European Citizens' Initiative needs to live up to expectations

The Report on the European Citizens' Initiative (ECI), drafted by EPP Group MEP György Schöpflin, received the unanimous support of the European Parliament's Committee on Constitutional Affairs on 28 September and received and overwhelming majority of the votes today in the plenary. György Schöpflin said: "The idea is that citizens are empowered to launch legislation initiatives and are thereby able to participate in European-level politics with greater intensity than hitherto. However, after over three years in operation, various obstacles to the effective functioning of the ECI have been encountered. The European Citizens' Initiative has the potential to connect and re-connect citizens to the EU Institutions. I have every hope that my report will accelerate this process."

The Report on the ECI calls on the European Commission to provide clear guidance on procedures and to simplify the rules for the collection of signatures. The Commission would need to prepare a legal act within 12 months after issuing a positive opinion on an initiative. It would also be tasked with providing information regarding where citizens may get a remedy for issues that cannot be dealt with within the ECI framework.

With the adoption of this Resolution and the Commission's own revision of this instrument, the ECI can fulfil all the hopes invested in it", concluded the Rapporteur.

The European Citizens' Initiative was originally launched at Laeken then was incorporated in the Treaties. It entered into force on 1 April 2012. Only 3 of the 51 submitted initiatives received follow-up. 20 were declared inadmissible.