The world’s first transnational, digital right of initiative – the European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) – has been running now for over a year. But there are many problems. It costs at least €1m to organise an ECI. The regulations for collecting signatures are complex, and differ from country to country. And an ECI is not even binding.
by Kita Boncheva (Bulgaria/Germany)
The European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) process is so complicated, time-consuming and expensive that, just one year after its launch, one of the ECIs actually challenges the ECI itself.
So far, 25 ECIs have been proposed, of which 16 have been registered and 14 are ongoing.
Bruno Kaufmann, president of the Initiative and Referendum Institute Europe, says: “A key area for development is the removal of barriers to access ECIs. The tool’s power should be strengthened by promoting Europe-wide awareness of the ECI. One option is to send a letter to every household in Europe, informing them about the ECI, along with the info about the forthcoming European parliament elections.”
A further move, he suggested, would be to ensure that ECIs could result in EU treaty changes.
Another issue is the language barrier. Mr Kaufmann said the ECI should be translated into all 23 European languages.
An ECI must gather 1m signatures. But that does not suffice. There are different regulations and quotas for each EU member state. It’s complicated to initiate an ECI. An organisation can’t do it. A ‘citizens committee’, consisting of seven EU citizens resident in at least seven different member states, must be set up. They then register the ECI with the European Commission – and registration takes at least three months.
Expensive and slow
The online signature registration process also needs to be improved, say ECI campaigners. Member states have different rules for signature collection. Most countries apply complicated data-protection rules and citizens are asked for detailed personal information, such as ID number and address. In some countries, certain EU citizens are not even allowed to participate.
ECI organisers also say the online systems for collecting 1m signatures are expensive and time-consuming. The Commission did set up an online system, but there are problems with its design and speed.
What is more, the costs for small organisations are overwhelming, while much time and civic engagement is needed.
Once the 12-month collection of signatures is over, ECI organisers submit the ECI. Validation takes about three months. Every signature is checked. There is a public hearing at the European Parliament and the Commission responds – but it is not obliged to take action or to propose any legislation.
The ECI tool was put forward as “a new right for EU citizens … You can set the agenda!” But campaigners say it lacks power.
The ECI, as a move towards real participatory democracy, in its infancy. There are many criticisms, but there are also moves to make it work better: for example, proposals to establish a single data-protection authority, and regulation to remove the ID requirements for signature collection, while some member states suggest creating an e-card for voting.
It’s clear that even 1m citizens can not yet put real pressure on the Commission – and set the agenda.
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Moves to simplify ECI requirements – by just five countries
The call for simplification of European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) procedures and rules has provoked a response at last.
Five member states – Luxembourg, France, Spain, the Netherlands and Ireland – have announced that they will ease the cumbersome data requirements.
ECI campaigners have struggled to get the ECI signature form simplified and the ID requirements eliminated.
The ECI has been plagued by technical problems. Campaigners have complained that EU citizens living outside the EU cannot sign initiatives, while people are generally reluctant to sign ECIs in countries that require IDs.
Eighteen member states require that citizens provide personal identification numbers when signing an ECI. Such intrusive personal data requirements are often not necessary, raise privacy concerns, deter support, and demotivate potential supporters of ECIs.
Welcomed
ECI organisers have strongly welcomed the latest developments, in particular those in Luxembourg, and urged all member states to follow suit.
· Luxembourg has dropped the ID-number requirement for all running ECIs (once the new annexes are adopted).
· France is reducing the list of ID requirements, but adding ‘place of residence’ and ‘date of birth’.
· Spain is removing the address requirement and adding the NIE (Número de Identificación de Extranjeros, or ID card for ‘foreigners’).
· The Netherlands will allow Dutch people living abroad to sign.
· Ireland is reviewing its criteria.
The changes in these countries indicate that politicians at national level recognise the ECI as a powerful tool for citizens to influence EU politics. But most member states still need to change their requirements and remove the blocks to fuller citizen participation.
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