Power to one million people

The signatures of one million citizens could change EU policy as we know it.

On Wednesday, March 31, 2010, the EU commission adopted the proposal for a regulation on a European citizens’ initiative, which could prove to be revolutionary in terms of citizen participation and activism. With sufficient awareness, this could act as the long awaited bridge to connect ordinary citizens to the EU.

The citizens’ initiative, brought about by the Lisbon Treaty will give individual citizens the chance to participate directly in the creation of EU policy.

Talking to Vita Europe in an interview, Bruno Kaufman, President of the Initiative and Referendum Institute Europe, pointed out that this new tool “is not just an opinion poll or a petition it’s something that is closer to an election process which makes the citizens the decision makers or agenda setters.”

Adopting this proposal was fundamental as it will determine how the citizens’ initiative – which invests a great deal of power in the hands of ordinary European citizens – should work in practice.

The move was established by the Lisbon Treaty, which states that the citizens’ initiative should “enable one million citizens who are national of a significant number of member states to call directly on the EU commission to bring forward an initiative of interest to them in an area of EU competence.”

The bold step gives EU citizens the right to propose legislation and set EU agenda. Until now this has been a right restricted to the Council and the European Parliament – source of much criticism.

Silencing critics

The citizens’ initiative, a form of direct democracy, was included in the treaty as a way to help make the EU a more democratic body.

The commission’s hope is that this bold democratic instrument will help to reduce what eurosceptics have dubbed as the EU’s democratic deficit.

Bruno Kaufman stated that he thought that the announcement would help public opinion, adding that “the very fact that there will be such a procedure will be a [positive] surprise for many people.”

Strenuous path

Because the treaty does not outline specific criteria of how this mechanism should be used in practice, the commission has outlined regulations to be approved by the parliament, before individuals or groups can start making use of it.

Two questions of key importance were being speculated on.

How would the commission ensure that a citizens’ initiative was truly representative of the will of a significant percent of the population? How would the commission insure that this tool was not misused or abused?

Laying out a series of regulations to define and limit how the citizens’ initiative can be exercised by an individual or group, the European body proved to be as strict as expected.

Among others, the new conditions specify that the one million signatures must come from one-third of the member states (nine) and that for each state concerned the signatures must represent a minimum of 0.2 percent of the population. Individuals or groups have one year to collect all of the signatures, and after three months they must present their proposals to the commission who will judge if they should be allowed to continue.

In an effort to avoid an American style system where money is sometimes said to rule where individual voices do not, also stipulated within the proposal was the fact that organizations presenting petitions must first prove that they are not a lobby or special interest group.

The commission also retains the right to reject any requests they define as “devoid of all seriousness,” “abusive,” or that “go against ‘European values’.” Vita Europe will, therefore, no longer be starting a petition calling for the relocation of the European Parliament to Canada’s capital city, Ottawa.

The commission also highlights that “the starting point of the European legislative process is prompted, not by national vested interests but by the European common interest. “

Given this guideline, national organizations will not be able to bring purely national issues to the table. The wording does encourage these groups to work with other groups in different countries to create proposals that affect the entire European community.

Mixed reactions

Reactions to the announcement have been mixed.

Many EU observers including blogger European Citizen worry “that the proposed rules are too strict,” referring to the signature requirements. The concern is that to meet these requirements necessitates an excessive degree of organization for an individual or group of citizens, and that high hurdles might mean the citizens’ initiative goes unused.

As technology and social networking continue to evolve, mobilizing and organizing large numbers of people in diverse location becomes easier.

AVAZZ.org, an online activist organization, is already working to use this new groundbreaking instrument.

Its first initiative is to “build a million voices for a ban on GM foods until the research is done.” Technology might just be the missing ingredient that enables individuals and groups to effectively exploit the citizens’ initiative, making it an effective tool for direct democracy.

Bring it on. The former EU communications commissioner Margot Wallstrom notes that it will be “better if it causes some problems for the commission” suggesting that conflict would be a welcome sign that the EU is finally making contact with ordinary people.

What seems clear is that the citizen’s initiative is an important first step in making the EU a more democratic and accessible body.