Of the 56 ECIs submitted to date to the European Commission, only three succeeded in collecting over 1 million signatures – however, none of them was followed by a legislative proposal from the Commission. This necessarily gave rise to dissatisfaction among organisers and raises the question of the tool's efficiency and user-friendliness, especially as compared to the requirements involved.

The event will focus on the following three main themes analysed in three separate workshops:

• Instruments for participatory democracy in place at EU level;
• Assistance available to ECI organisers (presentations by institutions and organisations providing support to the ECIs: services, applications and tools);
• How to organise an ECI: reaching out to the public and ensuring that the Commission takes action.

The European Citizens' Initiative Day 2016, "Forging Change" will take place on Wednesday, 20 April 2016, at the EESC premises in Brussels. For updates and news please consider the events page

Register online until 17 April via this registration form.