ONE of the main preoccupations at the Amsterdam summit was citizens' rights. These are defended in several ways; by the MEPs, by the Parliament's right and duty to hear petitions from citizens, and by the work of the Ombudsman, also appointed by Parliament.
Several useful documents are available from the EP Office (address below):
The right to petition the EP (leaflet)
How to complain to the European Ombudsman.
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Defending citizen's rights proceedings at a 1996 Dublin conference organised jointly by the European Parliament and the European Movement, on the role of the Petitions Committee of the European Parliament and the role of the Irish and European Ombudsmen.