A new boost for the European Citizens Initiative:

FUEN presents the Minority SafePack Initiative and European Commission announces overhaul of the ECI-regulation

The general mood at the annual ECI-Day in 2017 was more optimistic than in previous years. This had to do with the fact that the downward trend has stopped and that more initiatives are registered than one year ago. Another reason was the victory of the Minority SafePack Initiative at court and its subsequent registration by the European Commission. 

First Vice President Frans Timmermans of the European Commission, who is responsible for the functioning of the European Citizens’ Initiative, told at the ECI-Day that he will launch a consultation this year leading to new rules to be adopted in 2018. The First Vice-President said, "I want to make the ECI more accessible and citizen-friendly. I want the ECI to become a popular and living instrument, one that citizens are familiar with… There are obstacles to a more accessible and citizen-friendly ECI which have their origin in provisions of the ECI Regulation itself. We should take a careful look at those too… This process could culminate in a proposal to revise the ECI Regulation this year." The announcement was received very favourably. As the case of the Minority SafePack Initiative has shown, there are several issues that must be improved before the ECI is really the citizens-friendly instrument that it should be. 

FUEN advisor Frank de Boer spoke about the Minority SafePack Initiative and about the recent judgment that the initiative won against the European Commission. Both he as well as officials from the European Commission emphasised the importance of this judgment and of the changed approach by the Commission in regard to reasoning requirements and to the partial registration of citizens’ initiatives, something the Commission initially refused to consider. The Minority SafePack Initiative was registered on 3 April 2017 with 9 out of 11 sub-proposals considered eligible by the European Commission.

The ECI-Day is the annual meeting where organisers of initiatives, activists, experts and political representatives and officials of the European institutions take stock of the developments in regard to the European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI). It is a place where the different initiatives learn from each other and where officials and activists have the chance to speak with each other about how to improve this first instrument of direct democracy on the international level. The ECI-Day is hosted annually by the European Economic and Social Committee.

More information:
ECI-Day homepage (EESC)
Minority SafePack Initiative
Minority SafePack Initiative registration page (European Commission)