Development of the Right to Petition the European Parliament[Petiční právo k Evropskému parlamentu v proměnách času]

Even though the right to lodge a petition with the European Parliament has not been codified at primary law level until the Treaty of Maastricht and its significance has been highlighed by its incorporation in the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, its origins go back to the 1950s. Out of twenty standing committees of the European Parliament, the Petitions Committee is the only one having a direct contact with EU citizens. In a future, this committee will hold hearings with successful representatives of European Citizens Initiatives. The aim of this article is to identify fields in which EU citizens complain with the European Parliament most frequently. Hence, these areas constitute issues in which EU law is not being properly applied by the national bodies of the Member States.