In 2023, people from across the European Union (EU) and elsewhere in the world turned to the European Parliament and its President, Roberta Metsola to request information, call for action to be taken, express their opinions, or suggest ideas on a wide range of topics. The Citizens’ Enquiries Unit (Ask EP) replied in the 24 EU official languages.
People wrote to us on many topics, notably democracy, the war in Ukraine, the war in Gaza, seasonal time changes, corruption, Iran, the political situation in Spain and many others. Ask EP also received questions related to the European Parliament and its Members, its traineeship offers and how to visit Parliament. In 2023, Ask EP received 13 467 individual messages and 69 911 campaign enquiries.
Most frequent topics in individual enquiries in 2023
The most frequently addressed topic in 2023 was issues concerning the EU area of freedom, security and justice. People made comments and asked questions on various topics, such as the death penalty, amnesty for Catalan politicians, the rule of law, migration and freedom of movement, amounting to more than 3 040 enquiries.
The second most frequent topic on which people contacted Ask EP last year related to the European Parliament itself, with over 2 040 enquiries. Citizens expressed interest in the Members of European Parliament and their activities, enquired about traineeship and job opportunities and the possibilities to visit Parliament. They also requested information on topics such as parliamentary questions, committee meetings and the right to petition the Parliament.
Moreover, Parliament replied to approximately 970 enquiries concerning democracy. Citizens made comments, asked questions and raised concerns about the state of democracy in the EU and around the world, for example the Reichsbürger issue in Germany.
Many citizens also contacted Ask EP last year on issues related to foreign affairs, with over 930 enquiries. In particular, people voiced their concerns about the wars taking place in Ukraine and Gaza and their consequences.
Finally, the European Parliament received many enquiries about citizens’ personal situations with requests for assistance to help them solve problems (financial support, legal aid, cross-border administrative issues, cases of discrimination, etc.). Although neither the European Parliament nor its President are able to resolve many of these types of requests directly, the Ask EP service provided citizens with a contact point and sources of information whenever possible.
Campaign messages sent to the European Parliament in 2023
As a response to political, humanitarian and economic events, citizens often send messages to the President of the European Parliament, expressing their views on current issues and/or requesting action from the Parliament. These messages may sometimes be identical, as part of wider public campaigns.
Between September and December 2023, the European Parliament received a large number of messages – over 39 100 and Ask EP’s largest campaign ever – from citizens expressing concern regarding the proposal to revise EU rules on driving licences. Citizens called on the Parliament to reject the ideas put forward by the lead Member of the European Parliament on the file, which would introduce new driving licence rules, including medical examinations for elderly drivers, set new restrictions on novice drivers and make changes to the maximum weight for vehicles that can be driven with a category B driving licence.
In the reply to the campaign, we pointed out that this represented the rapporteur’s position and did not reflect the position of the European Parliament as a whole.
In March 2023, the President received over 10 100 messages calling on the Parliament to vote against the European Commission’s new legislative proposal to prevent and combat child sexual abuse. Citizens expressed their concerns that this new legislation would breach data protection and privacy rights.
In its proposal, the Commission wanted to make it mandatory for online service providers to detect, report and remove child sexual abuse material on their services. According to the Commission, investigation of suspicious content would follow strict rules and conditions; it would not entail general monitoring of individuals’ communications.
At the start of 2023, the President continued to receive a large number of messages – around 7 500 – about a pro-life conference, which took place in the European Parliament in November 2022. Citizens called on the President to take measures against Members and staff who, they claimed, tried to intimidate the participants.
In the reply to the campaign, we stressed that the demonstrators were invited into the room by the organisers, provided that they did not disrupt the meeting. The meeting took place without incident.
The President also received over 5 200 enquiries from citizens calling on Parliament to support those protesting in Iran. Parliament condemned the killing of Mahsa Amini, as well as the widespread and disproportionate use of force by Iranian security forces against protesting citizens. Parliament called on the Iranian authorities to immediately release and drop any charges against demonstrators.
A separate campaign, which sent around 2 140 messages, called on the President to act to fight biodiversity loss and climate change and urged her to support a European law on nature restoration.
Are you curious about our answers to other campaign messages in 2023? You can find replies to campaigns on the EPRS blog. A selection of answers to questions frequently posed to the European Parliament can also be found on the blog.
If you wish, you can put your questions and/or comments to the Citizens’ Enquiries Unit (Ask EP), using our contact form, the Citizens’ app, or by post. We reply in the EU language that you use to write to us.
We look forward to your enquiries in 2024 and beyond!
Your Citizens’ Enquiries Unit (Ask EP)
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