Press Release: Gather a million signatures and ask the EU to pass a new law

The European Commission warmly welcomed an agreement on the European Citizens' Initiative on the 15 December 2010, which will for the first time allow citizens to directly suggest new EU legislation. An innovation contained in the Lisbon Treaty, the ECI will allow at least one million citizens from at least one quarter of EU Member States to invite the European Commission to bring forward legislative proposals in areas where the Commission has the power to do so.

The organisers of a Citizens' Initiative, a citizens' committee composed of at least seven citizens who are residents of at least seven different Member States, will have one year to collect signatures and the Commission will have three months to examine an initiative and decide how to act on it. On request of the Council, the legislation on the European Citizens' Initiative will start applying only one year after it is published in the Official Journal, meaning that the first initiatives can be considered from early 2012.

• Primary Source

ESO: Background information: EU's first attempt to frame citizens' initiative http://www.europeansources.info/record/the-european-citizens-initiative-2/

European Commission: Press Release: IP/10/1720: Commission welcomes agreement on European Citizens' Initiative http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/10/1720&format=PDF&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en

EurActiv, 16.12.10: Parliament gives go ahead to citizens' petitions http://www.euractiv.com/pa/parliament-gives-go-ahead-citize-news-500652

Council of the European Union: Press Release, PRES/10/349: Council approves compromise with Parliament on the European citizens' initiative http://www.consilium.europa.eu/uedocs/cms_data/docs/pressdata/EN/genaff/118465.pdf

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