Brussels, 14/02/2011 (Agence Europe) - On Monday 14 February, the EU Council of Ministers adopted a regulation, without debate, that will make it possible for EU citizens to call for legislative proposals on a specific issue. The Council adoption of the regulation follows on from a first reading agreement with the European Parliament (for the details, see EUROPE 10278).
The “European citizens' initiative”, one of the main innovations under the Lisbon Treaty, will enable citizens to ask the Commission to bring forward legislative proposals if the supporters of an initiative number at least one million and come from a significant number of member states.
The regulation sets out the procedures and conditions for implementing the citizens' initiative. In particular, a proposed initiative must fall within an area of EU competence and be consistent with EU values. The required “significant number” of member states is defined as at least one quarter of EU members, and a formula has been established for calculating the number of supporters necessary from each member state: the number of Members of the European Parliament elected in each member state multiplied by 750.
Support for a proposed initiative can be expressed in either paper form or electronically. The regulation contains provisions on the verification of signatures and in order to prevent potential abuses.
Once an initiative is registered, the organisers will have 12 months during which to collect the required one million signatures. They will also be required to submit information on funding and support. The regulation will be applicable one year after entry into force in order to allow member states and the Commission to take the necessary measures to implement it.
The Lisbon Treaty, which came into effect on 1 December 2009, introduced a new dimension of participatory democracy, alongside that of representative democracy on which the EU is founded, with the aim of bringing the EU closer to its citizens by encouraging more cross-border debate about EU issues. (L.C./transl.rt)