European Citizens’ Initiative

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Organisers of the European citizens' initiative ‘Stop Finning – Stop the trade’ met with representatives of the European Commission (Virginijus Sinkevičius, Commissioner for the Environment, Oceans and Fisheries) on 6 February.

The organisers presented the objectives of the initiative in depth, as well as facts, figures and testimonies. This meeting takes place after the initiative became the 8th successful ECI.

The Commission is analysing the initiative and has until 11 July 2023 to present its official reply.

On 22 February, the European Commission registered a new citizens’ initiative called ‘Ensuring a dignified reception of migrants in Europe’. Initiative organisers call on the Commission to adopt regulations to:

• “Introduce a new mechanism for the distribution of asylum seekers in the EU […] (revise the Dublin Regulation);

• Make binding in the Member States reception standards in terms of food, health, housing, education and work, which guarantee asylum seekers dignified living conditions, comparable throughout the Union.”

Organisers have six months to start the collection of support – aiming for 1 million signatures from at least 7 EU countries.

Want to learn more about collecting signatures online and how the Central Online Collection System facilitates this process?

Join us on Tuesday, 14 March where IT expert Jerôme Stefanini and ECI organiser Nils Kluger from the successful ‘Stop Finning – Stop the Trade’ initiative will provide practical information, guidance and experience on using the Central Online Collection System.

To register for a space, please send an email to: ECIforum@ecas.org.

For more information click 'more'.

The Erasmus+ project “European Citizens' Initiative: A tool for engagement and active citizenship - ECI from A to Z” comes to an end for university students. The partner universities will hold an on-site event on 27 and 28 March at the University of Coimbra (free attendance) to discuss project outcomes.

During the event, the Workbook "ECI from A to Z" will be launched. It has contributions of researchers of the project, ECI organisers, and invited experts, among others.

Visit the project’s website for more information about this event, and you can follow the web streaming on the YouTube channel of the University (click ‘more’).

How satisfied are you with the ECI Newsletter? Do you have improvements to suggest?

We invite you to click ‘more’ and answer the 6 questions. Your answers will help us continue to improve the newsletter.

Thank you in advance!

Six organisations have joined the ECI Ambassador programme in the past months.

Welcome to Mall Hellam (Open Estonia Foundation), Eglė Celiesienė (Lithuanian College of Democracy), Europe Direct Valletta, Pulse of Europe, The Good Lobby Italia and National Federation of Polish NGOs (OFOP).

Meet your ECI Ambassadors by clicking ‘more’ below.

“We have reached a situation where 27% of all cancers can be attributed to cigarette smoking.”

For the reason, and others, the organisers of the ‘Call to achieve a tobacco-free Europe and the first European tobacco-free generation by 2023’ initiative have teamed up with 37 organisations from 19 countries to reach their goals.

Discover the health and environmental arguments used by the initiative, several facts, and their call-to-action for system change.

Interested in learning more about participatory democracy in Europe, or the process of developing a successful European citizens’ initiative? There are many ways to engage with ECI experts – via an online course or at your university.

The online course: Essential Skills for European Citizens' Initiative Organisers gives participants an interactive opportunity to learn how to develop successful European citizens’ initiatives under the guidance of experts in the field.

The ECI Forum is also available to make a presentation for your university and exchange with students. More than 300 people took part last year. Contact the ECI Forum via ECIforum@ecas.org.

There is a wide array of communication materials available on the ECI website.

This page has recently been updated and translated into all official EU languages. Be sure to check out the videos about the ECI, social media images, fact and figures, and leaflets to spread the word.

Most materials are available in all official languages – choose your language in the upper right-hand corner of the page.