Want to connect and interact with organisers, stakeholders and interested citizens? Join the European Citizens’ Initiative Facebook Group! As a member of this network, you will be able to stay informed and share information, news and events concerning the ECI in general and specific initiatives.
Join by clicking on ‘more’ below.
On 17 November, the initiative ‘Effective implementation of the concept of judicial precedent in EU countries’ started collecting signatures. It aims to introduce a mechanism at national level which guarantees mutual recognition of final judicial decisions adopted by courts of other Member States.
If you would like to support this initiative, find out more on our website.
You’ve got time until 13 December to get your applications in for the ImagineEU video competition!
Based on the concept of the ECI, students from all EU countries in their final two years of high school can team up with their classmates and make a video about their ideas that could one day become EU laws. The three winning teams will win a study trip to Brussels to see how the EU institutions work.
Find out more about the competition, in any of the official EU languages!
On 8 November, not less than 4 new initiatives were registered calling the European Commission for action in different domains.
'I'm Going European': An ECI to Connect your National and European Citizenship
Creation of a European Environment Authority
Their organisers can start collecting support between now and 8 May. To find out more on any of these initiatives, check our website.
Want to help us spread the news about the ECI and the ‘ImagineEU’ video competition for schools? On our website you will find many useful resources in all EU official languages like videos, factsheets, infographics, and now also ready-made social media assets for the competition.
Download them from the link below to post about it on your channels – and don’t forget the #EUTakeTheInitiative hashtag!
The ECI Forum Team conducted research on national citizens’ initiatives in several EU countries comparable to the European citizens’ initiative. Learn more about these national citizens’ initiatives and the ways in which the ECI differs in this blog series.
Interested in learning what type of topics young people are interested in? Read our new blog post where students at Model EU Sofia simulated the European citizens’ initiative. Read the blog post below.
The ECI Forum continues to directly engage with university students. ECI experts take the opportunity to discuss the potential of participatory democracy in Europe generally, and the ECI as an important tool more specifically. Over 400 students attended session organised throughout the year.
Would you like the ECI Forum to present (in English) at your university and exchange with students? Contact the ECI Forum via eciforum@ecas.org
The European Parliament held a public hearing on the 10th successful European Citizens’ Initiative, Fur Free Europe, on 12 October. Organisers presented their argument that ‘the keeping and killing of animals solely for the purpose of fur production is ethically unacceptable’ and members of the European Parliament presented their views on this initiative. A debate on this ECI in a plenary session of the European Parliament took place on 19 October. The Commission will issue its official reply by 14 December 2023.
View the public hearing’s recording.
We look forward to reading your posts on our FB group! Start a conversation with other European citizens’ initiatives organisers, ambassadors or just friends.
Join the group by clicking ‘more’ below to get access to latest news and events involving the European Citizens’ Initiative.
10 European Citizens’ Initiatives are currently collecting signatures but two of them are in their final phase.
Want to help them – and other ECIs – improve their results? Find out more on our website and decide which ones you want to support.
This initiative closed in July 2023 after collecting over 215 000 signatures. On 24 October, PETI Committee of the European Parliament invited the organisers to present its objectives and exchanged views. The Committee will treat this ECI as a petition and request the European Commission for a written reply.
On 9 October, the initiative ‘Taxing great wealth to finance the ecological and social transition’ started collecting signatures. This initiative aims to establish a European tax on great wealth to be used to combat climate change and inequalities.
If you would like to support this initiative, find out more on our website.
Entries for the ImagineEU video competition, based on the concept of the ECI, opened on 16 October!
Students from all EU countries in their final two years of secondary education can team up with their classmates and make a video about their idea to make the EU a better place to live. The three winning teams will win a study trip to Brussels to see how the EU institutions work.
The EU Democracy in Action – Have Your Say with the ECI toolkit can help pupils prepare for the competition.
Find out more about the competition. Info is available in all EU languages!
Lire le bulletin en français. Cliquez sur le bouton 'more' ci-dessous, puis sur la nouvelle page (en haut de la page) cliquez sur l’icône du globe pour sélectionner la traduction française.
Lesen Sie den Newsletter auf Deutsch. Klicken Sie unten auf die Schaltfläche ‘more’ und wählen Sie dann auf der neuen Seite das Globus-Symbol aus, um die deutsche Übersetzung auszuwählen.
A kind reminder: this newsletter has automatic machine translation into 23 EU languages. Want to switch languages? Click ‘more’ and select the language of your choice at the top of the page. Thanks for keeping in mind this is machine generated.
The European Citizens’ Initiative website and the ECI Forum have new links – after their migration to the cloud. The old links will still work for some time, but you can already update your bookmarks or links included in your materials. The ECI website hasn’t changed though! Don’t forget to check the initiatives that are currently collecting signatures. Scroll through the homepage to see which one you wish to support.
Did you miss the #SOTEU speech from Commission President von der Leyen? We just posted a highlight on our FB group focusing on the vision of European youth for a better future.
In some Member States, the lowered age for support to ECIs will allow a new generation of Europeans to make an impact.
Check the requirements on our website.
The ECI Forum continues to directly engage with university students. ECI experts take the opportunity to discuss the potential of participatory democracy in Europe generally, and the ECI as an important tool more specifically. Over 400 students attended sessions organised throughout the year. Would you like us to make a presentation at your university and exchange with you and other students? Contact the ECI Forum via eciforum@ecas.org.
Watch the new ECI Forum’s video with experts on how to draft and submit an ECI.
Did you miss out on the workshops at ECI Day or want to refresh your memory? Check out the two new blog posts on the ECI Forum recapping the two “How-to” workshops: How to harness the power of influencers for your campaign and how to turn your idea into an ECI.
