Brussels, 10/05/2021 (Agence Europe) – The concept of the European citizens’ initiative (ECI) is still largely unknown in the EU, according to the results of a survey conducted by the German branch of the polling company YouGov and promoted on Sunday 9 May as part of the EU Sign Day campaign.
The online survey of 5,094 respondents between 28 April 2021 and 4 May 2021 showed that only 1.4% of German citizens, 3.4% of Italian citizens, 4.1% of Portuguese citizens and 1.5% of Finnish citizens—a total of 2.4% for these four countries—are aware of the ECI and know what it is.The organisations behind the EU Sign Day campaign also point out that, according to a Eurobarometer survey, only 9% of people mentioned ECIs as a way to make their voice heard at European level.
Introduced by the Lisbon Treaty, the ECI system has been operational for almost 10 years. (Original version in French by Agathe Cherki)