I have often said that one of the parliamentary committees that I enjoy most is the Petitions Committee, which deals with citizens' complaints.

Dealing with questions from the public on EU rights has long intrigued me and helped me learn more and more about the vast and fascinating subject that is the EU.

Over the past years, as a member of the Petitions Committee of the European Parliament, I have been in a position to receive these complaints in an official capacity within an EU institution. I have seen a number of complaints filed by Maltese citizens and I have followed many of them closely.

The Treaty guarantees all EU citizens the right to air their grievances and make their voice heard. One way to go about this is by submitting a petition to the European Parliament. A petition may relate to an individual request, complaint or observation concerning your rights in a specific situation or, more generally, on the application of EU law and whether the law is being effectively applied in your case.

The Petitions Committee is not a court of law and, therefore, it has no power to hand down judgements still less to issue executive orders or enforcements orders. Nevertheless, as a political body that meets in public and composed as it is by politicians who do not easily take no for an answer, it can make a difference. And it often does.

The committee attracts a great deal of public attention and also uses the media to raise public awareness and to raise the stakes on issues where citizens' rights have been disregarded.

Depending on the circumstances, the Committee on Petitions may adopt various courses of action. It often starts by requesting the European Commission to provide technical information on the complaints and it may even ask the Commission to conduct an investigation and, depending on the outcome, to pursue legal action.

The committee openly takes the side of the citizens when it feels that they are right but it is also prepared to say "no" and reject petitions when they are not.

In cases where a breach of EU law is established, the committee can prove to be a source of embarrassment for recalcitrant EU member states that fail to live up to their EU obligations.

This is indeed an effective way of raising EU complaints and, in turn, this committee has gone some way towards bridging the ever-growing gap between the EU and its citizens.

Over the past five years, Maltese citizens, like all other EU citizens, have learnt how to use this tool to air their grievances. Indeed, on a proportionate basis, the Maltese rank among the top when it comes to standing up for their rights.

To date, about 72 petitions were submitted to the European Parliament by Maltese persons and deemed as admissible. Some of them were also submitted by associations or even by foreigners residing in Malta. Of the 72 that were considered admissible, one half remain open whereas another half have already been closed.

Maltese petitions often touch upon similar or even the same grievances as petitioners from other countries. In this sense, we tend to follow the same patterns as that of other EU citizens in other EU countries.

About a third of all petitions received from Malta dealt with the application or infringement of EU laws in the area of the environment. Complaints in this area range from hunting and trapping to the quality of air. For example, one petition I have been closely following and which is still open relates to air pollution caused by dust emissions from the construction industry.

EU rights concerning freedom of movement is another important area where complaints from Malta have flowed in. Departure tax featured high among these complaints and these have now been closed following the removal of this tax with effect from last November.

Complaints on our car registration tax regime have also made it to the Petitions Committee - similar complaints are also made about the car tax regimes in other EU countries as well, such as Greece and Romania. In the light of infringement proceedings, the Maltese government changed the car registration tax system with effect from this year. In view of these changes, during the last committee meeting, I asked the Commission representative to confirm whether the new car registration tax system in Malta is now in line with EU law. I was informed that the Commission is examining the new system to ascertain whether it is compliant with EU law.

All this goes to show that the EU does not only endow EU citizens with substantive rights. It has also put mechanisms in place to ensure that citizens can make their voice heard if they believe their rights have been violated.

I would say that the Maltese are making remarkably good use of their right to petition and they are certainly standing up for their rights.

To submit a petition to the European Parliament you can go to this link https://www.secure.europarl.europa.eu/parliament/public/petition/secured/submit.do?language=EN.

Ask Your MEP on www.simonbusuttil.eu. Sign up the Stop the Dust petition on www.stopthedust.org.

Dr Busuttil is a Nationalist member of the European Parliament.