Under the procedure of the European Parliament and the Council, Member States of the EU shall designate one or more contact points and provide citizens information and assistance on the European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI).
The European Citizens’ Initiative is a tool, a participatory democracy instrument, with which EU citizens can participate and contribute to EU policy-making, asking the European Commission to propose new laws in any area that affect their lives and that has this potential, such as the environment, consumer protection, the protection of agriculture, fisheries, energy, transport, trade or any field where the Commission has power to propose legislation. It lets you join others from across the EU to rally around an issue close to your heart, foster debate around it and initiate reforms by proposing concrete legal changes.
To launch an initiative, it takes 7 EU citizens, living in at least 7 different Member States. Once it gathers 1 million signatures, the European Commission decides on what follow up action to take. As an EU citizen, you can either join a group to launch an initiative, or lend your support to existing ones. All citizens of an EU Member State, who have the right to vote, can participate.
In the context of informing citizens about their rights and strengthening an institution that promotes participatory democracy, more information is available on the website of the Greek Ministry of Interior, at the link:
Additionally, you can find more information and material at the official ECI website:
https://europa.eu/citizens-initiative/spread-word/communication-material_en
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Myth breakers
General leaflet
