European Citizens’ Initiative

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.

On 31 May, the Commission registered another European citizens’ initiative titled: ‘Effective implementation of the concept of judicial precedent in all EU countries’.

The initiative organisers call on the Commission to propose to Member States that they introduce a mechanism at national level which guarantees mutual recognition of final judicial decisions adopted by courts of other Member States. The initiative considers that this mechanism should apply, provided that: (a) the Court of Justice of the European Union has had the occasion to interpret the applicable provisions of EU law and (b) the case in question concerns similar or identical legal questions.

The organisers have 6 months to start the signature collection period. Read 'more' on the website.

On 30 May, the ‘Connecting all European capitals and citizens through a highspeed train network’ initiative joined eight other initiatives currently collecting support. Organisers now have 1 year to collect 1 million signatures.

This initiative asks for the establishment of a European high-speed train network as quickly as possible. Organisers call to link up the existing high-speed railway networks and build new high-speed lines.

As of 1 May 2023, Belgian citizens aged 16 and older can support European citizens' initiatives! They are also able to be part of an organiser group to start a citizens’ initiative. Belgium joins 5 other countries where it is possible for a citizen to sign an ECI below the age 18: Austria, Estonia, Germany, Greece (17), and Malta.

On 25 May, ‘Save Cruelty Free Cosmetics – Commit to a Europe Without Animal Testing' initiative organisers and scientists spoke in a public hearing at the European Parliament. The organisers reiterated the objectives of their campaign: to protect and strengthen the cosmetics animal testing ban; to transform the EU chemicals regulation; and to modernise science in the EU.

Commission Vice-President Věra Jourová and several MEPs participated in the hearing. Members of the European Parliament expressed their views in favour and against the proposals. You can watch the recording by clicking the ‘more’ button below.

On 11 May, the European Parliament also held a plenary debate on ‘Stop Finning – Stop the Trade’ ECI. Read more here or

Join us in Brussels or online on Thursday, 8 June to mark the ECI Day 2023: Upskilling citizens for a successful ECI with impact! You will have the chance to meet initiative organisers, experts and policy-makers, as well as to exchange ideas and good practices relating to the ECI.

The ECI team has created a toolkit for high school educators titled ‘EU Democracy in Action – Have Your Say with the European Citizens’ Initiative’. We hosted a pre-launch event for educators on 11 May and the toolkit will officially be launched by Commission Vice-President Věra Jourová at ECI Day on 8 June.

You can watch a recording of the webinar and review the toolkit materials by clicking ‘more’ below. The toolkit will be available in all official EU languages by mid-June.

A factsheet has been published following the Commission’s official reply to the ‘Save Bees and Farmers – Towards a bee-friendly agriculture for a healthy environment’ ECI. Factsheets of successful initiatives give an overview of the objectives, key data and Commission reply.

You can view the factsheets in all official EU languages on the Communication Material page of the ECI’s website.

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!

Join the growing community of organisers, stakeholders and interested citizens in the European Citizens’ Initiative Facebook Group!

As a member of this group, you have quick access to information, news and events concerning the European Citizens’ Initiative in general and specific initiatives. You can easily share the content or add your own posts that are relevant for the community.

Join by clicking ‘more’.

Did you know that you can receive free legal, fundraising and any other advice on your European citizens’ initiative? Our blogs and videos explain how under ‘Seek Advice’!

Learn more in the blog of Virginia Fiume, co-president of EUmans. She reflects on her experience as an organiser, the tools available to help and the upcoming initiatives EUmans plans to launch before the European Parliament elections in 2024.

If you prefer videos, check out the one that explains the ‘Seek Advice’ tool.

The ‘ECI From A to Z’ project strived to foster engagement and active citizen all while raising awareness of the ECI among youth. Read this blog to learn more about the project’s final event and the activities students participated in. Check out the publication in the next section.

The "Workbook ECI: from A to Z - European Citizens' Initiative: A Tool for Engagement and Active Citizenship", edited by Dr. Yilly Vanessa Pacheco and Prof. Dulce Lopes, has been published by Göttingen University. The publication results from an Erasmus+ project run by ECI Ambassador, Yilly, and several other university colleagues.

The Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values (CERV) programme has an open call for proposals about: “Promoting citizens' and representative associations’ participation in and contribution to the democratic and civic life of the Union by making known and publicly exchanging their views in all areas on Union action”.

The deadline to submit is 5 September 2023. The 2023 call is accessible by clicking ‘more’ below.

The 2022 General Report on the activities of the EU has been formally published. It explains the work of the European institutions on all aspects of life and work in the Union. A small section on the European Citizens’ Initiative is included.

The report is available in all official EU languages.