European citizens' initiative (ECI)
CIVEX-V/007
European citizens' initiative (ECI)
THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS
- underlines the fact that the adoption of this regulation, activating the right of citizens to participate directly in the democratic life of the Union, represents a milestone in the consolidation of the principles of democracy in the EU;
- would stress the interest local and regional authorities are showing in the establishment of the citizens' initiative, as they could decide to organise and/or promote initiatives themselves, not least given their closeness to the EU public;
- underlines the key role that can be played by the Committee of the Regions, thanks in part to the instruments it has developed in the area of decentralised communication, and by regional and local authorities, which are able to communicate directly at a grassroots level;
- broadly endorses the proposal made by the Commission, while believing that improvements are possible on certain points;
- considers that it would be more appropriate that the minimum threshold be equal to a quarter of Member States, which would moreover be in line with the Treaty's other provisions, such as Article 76 TFEU;
- calls upon the institutions to consider the possibility of providing some assistance in translating the principal elements of an initiative that has been declared admissible into all the official languages of the European Union, so that all the citizens of the Union can be made aware of it;
- proposes that the Commission should be responsible for verifying the admissibility of a proposal for a citizens' initiative when it is first registered, in order to avoid organisers putting a significant amount of time and money into citizens' initiatives that then prove to be inadmissible.
- underlines the fact that the adoption of this regulation, activating the right of citizens to participate directly in the democratic life of the Union, represents a milestone in the consolidation of the principles of democracy in the EU;
- would stress the interest local and regional authorities are showing in the establishment of the citizens' initiative, as they could decide to organise and/or promote initiatives themselves, not least given their closeness to the EU public;
- underlines the key role that can be played by the Committee of the Regions, thanks in part to the instruments it has developed in the area of decentralised communication, and by regional and local authorities, which are able to communicate directly at a grassroots level;
- broadly endorses the proposal made by the Commission, while believing that improvements are possible on certain points;
- considers that it would be more appropriate that the minimum threshold be equal to a quarter of Member States, which would moreover be in line with the Treaty's other provisions, such as Article 76 TFEU;
- calls upon the institutions to consider the possibility of providing some assistance in translating the principal elements of an initiative that has been declared admissible into all the official languages of the European Union, so that all the citizens of the Union can be made aware of it;
- proposes that the Commission should be responsible for verifying the admissibility of a proposal for a citizens' initiative when it is first registered, in order to avoid organisers putting a significant amount of time and money into citizens' initiatives that then prove to be inadmissible.
