CCBS submission to the European Citizens Initiative Public Consultation

In August 2017 CCBS made a submission to the European Citizens Initiative (ECI) public consultation. The ECI was introduced by the Treaty of Lisbon (Article 11 TEU and Article 24 TFEU) and has been implemented by the (EU) Regulation No 211/2011 (ECI Regulation) applying since April 2012. The Aim of the ECI is to allow EU citizens to participate directly in the development of EU policies, by calling on the European Commission to make a legislative proposal.

In 2015 the Commission identified a number of challenges arising in the implementation of the ECI Regulation. Such challenges include lack of clarity and transparency at the registration of initiatives stage, high rate of refusals or partial registrations of the proposed ECIs, complexities in procedure, and divergences in requirements towards signatories in different member states. The resulting procedural and other complexities  were judged as risking the exclusion of some groups of citizens. As a result, the European Commission has undertaken a review of the ECI Regulation. The aim of the public consultation was to contribute to the outcomes of this process.

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