Last week, in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, the European
Parliament approved temporary measures to allow new deadlines for the
verification, examination and collection of signatures for the European
Citizens' Initiative (ECI), thus protecting the rights of those who had
already submitted initiatives.
This is yet another sign of the importance that the Citizens' Initiative has been gaining in recent years as a participatory instrument for Europeans to influence directly policy making at the EU level, following the new set of rules that entered into force in the beginning of 2020.
The process of revision of these new rules, which included the active participation and contributions of the European Parliament, aimed at making the ECI more accessible and intuitive, as well as give the organisers more flexibility.
Since its entry into force in 2012, there has always been some criticism of the ECI regarding its alleged complexity, the number of signatures needed or the demand for multinational subscribers.
Although slightly elaborate, the Citizens' Initiative is an important instrument to boost popular participation in the EU legislative process, as well as to engage citizens in the policy making process of the Union.
In order for that to happen, I believe that it is important to preserve its transnational aspect, through the rule of the seven proponents to be EU citizens residing in different member states, but also to ensure the broad support of the proposal by the European citizens - hence the one million signatures needed to subscribe an initiative.
Read more at:
Good news on the European Citizens' Initiative
This is yet another sign of the importance that the Citizens' Initiative has been gaining in recent years as a participatory instrument for Europeans to influence directly policy making at the EU level, following the new set of rules that entered into force in the beginning of 2020.
The process of revision of these new rules, which included the active participation and contributions of the European Parliament, aimed at making the ECI more accessible and intuitive, as well as give the organisers more flexibility.
Since its entry into force in 2012, there has always been some criticism of the ECI regarding its alleged complexity, the number of signatures needed or the demand for multinational subscribers.
Although slightly elaborate, the Citizens' Initiative is an important instrument to boost popular participation in the EU legislative process, as well as to engage citizens in the policy making process of the Union.
In order for that to happen, I believe that it is important to preserve its transnational aspect, through the rule of the seven proponents to be EU citizens residing in different member states, but also to ensure the broad support of the proposal by the European citizens - hence the one million signatures needed to subscribe an initiative.
Read more at:
Good news on the European Citizens' Initiative
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