European Citizens’ Initiative

Dear readers,

We hope you have had relaxing summer holidays. Below you will find a recap of ECI updates from July and August, as well as events for the autumn. Catch up on the latest blogs and read about the newest citizens’ initiative.

Reminder: this newsletter has automatic machine translation into 23 EU languages. Want to switch languages? Click here to select the language of your choice at the top of the page. Thanks for keeping in mind this is machine-generated. We hope you enjoy!

‘Good Clothes, Fair Pay’ initiative organisers started the signature collection period on 19 July. The organisers have 6 objectives for legislation requiring companies in the garment and footwear sector to carry out due diligence in respect of living wages in their supply chains.

On 24 August, the Commission registered another European citizens’ initiative. The ‘Call to achieve a tobacco-free environment and the first European tobacco-free generation by 2030’ requests the Commission to propose legal acts that end the sale of tobacco and nicotine products to citizens born since 2010. The initiative also invites specific measures to achieve tobacco-free and butts-free beaches, riverbanks and national parks, to extend outdoor vapor-free spaces, and to further restrict tobacco advertising.

This is the 5th citizens’ initiative registered in 2022. Organisers have 6 months to start the collection of support.

The European Economic and Social Committee made a video to showcase 10 years of the ECI. Check it out on our history page. Pay attention – former organisers and avid ECI supporters might catch a glimpse of themselves!

On 17 September you can meet with ECI representatives at the PrinsjesMarkt in The Hague, Netherlands. Take our quiz, learn about ongoing initiatives and share your ideas.

What are the essential skills for organising a European citizens' initiative?

Join us in October as ECI experts Elisa Lironi and Daniela Vancic present THE skills that make a good ECI organiser great. Elisa and Daniela have been supporting ECI organisers since 2015, and this webinar builds on the ECI Forum's online course 'Essential Skills for European Citizens' Initiative Organisers'.

Date: Wednesday, 19 October 12:30 – 13:30 CET. To register for a space, please send an email to: ECIforum@ecas.org

Join us as we meet Europeans in search of sustainable solution in a new episode of “CitizenCentral”! ‘ReturnThePlastics’ and ‘Green VAT’ ECIs are featured in the episode, as well as climate and sustainability experts.

Tune in and discover the podcast on Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Spotify, and SoundCloud. Subscribe and share with your networks today!

Tell us what you think about the podcast series in this survey.

Challenge yourself or engage your audience with a short quiz on the ECI! This 7-question quiz is now available on the website in all official EU languages.

Will you get a perfect score?

Check out several new blog posts on the ECI Forum! In Make it Known, Make it Fun, Show Them the Impact! you can read about a workshop held during ECI Day 2022, when ECI organisers, policy experts and practitioners discussed ideas for connecting young people to the ECI.

Speaking of young people, 8 proposals were made by nearly 70 university students taking part in the Erasmus+ project ‘ECI from A to Z’. Discover the 8 proposals and read about how the students participate in a ‘mock ECI process’: ‘ECI Model’: How Students Learn to Become Active European Citizens in Practice.

Finally, the city of Rennes, France is taking their ECI experiment one step further – and looking for partners in other member states to join a REAL organising team to submit a citizens’ initiative linked to migrant dignity. Read more: Looking for co-organisers to launch a new ECI promoting European citizenship and fighting for migrants’ dignity.

Read other blog posts on the ECI Forum by clicking ’more’.

Are you interested in knowing what European citizens are discussing – in relation to ECIs and EU policies? Join the ECI Forum. The latest discussion threads cover the topics on the role of parliament in the digital age, participatory democracy and migration and discrimination. Discuss with your fellow citizens here.

Do you want to learn more about the process and practice of developing a successful European citizens’ initiative?

Check out the upgraded online course: ‘Essential Skills for European Citizens' Initiative Organisers’.

This interactive online course gives participants the opportunity to learn at their own pace, under the guidance of experts in the field.

Do you know what ideas are eligible to become European citizens’ initiatives?

An idea must be within the competences of the EU – as defined in Articles 2-6 of the Treaty on the functioning of the European Union. For example, you can propose ideas linked to consumer protection, energy, transport, research and innovation, humanitarian aid and development cooperation, education and youth, non-discrimination, and more!

Check out this infographic, and for a full list, click ‘more’ below.