Effectiveness of the European Citizens’ Initiative

The European Citizens’ Initiative is a means by which two goals could be achieved in the European Union. Firstly, thanks to it, the deficit existing in the EU could be eliminated, and secondly, the citizens of the Union would gain a tool to create an EU-wide public sphere, within which they would have a real possibility of influencing the legislative actions taken by the EU. It formally happened. The European Citizens’ Initiative, adopted over 10 years ago, potentially creates such an opportunity. However, looking at the effectiveness of its functioning, it cannot be concluded that the indicated goals have been achieved. The main problem is the too large role of the European Commission (slightly diminished by the recently introduced changes to the ECI regulation). The low efficiency of the ECI is not conducive to reducing the democratic deficit in the EU. However, the ECI creates an opportunity for discussion and public debate. It provides a basis for EU citizens to express their political positions, and the submitted initiative (albeit rarely successful) allow the conclusion that European public spheres do exist. The ECI creates a space for the citizens of different Member States to engage in a joint debate. However, this potential is not sufficiently exploited. It cannot be said that the EU’s democratic mandate has been strengthened by wider participation of citizens in the public debate. Too broad discretion by the Commission has the effect of reducing the effectiveness of the ECI. Indeed, if the application is not processed further despite the collection of a sufficient number of signatures due to the discretionary decision of the Commission, such a situation cannot be regarded as an effective implementation of the ECI. The application submitted by EU citizens as part of the ECI should not only be treated as a signal from them, and the Commission should treat it as a clear need to regulate a given area.

The European Citizens’ Initiative is a means by which two goals could be achieved in the European Union. Firstly, thanks to it, the deficit existing in the EU could be eliminated, and secondly, the citizens of the Union would gain a tool to create an EU-wide public sphere, within which they would have a real possibility of influencing the legislative actions taken by the EU. It formally happened. The European Citizens’ Initiative, adopted over 10 years ago, potentially creates such an opportunity. However, looking at the effectiveness of its functioning, it cannot be concluded that the indicated goals have been achieved. The main problem is the too large role of the European Commission (slightly diminished by the recently introduced changes to the ECI regulation). The low efficiency of the ECI is not conducive to reducing the democratic deficit in the EU. However, the ECI creates an opportunity for discussion and public debate. It provides a basis for EU citizens to express their political positions, and the submitted initiative (albeit rarely successful) allow the conclusion that European public spheres do exist. The ECI creates a space for the citizens of different Member States to engage in a joint debate. However, this potential is not sufficiently exploited. It cannot be said that the EU’s democratic mandate has been strengthened by wider participation of citizens in the public debate. Too broad discretion by the Commission has the effect of reducing the effectiveness of the ECI. Indeed, if the application is not processed further despite the collection of a sufficient number of signatures due to the discretionary decision of the Commission, such a situation cannot be regarded as an effective implementation of the ECI. The application submitted by EU citizens as part of the ECI should not only be treated as a signal from them, and the Commission should treat it as a clear need to regulate a given area.