Publications
European Citizens' Initiative allows 1 million citizens from at least a quarter of the EU Member States to ask the European Commission to propose legislation in areas that fall within its competence. The organisers of a citizens' initiative – a citizens' committee composed of at least seven EU citizens, resident in at least seven different Member States – have one year to gather the necessary support.
Signatures must be certified by the competent authorities in each Member State and can be collected online. Organisers of successful initiatives will participate in a hearing at the European Parliament. The Commission will have three months to examine the initiative and decide how to act on it.
As the Initiative and Referendum Institute has been instrumental in initiating the very idea of the ECI, promoting the introduction, supporting the implementation and observing the practicing of the first transnational tool of modern direct democracy, our online library offers a comprehensive set of publications around the history, challenges and experiences with the tool.