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ECI proposals adopted by EU Parliament and action required

The constitutional committee voting on ECI reform proposals on 28 September 2015

ECI proposals adopted by EU Parliament and action required

10-02-2016

On 28 October 2015 the European Parliament (EP) voted with an overwhelming majority in favour of the Resolution on the European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI). The following table lists each demand included in the Resolution and indicates what action would be needed – and whether a revision of the ECI Regulation is required.

After its adoption by the European Parliament in October 2015, the final text was published as a Resolution. This Resolution was forwarded to the Council, the Commission and the governments and parliaments of the Member States.

The Resolution contains a detailed list of demands on how to improve the ECI so as to simplify the rules of usage and amplify participation. Since the tool entered into force on 1 April 2012, only 3 of the 56 submitted initiatives have received a follow-up and 20 of these were declared inadmissible.

Now the demands listed in the EP Resolution require action if they are to be implemented; some necessitate a revision of the ECI Regulation by the Commission, while others require political action on behalf of the European institutions or Member States.

The following table lists each demand included in the EP Resolution and indicates what action is needed (and whether a revision of the Regulation is required). You find the first five rows of the table below, the full version in the document here.

 

Demands in EP Resolution

         Action needed/revision required
1

Maximise communication efforts; public awareness; information campaigns on ECI (by COM and MS)
  • No revision needed
  • EU budget line has been dedicated to the implementation of ECI (decided by EP and Council on 11/2015)
  • Information campaigns require political action by COM and MS
2

Guidance for ECI organisers via Europe Direct Contact Centres (and/or consider independent bodies or dedicated ECI offices in MS)
  • No revision needed
  • Ought to be specified in Art. 4(1) (current wording: “COM shall establish a point of contact which provides information and assistance”)
3

Detailed guidelines on interpretation of legal bases of ECIs during registration
  • No revision needed
  • Ought to be added to Art. 4 regarding registration procedure
4

Transparency in admissibility check (due to potential conflict of interest in COM)
  • No revision needed
  • Preamble 10 says “COM should deal with registration in accordance with the general principles of good administration” – needs proper implementation
5

 

Provide detailed reasons and possible remedies upon refusal to register ECIs (complaints have been made to Ombudsman that this has not been the case)

 

... For a continuation of the list, please open the PDF below
  • No revision needed
  • Need proper implementation of Art. 4(3) to provide more detailed evidence and motivated arguments for refusal 

 

 

Tags: 
ECI Reform
PDF File: 
PDF icon EP demands requiring ECI revision

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