European Citizens’ Initiative
The European Citizens’ Initiative is an instrument of participatory democracy in the European Union. One million citizens from a quarter of the Member States, that is from seven member states, can take the initiative to request the European Commission to submit a proposal aimed at a legislative act for implementing EU treaties. The legal basis for the European Citizens’ Initiative is Article 11(4) of the Treaty on European Union (TEU), Article 24(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), Regulation (EU) No 211/2011 and Regulation (EU) No 2019/788, and Articles 222 and 230 of the Rules of Procedure of the European Parliament. Introduced in 2011, the institution was reformed in 2019. The aim was to simplify the procedure and improve its transparency and accessibility. The right to submit a European Citizens’ Initiative is different from the right to submit petitions. According to Article 227 of the TFEU any citizen of the European Union residing therein, and any natural person or any legal entity with a registered seat in the European Union may petition the European Parliament on a matter which comes within the Union’s fields of activity and affects him or her directly. The European Citizens’ Initiative is a call for the development and adoption of a specific EU legal instrument; it must comply with certain special rules, and it is addressed to the committee entitled to submit the legislative proposal. The stages of the process of the European Citizens’ Initiative are as follows: 1. setting up the organising (so-called citizens’) committee (7 persons residing in 7 different Member States); 2. registration with the European Commission, 3. collection of supporting declarations, 4. verification and validation by the national authorities. During the submission and examination process the Commission will receive the organisers and ensure that the initiative is presented at a public hearing in Parliament. Six successful European Citizens’ Initiatives have been submitted to the European Commission until November 2020. (See also: European Citizens’ Initiative on National Regions, Minority SafePack European Citizens’ Initiative.)