European Citizens’ Initiative: raising awareness and encouraging citizens involvement

18 April 2019, Timisoara, Romania

The Democracy Alive! Festival celebrates European Democracy!

The European Citizens’ Initiative team visited Timisoara as part of the Take The Initiative campaign launched in 2018 and already stopped in Bulgaria, Lithuania, Poland, the Czech Republic, France, Portugal, Austria, Malta and the Netherlands.

“WHAT’S UP EU?”

The European Citizens’ Initiative knowledge-sharing workshop was organised in parallel to the event hosted by the European Commission Representation at the National Theatre and Opera House Timisoara: “What’s up EU?” focusing on EU citizens’ democratic participation. It got together citizens and experts in the fields of political communication, civil society, social media research etc., to debate on EU citizens’ engagement in view of the upcoming elections.

INCREASING AWARENESS OF THE EUROPEAN CITIZENS’ INITIATIVE AND STIMULATING ITS WIDER USE

The workshop was organised by the European Citizens’ Initiative team with the participation of Charlotte Rive, Policy Officer, European Commission and gathered around 30 participants among NGOs, citizens, businesses, academics and Europe Direct Information Centres to discuss the role of the European Citizens’ Initiative and all EU citizens in shaping Europe.

After a quiz and presentation hosted by Charlotte Rive, the audience started a discussion on how to make the tool more known based on their ideas and experiences.

They positioned the discussion into the context of the Romanian landscape, shedding light on the fact that there are many grassroots initiatives and activities carried out in the country, but mostly on very regional and local issues, rather than on EU level.

KNOWLEDGE AND BEST PRACTICES SHARING

The participants pointed out the importance of looking at the best practices adopted by other countries and developing a process to exchange ideas, data and information. This fruitful exchange would aim to encourage more citizen engagement in policy-making and raise awareness of the tools of participatory democracy available such as the European Citizens’ Initiative.

BUILDING SUCCESSFUL PARTNERSHIPS TO GET THE BEST RESULTS – European Commission Representations, Europe Direct Information Centres, National contact points

A key element discussed among the participants was strengthening the cooperation with the European Commission Representations in the EU countries and the Europe Direct Information Centres to better communicate on the European Citizens’ Initiative. On the contact points to be set up by Member St        ates as of 2020, they underlined the need to focus on communication around initiatives, rather than just the legal aspects. These together with the Commission Representations and the Europe Direct Information Centres can support organisations willing to promote the tool on national and local level.

CITIZENSHIP EDUCATION: THE CRUCIAL ROLE OF UNIVERSITIES IN FOSTERING ACTIVE PARTICIPATION

The participants emphasised the relevance of developing strategic partnerships with universities, as they might be crucial drivers for spreading out information concretely on the European Citizens’ Initiative but also developing critical attitude towards citizens’ participation in policy development as a civil right.

BUILDING TRUST AND CONFIDENCE

The participants suggested establishing a simpler and more accessible way of communication on follow-up actions undertaken by the European Commission in reply to specific initiatives. Improving openness and transparency might be crucial to build trust and confidence not only in the EU institutions but also in the effectiveness of the European Citizens’ Initiative as a tool.