The citizen’s initiative : a project for all European citizens
Did you know that the European citizens soon will be able to participate in the politics of the European Union? One of the innovations of the Lisbon Treaty is the citizen’s initiative : 1 million citizens can ask the Commission to introduce a bill .
The principle of the citizen’s initiative is already certain, but the regulation that will fix the practical modalities has not been approved yet. The Council and the European Parliament will have to find an agreement. The aim of the Belgian Presidency is to find common ground with the Parliament on certain issues, as there are the threshold for validating an initiative and the verification process (at the beginning of the procedure or later on).
On July 20 I met Ms Zita Gurmai, Vice-president of the Committee on Constitutional Affairs (AFCO) of the European Parliament and one of the rapporteurs for this procedure. We agreed that the citizen’s initiative is an important instrument, which will add a new dimension to the European construction. In order to succeed this initiative, solutions need to be found to ensure the efficiency and the accessibility of the citizen’s initiative.
The adoption of a regulation on the citizen’s initiative is one of the priorities of the Belgian Presidency and we hope to find an agreement before the end of the year.
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