, or the ability to learn quickly through the traineeship;
• Interested in working in a multicultural, international environment;
• Interested in supporting the Secretariat colleagues when suggesting ways to deal with petitions and open to analysing alternative solutions to individual petitions received;
• Able to summarize content concisely and identify relevant sources of information as to the corresponding work of the different EU Institutions and/or national authorities;
• Proficient with the standard Microsoft Office software.