The European Citizens' Initiative right, to be introduced under Art 11.4 of the Treaty of Lisbon, is one of the few key innovations in the new EU treaty. It will play a critical role in bringing European democracy forward in the coming years. While there is no disagreement on the principle of giving half a billion Europeans the same right to launch pan-European lawmaking processes as the European Parliament (EP) and the European Council already enjoy, there is an ongoing debate on exactly how to do this. IRI’s guide will fill you in on the background and keep you up-to-date on ongoing events and future challenges for the first transnational procedure.

Regulation

On March 31, the European Commission introduced its proposal for a regulation on Art. 11.4.

Download the proposed ECI regulation and the official Guide to the European Citizens’ Initiative

The presentation of the regulation was preceded last winter by a public consultation process, within which IRI Europe offered a series of key recommendations. 

Background

IRI has been one of the driving forces behind the new European Citizens’ Initiative for more than a decade and has published several Handbooks on the issue.

Read more in the Initiative for Europe Handbook 2008 – The guide to transnational democracy in Europe.

Next steps

With the proposed regulation in place it will now be now up to the European Parliament and Council to approve the proposals so that the European Citizens’ Initiative can enter into force.That will probably happen by the end of this year.

But until then IRI will keep on pressing for key improvements in the procedure, preparing for the first actual Initiatives, and establishing a supportive infrastructure. Join in and take part in this work by attending the 2010 European Citizens’ Initiative Summit in Salzburg in May.

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