Brussels, 31/03/2010 (Agence Europe) - As announced (EUROPE 101103) the European Commission adopted a proposal Wednesday 31 March, which will allow European citizens, for the first time, to be able to directly suggest new legislation through the European Citizens' Initiative. This innovation is contained in the Lisbon Treaty. An initiative must be backed by at least one million citizens from at least one third of the Member States. Safeguards are envisaged to ensure that all initiatives proposed comply with EU values and fundamental rights. The Commission hopes that the Council and Parliament will reach final agreement on this initiative before the end of this year, to allow the first initiatives to be brought forward in 2011
Maroš Šefèoviè, Commission Vice-President presented the initiative to the press and explained that, “"this is a real step forward in the democratic life of the Union. It's a concrete example of bringing Europe closer to its citizens”. He also said that this initiative would, “introduce a whole new form of participatory democracy to the EU”. The Commissioner for Inter-institutional Relations and Administration affirmed that, “citizens want a simple, convivial, accessible and not too bureaucratic procedure”.
What form should the citizens' initiative take? An initiative must be backed by at least one million citizens from at least one third of the Member States. In each of these Member States, the minimum number of signatures required would be calculated by multiplying the number of Members of the European Parliament from that country by a factor of 750. The minimum age for signatories is the same as that required for European elections (18, except in Austria where it is 16). Proposed initiatives must be registered on an online register made available by the Commission - registration can be refused if the initiative is manifestly against the fundamental values of the EU. There are no restrictions as to how statements of support should be collected, but national authorities would have to check whether online collection systems comply with certain security and technical requirements and this verification must be done within three months. The organisers would have one year to collect the necessary signatures.
How will the Commission tackle the initiatives? The organiser must ask the Commission to check the admissibility of the initiative once 300,000 signatures have been gathered from three Member States. The Commission would have two months to decide whether the initiative falls within its powers and is in an area where legislation is possible. This admissibility test would not prejudge the Commission's decision on the substance of the initiative. If the initiative were judged admissible and once the signatures had been verified, the Commission would have four months to examine the initiative itself. It would then have to decide whether to make a legislative proposal, to follow up the issue for example with a study, or to not take any further action. It would then have to explain its reasoning in a public document.
Safeguards. The proposal seeks to ensure that the procedures for launching a Citizens' Initiative are simple, user-friendly and accessible to all, and should not be too burdensome for national authorities. It is important that this new feature of the democratic process should be credible, should fully assure data protection and should not be open to abuse or fraud. When it is registered, the Commission will check that everything is in order and sufficiently serious in its objectives. It will also ensure that it does not contravene European values. The Commission will, for example, refuse initiatives to ban minarets (freedom of expression and religion would oppose this) or make an appeal for the death penalty (in contradiction with European values).
In his replies to the press, Mr Šefèoviè explained that: when the organisers register, they have to explain what financial support they benefit from and the Commission cannot subsidise initiatives (because they, “do not aim to generate income or revenue”, explained the Commissioner. (L.C.)