The European Citizens' Initiative (ECI) Day, organised by the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) on Tuesday 10 April, gave rise to the voicing of very contrasting opinions about the application of this direct democracy instrument and its ongoing reform.
The ECI was established by the Treaty of Lisbon and enables a million EU citizens to ask the Commission to put forward a legislative proposal on a subject of EU competence. This instrument has not always had the expected...