European Citizens’ Initiative as a tool for citizens’ participation in the EU decision-making process

Question for written answer  E-000905/2021
to the Commission
Rule 138
Łukasz Kohut (S&D), Hannes Heide (S&D), Bettina Vollath (S&D), Ernest Urtasun (Verts/ALE), Michal Wiezik (PPE), Anja Hazekamp (The Left), Ivan Vilibor Sinčić (NI), Stelios Kympouropoulos (PPE), Brando Benifei (S&D), Domènec Ruiz Devesa (S&D), Eva Kaili (S&D), Eleonora Evi (Verts/ALE), Manuela Ripa (Verts/ALE), Jens Geier (S&D), Robert Biedroń (S&D), Tanja Fajon (S&D), Miroslav Číž (S&D), Ilhan Kyuchyuk (Renew), Isabel Carvalhais (S&D), Predrag Fred Matić (S&D), Valdemar Tomaševski (ECR), Magdalena Adamowicz (PPE), Eugenia Rodríguez Palop (The Left), Sandro Gozi (Renew), Dimitrios Papadimoulis (The Left), Alex Agius Saliba (S&D), François Alfonsi (Verts/ALE), Ivan Štefanec (PPE), Helmut Scholz (The Left), Carles Puigdemont i Casamajó (NI), Antoni Comín i Oliveres (NI), Clara Ponsatí Obiols (NI), Niyazi Kizilyürek (The Left), Herbert Dorfmann (PPE), Olivier Chastel (Renew), Kinga Gál (PPE), Dietmar Köster (S&D), Marie Toussaint (Verts/ALE), Iuliu Winkler (PPE), Mario Furore (NI), Petra Kammerevert (S&D), Fabio Massimo Castaldo (NI), Rasmus Andresen (Verts/ALE), Andreas Schieder (S&D), Tatjana Ždanoka (Verts/ALE), Peter Pollák (PPE), Anna Júlia Donáth (Renew), Elisabetta Gualmini (S&D), Izaskun Bilbao Barandica (Renew), Robert Hajšel (S&D), Michal Šimečka (Renew), Loránt Vincze (PPE), Günther Sidl (S&D), Milan Brglez (S&D), István Ujhelyi (S&D), Leszek Miller (S&D)

The European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) is a valuable part of the democratic structure of the European Union. It enables citizens to participate in political life by giving them the power to call on the European institutions to take action that they consider important in policy areas where the EU has competence.

This instrument has been present in EU law for a decade now, and yet out of 76 initiatives registered, only 6 have reached the final stage, which is the Commission’s examination and response. It is important to underline that only in a fraction of cases has the Commission committed to bringing forward legislation as requested by these initiatives.

• 1.Does the Commission share the view that refusal to follow up on the requests formulated by citizens in ECIs undermines the participatory decision-making model and the democratic spirit of the Union?
• 2.How does the Commission see the future of the ECI instrument, as well as that of other tools for the direct participation of citizens in the EU decision-making process, especially in the context of the upcoming Conference on the Future of Europe?