1 / 13

The European Citizens’ Initiative

The European Citizens’ Initiative. Background Preparing the ground rules Commission proposal Regulation adopted Lucy Swan - Secretariat General - European Commission. The European Citizens’ Initiative Background.

brady-oliver
Download Presentation

The European Citizens’ Initiative

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. The European Citizens’ Initiative Background Preparing the ground rules Commission proposal Regulation adopted Lucy Swan - Secretariat General - European Commission

  2. The European Citizens’ InitiativeBackground • Introduced by the Convention in the draft European Constitution and maintained in Lisbon Treaty • One of the most visible and concrete innovation of LT • First transnational instrument of participatory democracy • Unique opportunity to bring EU closer to citizens!

  3. The European Citizens’ InitiativeBackground Article 11(4) TUE: • Not less than one million citizens who are nationals of a significant number of Member States may take the initiative of inviting the European Commission, within the framework of its powers, to submit any appropriate proposal on matters where citizens consider that a legal act of the Union is required for the purpose of implementing the Treaties. • The procedures and conditions required for such a citizens’ initiative shall be determined in accordance with the first paragraph of Article 24 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.

  4. The European Citizens’ InitiativeBackground Article 24, 1st subparagraph, TFEU: • The European Parliament and the Council, acting by means of regulations in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure, shall adopt the provisions for the procedures and conditions required for a citizens’ initiative within the meaning of Article 11 of the Treaty on European Union, including the minimum number of Member States from which such citizens must come.

  5. The European Citizens’ InitiativePreparing the ground rules • Green paper on ECI: 1st act to implement LT: adopted 11/11/09 • Over 300 responses from citizens, organisations, public authorities • Public hearing • MS expert meeting • EP resolution of 05/2009

  6. The European Citizens’ InitiativePreparing the ground rules Key message from consultation: • Instrument must be user-friendly • Some rules necessary to prevent abuse but should be proportionate

  7. The European Citizens’ InitiativePreparing the ground rules Outcome of discussions with MS: • Procedures for national/local CIs vary considerably • Different traditions in different MS • Divergent positions

  8. The European Citizens’ InitiativePreparing the ground rules Conclusion of preparatory work: • Instrument should be user-friendly : same conditions for all EU citizens • ECIs need to be representative of Union interest • Burden for MS should be minimized • Rules should be proportionate to nature of ECI • NEED TO STRIKE RIGHT BALANCE

  9. The European Citizens’ InitiativeCommission proposal (1) Adopted 31.03.2010 Key elements: • Minimum n° of MS: 1/3 • Minimum n° of citizens per MS: EP degressive proportionality • Minimum age: EP voting age • Registration in online register: initial filter

  10. The European Citizens’ InitiativeKey elements of the Commission proposal (2) • Admissibility check: by COM after 300.000 signatures from 3 MS • Organiser responsible for collection • Time limit for collection: 1 year • Online collection possible – specific security requirements

  11. The European Citizens’ InitiativeKey elements of the Commission proposal (3) • MS responsible for verification: free to decide how – e.g. random check • Final stage: successful initiative: COM has 4 months to examine and respond: Communication

  12. The European Citizens’ InitiativeFollowing EP-Council Negotiations • Regulation adopted 16/02/2011 • Key elements of Com proposal remain, with a few changes: • Citizens’ committee (7 citizens coming from 7 MS); • “Manifestly inadmissible test” at the time of registration; • Minimum number of Member States: 1/4 • Varying data requirements according to MS • Possibility to withdraw an initiative • Commission to make available software • A 12-month delay in the application of the Regulation.

  13. The European Citizens’ Initiative Next steps: Implementation… Further info: http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/secretariat_general/citizens_initiative/index_en.htm

More Related