Strengthening the Political Rights of the EU Citizens in the Framework of the European Citizens' Initiative: Brief Analyse of Certain Citizens’ Initiatives

Abstract

Regulation (EU) No.211/16th February 2011 on the European Citizens' Initiative (ECI), as one of the major innovations of the Treaty of Lisbon, represents the first supranational instrument of direct democracy that took effect on April 1, 2012, creating the direct legal link between the European Union citizens and the European institutions.Within the present paper we will try to analyse briefly certain citizens’ initiatives that have been already published on the official website of the European Commission where the online collection of a million signatures is still running, bearing in mind the important role of the citizens as “co-authors” of the law within the European decision-making process, without forgetting to make a short overview of the European Citizens’ Initiative instrument.Even though it is too early to give an opinion whether this new instrument will become or not a useful tool for citizens and their democratic participation into the European political life, from our point of view this participation will increase the responsibility of the citizens to be more active by submitting proposals that concern their current life in all the subject matters which are under the Commission’s legislative competence. The citizens’ efforts will be doubled by the EU institutions and the civil society organizations that can play a significant role in providing the infrastructure and assistance to the ECI organizers to ensure that the EU citizens are afforded to use their new right in the best conditions and without no obstacles in a more inclusive and democratic Europe.

DOI: 10.5901/ajis.2013.v2n9p414