Dear Fellow European Citizen!

The time has come for the final countdown towards the launch of the first real European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI). Last winter, the Lisbon Treaty establishing the very first transnational direct-democratic procedure in the world came into force. This spring, the European Commission presented its draft regulation, defining the framework and details of the new procedure. Later this year, the European Parliament and the European Council will finally decide on the rules of how European citizens will become agenda-setters beyond the borders of the Member States.

For us, the Citizens of Europe, active in many different ways in elected bodies, administrations, non-governmental organizations and as individual citizens, it is time to act again. After having proposed and supported the introduction of participatory tools for decades and after having supported both European Convention members, Member States’ representatives and the Commission in establishing the principles and cornerstones of the European Citizens’ Initiative, we have to secure the core principles and user-friendliness of the new regulation proposed by the EU Commision this spring and assist both the Parliament and the Council in improving certain elements of this regulation.

However, this is still only a beginning, because when the European Citizens’ Initiative process begins to be used in practice, its effectiveness will depend on there being in place a comprehensive and supportive infrastructure. This support must include the availability of expert help - on a kind of consultancy basis - for prospective launchers of initiatives in designing ECIs which fit into the adopted framework and in ensuring that they are technically admissable, in assisting initiators to communicate their initiative in several EU languages, and, of course, in providing information and education on this new democratic territory to all stakeholders.

That’s a lot of work – and so you and your organization are most welcome to join us at the 2010 European Citizens’ Initiative Summit in Salzburg on the weekend of Europe Day. Let us together assess both the regulation, its strengths and weaknesses, and the next steps ahead in what we can call the final countdown towards the entry of the new democratic instrument of the European Citizens’ Initiative into political practice.

It’s time to act – welcome to Salzburg in May!

Johannes W Pichler, Director, Austrian Institute for European Law and Policy

Bruno Kaufmann, President, Initiative and Referendum Institute Europe