Tomorrow, the European Union will launch an additional opportunity for EU citizens to participate in government matters at the EU level. This new tool, called the European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI), will give citizens the ability to bring issues to the attention of the European Commission.
In order to have the potential to influence policy making, no less than one million citizens from a minimum of seven different EU countries may submit a proposal to the European Commission. This will add to another layer of democracy to the EU, and ignite more pan-European debate on issues resonating with European citizens.
The European Citizens’ Initiative was proposed as part of the well-known Lisbon Treaty, which came into force in 2007. The task of developing the citizens’ initiative was given to the Commission; however the Council, Parliament, and citizens were encouraged to give feedback. Now, in 2012, the Commission has finally released a user-friendly guide to the European Citizens’ Initiative and campaigns for signatures will begin this week.
This is an exciting chance for citizens to be proactive about issues they feel passionately about. Naturally, not just any proposal will be accepted. Aside from aligning with fundamental EU beliefs, the subject matter of a proposal must be within the power of the Commission. For example, education, an area where many citizens have very specific preferences, is mostly handled by national governments. So, a proposal to change the educational system or curriculum in a specific country would be misguided. Proposals to the European Commission that deal with environment, agriculture, transport and public health will probably see the most success.
Citizens are having an increasingly active role in European Union politics. They directly elect members of the European Parliament, and also have the ability to petition to the Parliament. The new European Citizens’ Initiative takes citizen participation within the EU a step further. Although the Commission is trying to make understanding the citizens’ initiative as easy as possible, getting a proposal through to be considered for legislating will not be as easy as signing one’s name to a paper or blogging about a cause.
Firstly, the one million names required must be collected within a year. These signatures, known as ‘statements of support’, can be collected on paper or online and include personal information such as phone numbers, addresses, and even ID numbers depending on where one resides. The statements of support must be collected by an organised citizens’ committee which will be leading the movement. The citizens’ committee must have members from each of the seven contributing member states. All citizens contributing their name as a signatory must be of age to vote in MEP elections. Furthermore, a threshold of citizens from each of the minimum seven member states based on the population of those countries must be reached or surpassed for a proposal to qualify.
The European Citizens’ Initiative also incorporates a data protection plan, in order to make sure contributing citizens’ identities are kept safe. This will be the responsibility of the organisers on the citizens’ committee. They will be responsible for the data of contributing signatories as well as for destroying all personal data no later than 18 months after submission to the Commission.
Once successfully submitted, the Commission has three months to act on the initiative. Hopefully, this will encourage efficient and swift responses to citizens’ concerns. The first initiative is likely to be related to making it impossible for the European Union to privatise water. A wide variety of topics have already been suggested including issues related to disabilities rights and tackling obesity.
Citizens should certainly take advantage of this opportunity. It will be interesting how far citizens will go with this chance to put their concerns directly on the desks of Commissioners. While I would imagine most citizens are still completely unaware of how the European Citizens’ Initiative will work, only time will be able to tell how this tool will be used in practice. The press is anxiously awaiting a statement from the Commission regarding the initiative, and more details are sure to come. All in all, the European Citizens’ Initiative is a successful follow-through on the goals and promises in the Treaty of Lisbon, furthering the democratic nature of the EU as a whole.
David Casa is a Nationalist MEP