European Citizens' Initiative

Oversigt 22-12-2016

The European Citizens' Initiative (ECI) was introduced as a major innovation in the 2009 Lisbon Treaty. It is a key element of participatory democracy, allowing citizens to play an active role in the EU's democratic life through addressing requests for legislative proposals to the European Commission. Notwithstanding the Commission's right of initiative, the European Parliament and the Council, under Articles 225 and 241 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) respectively, also have the ability to request the Commission submit a legislative proposal. The procedure and conditions for ECIs are governed by Regulation (EU) No 211/2011, in force since April 2012. This was the subject of a first three-yearly review by the Commission in 2015, leading to a debate on the ECI's effectiveness and some suggestions for improvement.