ECI as a teenager – what lies ahead?

Ten years ago, a new era in the history of citizens’ participation was launched with the introduction of the European Citizens' Initiative (ECI), a unique cross-border instrument, which today serves as an inspiring example of participatory democracy. In those ten years, 90 ECIs were launched by more than 800 citizens, who collected over 16 million signatures from across the EU. However, very few of these ECIs have managed to collect the required one million signatures, and even fewer have obtained a positive response from the Commission.

The 2022 edition of ECI Day, hosted, as in previous years, by the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) on 2 June, gathered some 200 participants in the EESC premises and around 100 joining online, celebrating a decade of European Citizens' Initiatives by taking stock of the achievements and challenges while also looking forward to the future. Speakers and activists painted a mixed picture, with some remarkable successes standing side by side with shortcomings and weaknesses (impact, accessibility and visibility), indicating that a more impactful ECI would also be more popular.

Looking back on the past ten years of the European Citizens’ Initiative, participants learnt about its successes, its challenges, and reflected together on how to make the ECI fit for the next ten years and beyond. As part of the European Year of Youth, particular attention was given to young people's participation in the ECI, with a view to making suggestions on what could be done to encourage them to embrace this opportunity and make their voice heard in the EU policy-making process.

The EESC has organised an annual ECI Day conference since the launch of the ECI tool in 2012. This high-profile event, recognised at interinstitutional level and valued by ECI stakeholders, is an opportunity to present and analyse the latest ECI-related developments, and for ECI organisers and stakeholders to network.

In the opening session, several high-level speakers shared their thoughts, with EESC president Christa Schweng underlining that while we had definitely gained some experience in those 10 years of ECI´s existence, we still have to learn, improve and make sure the ECI gets the place it deserves in the EU institutional process. She also announced the EESC's decision to take a stance on relevant successful initiatives before the European Commission actually responds to them.

Commission Vice-President Dubravka Šuica stressed the link with the Conference on the Future of Europe, highlighting the ECI as an "example of the institutions' ability to adapt, change and improve our engagement with citizens". MEP Helmut Scholz pointed out that "citizens are not the object, but the subject of democracy in our societies, and the subjects of democracy must have the right to decide and influence policymaking".

Bearing in mind rather low numbers of successful initiatives and positive responses from the European Commission, one of the event's workshops zoomed in on the success of several recent ECIs. Their initiators agreed that, in the absence of substantial financial resources for campaigns, whose cost they estimated at some EUR 300 000, the backing of NGOs or NGO networks was key to make the initiative a successful one. People trust them, they stressed, and because they trust them, they are more willing to sign and provide the personal details and information required from signatories by Member State authorities.

One ECI Day speaker in particular, Bruno Kaufmann, said something that I would like to share with you: "The ECI is part of this dynamic, empowering reality. It is also an inspiration for people around the globe. By standing up for democracy at a critical point in time when democracy is coming under pressure everywhere, we have made history – and I fear, but also hope, that we will be called upon to make more history in the years to come, in the name of Europe and in the name of democracy."

All the best for your teenage years, ECI!