The first European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) – “My vote against nuclear power” – which seeks to phase out the use of all nuclear energy within the EU and to provide for a secure energy future – was today rejected by the European Commission (EC). In its reasoning, the Commission referred to the EURATOM Treaty for the promotion of nuclear energy, More…

This is the English translation of today’s GLOBAL 2000 press release, produced by Paul Carline. More…

By May 11^th the first six ECIs in EU history had been registered by the EU Commission on its official ECI registry. These ECI organizers now need to organize the support of one million citizens across Europe within a tight timeline of only twelve months. Surprisingly, however, none of these ECIs have started to collect signatures so far. Read the story about what the first ECIs are about, who is behind them and where the current challenges lie. More…

These days many individuals and organizations across Europe are assessing how to start a European Citizens’ Initiative. But only a few of them have officially announced their European Citizens’ Initiative projects so far. Find below a preliminary overview of the first registered ECIs and further expected ECIs to come*. More…

There is a Europe beyond the crisis of its economy and currency – and beyond fear. There is a Europe which pioneers democracy by strengthening the participatory rights of its citizens. Since April 1 this year one million people across the European Union have the right to propose transnational legal initiatives, “European Citizens Initiatives” (ECI). This first direct, transnational and digital process – which allows for gathering signatures on the internet in addition to traditional paper collections – is a highly encouraging implementation of the most recent EU Treaty. This puts indirect and direct democracy on equal footing as complementary parts of a modern representative democracy. More…

Brussels – Starting on Sunday, April 1, 2012 the regulation to implement the European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) will ultimately be applicable: a new tool created by the Lisbon Treaty which gives 1 million citizens the right to ask for changes to European law. According to Carsten Berg, ECI Campaign Director “We warmly welcome the introduction of the ECI. It is the first transnational instrument of participatory democracy in world history. With it, Europe enters a new territory of citizen participation. It is the result of nearly a decade of work which will open up new perspectives for democracy building in Europe.”  More…

Less than three weeks left until the launch of the first real European Citizens’ Initiatives (ECI) on April 1st all relevant stakeholders – citizens, institutions and media – are getting prepared for the start of the first transnational instrument of participatory democracy in world history. Please find an up-date on ECI related events, how to prepare an ECI Campaign and about some courageous citizens who are just about to run an ECI. 

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Xavier, who is a tech expert will launch an ECI in April, but is facing problems with the provided ECI software. Please read his analysis and feel free to make proposals how to overcome these obstacles, so all future ECI organizers can benefit from it! The ECI Campaign is stimulating debates how to make ECI as citizen-friendly as possible. We have approached several tech experts and plan to spread further views on how to make the online collection workable and efficient. Please also check the ECI-Facebook site for comments and up-dated links for ECI practitioners.

The time has now come for the final countdown towards the launch of the first real European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI). More and more people across Europe are already preparing the first official transnational ECI campaigns on a very diverse range of issues – from environmental to social to institutional topics. At the same time EU member states are still in the process of implementing the juridical and practical arrangements at the national level to make the ECI work. More…

If you are serious about organising an ECI, you will need assistance and should calculate at least half a year to prepare and another full year to collect signatures. The ECI Campaign wants to see many citizens lifting their voices through the new ECI instrument and offers an ECI Help Desk. We advise you to consider the following check-list before you start an ECI. More…