In Austria, the “Volksbegehren” (petition for a referendum) participatory democracy tool allows citizens to impose on Parliament a mandatory review of their request, if supported with at least 100,000 signatures. In times of climate crisis, the petition for a referendum on climate protection surpassed this mark easily and is now in the hands of Parliament. What are the hopes for what happens next? How does the Austrian “Volksbegehren” compare to the European Citizens’ Initiative? And what are the possible synergies between them?

For this article Patrick Tobiaschek, the Austrian ECI Ambassador,  interviewed Hannes Kramml, member of the “Klimavolksbegehren” (petition for a referendum on climate protection) [1], about the challenges and successes of the petition and the differences in comparison to the European Citizens' Initiative. Hannes studies ecology after working as a technical project manager. He has a broad interest in socio-political subjects and is therefore involved in non-profit associations, such as this petition for a referendum and a permaculture project to explore alternative forms of agriculture.

The first petition for a referendum in Austria was held in 1964 and has since become an integral part of Austrian politics [2]. How do you rate this form of participatory democracy? Do you think the effect on Parliament is big enough?

It is the most important direct democracy tool of taking political issues from the people directly to Parliament. But history shows that a petition for a referendum has unfortunately rarely resulted in a change in legislation. Especially if the issue does not fit in with the course of the parties currently in government. In view of the voluntary and financial effort involved, it is a pity that the deliberations and discussions in the parliamentary committees take place far from the public eye.

The demand initiated by the people is subject to a binding treatment, but in the end often the parliamentary status “noticed” remains. In any case, we are trying very hard to ensure that this is not the case this time.

Was it difficult to convince people to participate in the petition for a referendum on climate protection? Are there any obstacles in filing statements of support?

In Vienna, where I participated most at events or demos, the name "Klimavolksbegehren" was often enough, and many were already willing to support. But being supportive does not automatically result in a signature, unfortunately. Going to the administrative office is certainly an obstacle, but when the registration period was about to end, such as during registration week, this obstacle became smaller and smaller. The “mobile phone signature” for support is a good alternative, although it is used in varying frequency in the population. Of course, there were also critics and deniers, but they were a minority, even though my observation was probably not representative.

In addition, many were willing to support the petition for a referendum, but unfortunately did not fulfil the requirements. This was particularly painful for those persons who had been living in Austria for a long time but had not (yet) obtained citizenship for various reasons.

It was probably not easy to reach the amount of the required 100,000 signatures. Before you can start to collect statements of support, the referendum must be registered [3]. Did you encounter any obstacles in the registration process?

As far as I know, there were no major difficulties, compared to other challenges we had to face. For example, when we got pictures of people willing to sign the petition but standing in line in front of the administrative offices and sometimes being sent home eventually because of overloaded servers. That is particularly painful.

In a petition for a referendum, the people mainly notice the registration week itself, but of course a lot happens before that. Our association has been in existence for more than two years now. At the beginning, long before registration, scientifically based demands to fight climate change had to be discussed and agreed on, considering many different perspectives. And then it is very unfortunate to see signatures being unnecessarily lost. Especially since it is not the first time such complaints have been raised.

After registration, the phase of support follows with the goal of collecting 8,401 statements of support. Then the initiation request can be submitted, and the eight-day registration procedure (registration week) starts [3]. How did you organise the collection of signatures during registration week?

We launched the phase of support in August 2019 and made a brilliant start right away. On the first day we reached the required one per mille of the eligible voters. After several postponements, we submitted the initiation request in March 2020. We were one of the four Austrian petitions for a referendum that reached the necessary 100,000 signatures in the phase of support alone, i.e. even before registration week in June 2020.

There is a big campaign behind a referendum like this. A huge contribution to this success came from the over 1,000 volunteers who tirelessly walked every district and so many places across Austria. With flyers, street actions and much more. Moreover, without the online campaigns and public relations, we would probably not have reached our goals. The amount of support highly correlates with media presence. Initiatives always need to ensure that newspapers and other media take up the issue and raise awareness.

Foto: Mlg Mike, KVB

You were definitely very successful! The petition for a referendum on climate protection has clearly exceeded the necessary number of signatures. Now the Austrian Parliament has to deal with climate issues and your demands. Can you tell me more about the current status?

We have received nearly 400,000 signatures. This is insane, especially under the current situation due to Covid-19. And in addition to signatures coming directly from the people, an alliance consisting of numerous NGOs, companies and prominent personalities has been formed. All this provided the necessary backing to deal with our demands in committee meetings of the Parliament. Recently, the expert hearings in the Environment Committee took place; the different parliamentary clubs invited our initiators, the scientists and experts.

For the first time in a committee, this was done publicly with live-streaming and recording. This has encouraged a constructive debate and we have the prospect of a multi-party proposal to implement our objectives. As our spokesperson Katharina Rogenhofer summed up, we have managed to ensure an important step towards a progressive climate policy across all parties. The next meeting is expected to take place at the beginning of March. Then we will see whether this is just non-binding lip service, or if we are getting closer to political implementation.

What challenges did you have to deal with and how do you finance such a petition for a referendum?

To reach a considerable number of people, money is needed! We might now ask ourselves how democratic this important direct-democratic tool is, when almost everything depends on financial resources…

Is there no financial support from the state?

No, not at all. But we were able to attract a lot of partners, did events like a charity auction, and there were many private donors who thankfully supported us financially. In addition to the aforementioned server failures, we often had to be very flexible in time regarding the authorities. Especially in relation to the Covid-19 pandemic because it was not clear for a long time whether and when our registration week would take place. As a result, the themes regarding the campaign and our financial continuity had to be constantly adapted. In addition, the turn-over fluctuation rate is correspondingly high. All of us here work on a voluntary basis besides our jobs, studies, and other things.

After talking about the challenges, let's move on to something positive: What was the best moment for you personally during the “Klimavolksbegehren”?

That was definitely at the end of June. The registration week just ended, and we held a closing rally at Heldenplatz in Vienna. Due to the wide distribution over the Austrian federal states, the exchange between members generally took place online. At the rally, you see many of these people for the first time and finally get to know each other in person. We were all exhausted from the intense phase but also totally happy about the announced success.

Foto: Innes Futterknecht, KVB

The European Commission has also been trying to tackle the climate crisis and wants to counteract with the Green Deal. For your demands, what would you want to happen on a European level?

An essential point, national is important, but many things can only be solved in a much bigger approach. Many of our demands could be carried onto a higher level. Some of these considerations are also included in the Green Deal, for example a binding CO2 budget, verified by an independent body. Then the development of public transport within Europe to create a significant alternative to air transport. Irrespective of our demands, many other things are necessary. The revision of emissions trading and the European agricultural policy, to name two examples.

The right to submit a citizens' initiative is legally enshrined in the Treaty on the European Union, which was last adapted in Lisbon in 2007 [4]. Have you ever heard about the European Citizens' Initiative? Did you and your colleagues ever talk about it?

I certainly support any possibility of democratic participation. And yes, I have heard about the European Citizens' Initiative before. But the truth is that it did not play a role in our actions in the “Klimavolksbegehren”, or I am not aware of that role. Perhaps there is also the problem of a low awareness level. If it is not self-evident for many of us to know the ECI, there is obviously room for improvement.

Hopefully this interview will be a small step to greater awareness. The procedure of the European Citizens' Initiative [5] differs from the Austrian petition for a referendum. The group of organisers must consist of at least 7 EU citizens who are resident in 7 different EU countries. Would that have been a great obstacle for you?

I don't think it would have been a big obstacle for us, because the climate movement has already developed long before the Austrian “Klimavolksbegehren”. So there is already a large network in Europe, and I am sure that it is possible to work well with it. Society is largely sensitised to the climate crisis, and it is certainly easier to announce such a topic across Europe than it is for more unknown issues.

The group of organisers is followed by the registration of the initiative with the European Commission. Then you can start collecting the 1 million signatures on paper or online [6] and you have 12 months to do so. Would you say it is easy to manage, compared to the 100,000 pledges of support needed in Austria? Have you already supported a European Citizens' Initiative?

Through TTIP and CETA I got in touch with the European Citizens’ Initiative, but I am afraid I have not supported any initiative until now. But I am sure that will change very soon!

If we compare the population sizes, the 1 million signatures across Europe seem to be a feasible size. But apart from the higher organisational effort, I cannot assess whether it’s easier or more difficult compared to the 100,000 signatures in the popular petition in Austria. At least the minimum number of signatures required for a country to be valid could be a challenge.

Once you have reached 1 million signatures, they must get verified within 3 months at the relevant authorities in each EU country. This step of examination is not necessary in the Austrian petition for a referendum, but this additional effort also brings a much greater range to address people.

If this examination allows the submitting of statements of support directly on-site, then the additional effort is justified in any case. Perhaps we would have been able to collect additional votes if the official channel had not been the only option. The signature collection process for the European Citizens’ Initiative   seems much simpler. And I think it’s just as good and important that these signatures are officially re-examined.

After a successful examination, the initiative is submitted to the European Commission. Then the European Parliament will take up the issue and the organisers get the opportunity to present the initiative in a public hearing. In your opinion, which ongoing European Citizens' Initiative [7] should the European Parliament absolutely review?

The initiative to “Start Unconditional Basic Incomes (UBI) throughout the EU” which would ensure material existence and the opportunity to participate in society regardless of income. Secondly, to restore biodiversity, prioritise small-scale, sustainable agriculture and support farmers in that transition, the initiative “Save bees and farmers! Towards a bee-friendly agriculture for a healthy environment” would be a great benefit to society. And to address some points already mentioned, I would support the initiative “VOTERS WITHOUT BORDERS, Full Political Rights for EU Citizens.” And, of course, there are plenty of others that should get treated.

Is there anything else regarding the citizens' initiatives that you would like to point out?

In my opinion it is a problem when young people, who will be most affected by the climate crisis, do not have the opportunity to cast their vote on this topic. That's why we have started an initiative and put up posters at events on which the children eternalise themselves with a handprint, if they wanted to support. Even those people who are not allowed to participate due to their lack of citizenship were thus able to cast their vote visually. Citizens who have lived here for a long time but are not allowed to participate in political events are already a considerable part of our society.

Foto: Jolly Schwarz, KVB

Very nice idea! Let's get to the last question: as a supporter of climate protection and participatory democracy, what do you want the readers to know?

Take the initiative. Especially the last few years have shown what we achieve thanks to pressure from the population. If we don’t change anything, everything changes!

About “Klimavolksbegehren”:

As an independent and cross-party voice, we represent all people who demand politicians to take concrete action against the climate crisis.  We understand climate protection not as the responsibility of individuals, but as the responsibility of society as a whole. Politicians must therefore create the legal framework that will also ensure a fair future worth living for our children.

Find the detailed demands on the website:

https://klimavolksbegehren.at/forderungen/m

External links:

[1] https://klimavolksbegehren.at/

[2] https://www.bmi.gv.at/411/Alle_Volksbegehren_der_zweiten_Republik.aspx

[3] https://www.bmi.gv.at/411/

[4] https://www.europarl.europa.eu/factsheets/en/sheet/149/european-citizens-initiative

[5] https://europa.eu/citizens-initiative/how-it-works_en

[6] https://europa.eu/citizens-initiative/online-collection-system_en

[7] https://europa.eu/citizens-initiative/find-initiative_en

https://www.bmi.gv.at/411/Volksbegehren_der_XX_Gesetzgebungsperiode/Klimavolksbegehren/start.aspx