PROJECT ENVIRONMENTAL APPLICABLE LAW ONLINE PLATFORM
European Citizens' Initiative
is a tool for all EU citizens who want to actively co-shape EU policies and pan - European issues. The tool of participatory democracy, introduced in 2012 on the basis of the Treaty of Lisbon and concretized by the Regulation on the European Citizens' Initiative (2019/788), refers to the right to demand the European Commission to make a legislative proposal in its field.
Under the European Citizens' Initiative, an EU citizen can act as:
Picture: Sequence of the European Citizens' Initiative procedure
Source: https://europa.eu/citizens-initiative/how-it-works_sl
I. Establishment of a citizens' committee
A group of organizers establishes t. i. a citizens' committee made up of at least a quarter of EU citizens (currently 27 EU members, which means at least 7 EU citizens in quarters), which:
- are natural persons,
- have the right to vote in elections to the European Parliament in their country (18 years in all EU Member States, except Austria, Malta, Estonia - 16 years, Greece - 17 years),
- are not Members of the European Parliament,
- they are not legal persons (legal persons may only be signatories to the initiative or the legal person may be established in accordance with national law for the sole purpose of running the initiative), and
- reside in at least 7 different EU countries (quarterly).
The organizers may have the same (or different) citizenship, but the country of their residence is important. Example: 7 natural persons with the right to vote, all with Slovenian citizenship, but each of them resides in a different EU Member State. The group of organizers may not consist of an entity from a third country. Organizers can take part in several different initiatives - there are no restrictions.
The contact persons of the Citizens 'Committee (representative and alternate) are selected to take care of communication and correspondence between the Citizens' Committee and the European Commission. The contact persons may be part of a group of organizers - a citizens' committee, but not necessarily. In the latter case, they represent two additional persons (7 obligatory members of the organizing group + 2 additional members as contact persons).
Information on practical and technical advice on the initiative is available at the European Citizens' Initiative Forum (without any registration or log in):
- tips for collecting signatures,
- advice on drafting and submitting an initiative,
- guidelines for finding partners in the initiative,
- tips and trick on successful campaigning,
- guidance on raising the funds for the initiative,
- success stories.
Tailored and independent legal advice in all official EU languages is also available to potential organizers of European Citizens' Initiatives. Those interested (who must be registered on the website) will send a completed online form and will receive a reply within eight working days. Legal advice may relate to the assessment of:
- whether EU legislation already exists on the matter addressed by the draft initiative,
- whether the draft initiative can meet the registration criteria,
- whether your draft initiative falls outside the Commission's remit,
- which provisions of the Treaty confer on the Commission the powers for which it is responsible,
- whether other organizers have already requested the registration of similar or almost identical initiatives in the past and whether they have been successful or not, etc.
The following can be assessed in the context of campaign and / or fundraising advice:
- your existing networks,
- volunteer base,
- human and financial resources,
- communication strategies,
- access to finance, etc.
Legal advice does not apply to the preparation of draft initiative proposals, nor to support in the implementation of the initiative's promotional campaign or in raising funds. The Commission shall provide support only in the form of independent legal advice and a free, technically appropriate and secure system for collecting signatures.
II. Preparation and application of a citizens' initiative proposal
Proposal for a citizens' initiative which:
- is not offensive, frivolous or provocative, and
- does not concern the amendment of the EU Treaties, but only the proposal for a legislative act implementing the EU Treaties,
- it may also be contrary to another initiative already registered (but not necessarily),
- may also be proposed several times by the organizers (but not necessarily),
- is in line with the EU values set out in Article 2 of the Treaty on EU and the rights enshrined in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU,
- falls within the powers and competences of the European Commission,
the citizens' committee must register online in one of the EU's official languages.
The first time you access the website, you need to create a new user account, and later, each time you access it again, you only use the log in section.
The proposal must then be submitted on the website of the organizers of the European Citizens' Initiative. The data is entered into an online form. Mandatory components of the proposal are:
- full names, postal addresses, nationalities and dates of birth of seven members of the group residing in seven different EU Member States,
- in the case of a representative and a deputy, the same personal data and their e-mail addresses and telephone numbers,
- the representative and alternate may be part of the above seven members of the group (residing in seven different countries) or two additional members of the group,
- documents proving the full names, postal addresses, nationalities and dates of birth of each of the seven members of the group and the representative and alternate if they are not part of the seven members of the group,
- names and surnames of other members of the group,
- name of the initiative (maximum 100 characters without spaces),
- objectives of the initiative (maximum 1 100 characters without spaces),
- Articles of the Treaty that you, as the organizers, consider relevant to the proposed initiative
- all sources of funding and support (known at the time of application) in excess of € 500 per sponsor,
- if applicable, documents proving that a legal entity has been established to lead the initiative and that a representative of the group is authorized to act on its behalf.
Optionally, the following may also be submitted:
- the address of the website hosting the initiative, if any (maximum 100 characters);
- an annex giving more details on the content, objectives and background of the initiative (maximum 5,000 characters without spaces);
- additional information (document in the form of DOC, DOCX, XLS, XLSX is uploaded to the website, maximum 5 MB);
- a draft legal act dealing with the topic (a document in the form of DOC, DOCX, XLS, XLSX is uploaded on the website, maximum 5 MB);
- logo or image of the initiative (in the form of JPG, JPEG, BMP, maximum 250 KB).
The proposal is then submitted to the European Commission, which decides on the appropriateness of the proposal (fulfillment of basic conditions, legal criteria, competence of the Commission). The Commission decides on the proposal for a citizens' initiative (approval, partial approval or rejection):
- within two months, or
- within 1 month, if the proposal meets all the conditions but does not fall within the area of competence of the Commission. The Commission then invites the organizers of the initiative to amend the proposal accordingly within 2 months. If the organizers of the initiative amend the proposal accordingly within the open deadline, the Commission will give its decision within 1 month (the whole procedure takes 4 months).
Against the Commission's decision to reject or partially report an initiative, the organizers of the initiative have the option of using legal and extrajudicial means - the EU Court of Justice or a complaint to the European Ombudsman. An insight into rejected application initiatives is also available on the website. The website also offers the option of subscribing to the newsletter.
III. Collectioning of signatures
The European Citizens 'Initiative must be signed by at least one million EU citizens (at least 10% more than a million are recommended, due to possible invalid signatures) within twelve months of the Commission's positively approved citizens' initiative proposal, with a minimum of number of signatories.
The minimum number of signatories from an EU Member State must be equal to the elected number of Members of the European Parliament of that EU Member State multiplied by 750. The place of signature of the signatory of the initiative is not legally relevant. Signatures may be collected electronically or in writing. The electronic form for collecting signatures is provided free of charge, technically and securely by the European Commission. In some EU Member States, in addition to signatures, some other information (address, citizenship, etc.) must be collected.
The collection of signatures must begin no later than 6 months after the notification of the initiative or after approval by the European Commission. The Commission must be notified at least ten working days before the chosen date of collection of signatures so that it can publish the start and end dates of collection of signatures in the online register. The collection of signatures takes a maximum of one year, or even less if the prescribed minimum number of signatures is reached. The collection of signatures must take place on the mandatory prescribed special forms available in Annex III. in the Regulation on the European Citizens' Initiative. The forms are used according to the nationality of the signatories, which means that one form must contain all signatories from the same EU country. The signature collection form can be in any official EU language, not bound to the signatory's language.
The organizers use only one signature collection system - either the Commission's free system or their own, individual system. In the case of using the Commission's system, a joint data management agreement needs to be concluded with the Commission. In the case of own, individual system, which must comply with the rules of the Regulation on technical specifications for individual online collection systems (2019/1799), the system must be approved by the authorities responsible for certifying individual collection systems. In Slovenia, the certification body is the Ministry of Public Administration. If the Ministry does not issue a certificate of approval of the system within one month, the organizers may use the available national remedies, and a complaint may be lodged with the Commission for violating EU law.
As supporters of the initiative, we can sign a statement of support in online or physical form. Initiatives currently available to express support are presented in the online database.
An entity that expresses support for the initiative by signing must reach the prescribed age limit and does not need to be entered in the electoral roll. Dual nationals choose only one nationality when expressing support for an initiative and can only support the initiative once. The initiative can be supported by people who are EU citizens, even if they do not live in the EU. The information to be provided by signatories in the statement of support varies from country to country (see table below). The information to be provided by signatories in the statement of support varies from country to country (see table below).
Table: Requirements for the data of the signatories of the initiative - by individual EU members
Source: https://europa.eu/citizens-initiative/data-requirements_sl
The organizers of the initiative must process the data only for the purpose of the initiative when collecting signatures, in accordance with data protection legislation. The organizers of the initiative are data controllers, so they are responsible for breaches of data protection rules and all damages incurred. Regarding the protection of personal data, the organizers take into account:
- Regulation on the European Citizens' Initiative (Article 19),
- General Data Protection Regulation.
IV. Verification of statements of support
After reaching the target of at least one million signatures collected (due to possible invalid signatures, it is recommended to collect at least 10% more), the signatures will be submitted for verification and validation to each of the EU Member States concerned within three months. In Slovenia, the body for verifying and certifying signatures is the Ministry of the Interior. The national signature and verification body is obliged to issue certificates within three months of receiving the request for validation, otherwise the organizers of the initiative have available national remedies and may also lodge a complaint with the Commission for breach of EU law.
If the signatures were collected electronically, they must be sent to the Ministry of the Interior in accordance with the prescribed electronic scheme. However, if the signatures were collected under the Commission's system, the Commission will be the one to forward the signatures to the national signature verification body.
The Commission's file transfer system (collected statements of support in paper and electronic form) can also be used if we have used our own, individual system to collect support.
V. Submission of a valid initiative to the European Commission
When the national body for the verification of signatures (in Slovenia - the Ministry of the Interior) issues certificates on the verification and validity of signatures, the organizers must submit an initiative to the Commission within three months. Not all of the millions (or more) of signatures collected are attached to the Commission via the Organizers' website, but only copies of the certificates of validity of the signatures, together with the submission form. The Commission shall inform the European Parliament, the Council of the EU, the European Economic and Social Committee, the Committee of the Regions and all national parliaments in the EU of the initiative.
Within one month of the registered initiative, a meeting is organized between the Commission and the organizers of the initiative, where an argumentative discourse on the content of the initiative takes place.
VI. The European Commission will keep the Citizens' Committee informed of the progress of the matter, and everything will be made transparent and public. The Commission is obliged to respond to the current valid initiative within six months.
The Commission is not obliged to propose legislation pursued by a citizens' initiative. However, if it decides to propose legislation, the proposal must follow the prescribed legislative procedure. In order to be valid, it must be examined and then adopted by the European Parliament and the Council of the EU, in some cases only the Council.
If the European Commission decides not to act on the basis of the notified initiative (it will not propose legislation), the organizers of the initiative do not have any legal remedies available. The Commission is obliged to examine the proposed initiative, but not to act on it. The Commission must also explain the latter (its inaction).
The organizers and the Commission (both with the status of data controller) must destroy all signed statements of the initiative and its copies by the earliest of the following deadlines:
- within 1 month of submitting the initiative to the Commission,
- within 21 months of the beginning of the collection period.
If the organizers withdraw their initiative, the statements and copies must be destroyed within one month of withdrawal.
All records of e-mail addresses must be destroyed by the organizers and the Commission:
- within one month of the withdrawal of the initiative,
- within 12 months after the end of the collection period,
- within 12 months of the submission of the initiative to the Commission.
If the Commission responds positively to the initiative with a notification, the retention period of e-mail addresses shall end three years after the publication of the notification.
The differences between the petition and the European Citizens' Initiative are shown in the table below:
Table: Differences between a petition and a European Citizens' Initiative
Source: https://europa.eu/citizens-initiative/faq_sl
Under the European Citizens' Initiative, an EU citizen can act as:
- the organizer of the initiative (organizing the initiative, communicating with the authorities and the public, promoting the initiative, collecting signatures), or
- supporter of the initiative (expressing support for the initiative by signing), or
- observer (commenting on those who organize the initiative and commenting to the media, the EU).
Source: https://europa.eu/citizens-initiative/how-it-works_slI. Establishment of a citizens' committee
A group of organizers establishes t. i. a citizens' committee made up of at least a quarter of EU citizens (currently 27 EU members, which means at least 7 EU citizens in quarters), which:
- are natural persons,
- have the right to vote in elections to the European Parliament in their country (18 years in all EU Member States, except Austria, Malta, Estonia - 16 years, Greece - 17 years),
- are not Members of the European Parliament,
- they are not legal persons (legal persons may only be signatories to the initiative or the legal person may be established in accordance with national law for the sole purpose of running the initiative), and
- reside in at least 7 different EU countries (quarterly).
The organizers may have the same (or different) citizenship, but the country of their residence is important. Example: 7 natural persons with the right to vote, all with Slovenian citizenship, but each of them resides in a different EU Member State. The group of organizers may not consist of an entity from a third country. Organizers can take part in several different initiatives - there are no restrictions.
The contact persons of the Citizens 'Committee (representative and alternate) are selected to take care of communication and correspondence between the Citizens' Committee and the European Commission. The contact persons may be part of a group of organizers - a citizens' committee, but not necessarily. In the latter case, they represent two additional persons (7 obligatory members of the organizing group + 2 additional members as contact persons).
Information on practical and technical advice on the initiative is available at the European Citizens' Initiative Forum (without any registration or log in):
- tips for collecting signatures,
- advice on drafting and submitting an initiative,
- guidelines for finding partners in the initiative,
- tips and trick on successful campaigning,
- guidance on raising the funds for the initiative,
- success stories.
Tailored and independent legal advice in all official EU languages is also available to potential organizers of European Citizens' Initiatives. Those interested (who must be registered on the website) will send a completed online form and will receive a reply within eight working days. Legal advice may relate to the assessment of:
- whether EU legislation already exists on the matter addressed by the draft initiative,
- whether the draft initiative can meet the registration criteria,
- whether your draft initiative falls outside the Commission's remit,
- which provisions of the Treaty confer on the Commission the powers for which it is responsible,
- whether other organizers have already requested the registration of similar or almost identical initiatives in the past and whether they have been successful or not, etc.
The following can be assessed in the context of campaign and / or fundraising advice:
- your existing networks,
- volunteer base,
- human and financial resources,
- communication strategies,
- access to finance, etc.
Legal advice does not apply to the preparation of draft initiative proposals, nor to support in the implementation of the initiative's promotional campaign or in raising funds. The Commission shall provide support only in the form of independent legal advice and a free, technically appropriate and secure system for collecting signatures.
II. Preparation and application of a citizens' initiative proposal
Proposal for a citizens' initiative which:
- is not offensive, frivolous or provocative, and
- does not concern the amendment of the EU Treaties, but only the proposal for a legislative act implementing the EU Treaties,
- it may also be contrary to another initiative already registered (but not necessarily),
- may also be proposed several times by the organizers (but not necessarily),
- is in line with the EU values set out in Article 2 of the Treaty on EU and the rights enshrined in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU,
- falls within the powers and competences of the European Commission,
the citizens' committee must register online in one of the EU's official languages.
The first time you access the website, you need to create a new user account, and later, each time you access it again, you only use the log in section.
The proposal must then be submitted on the website of the organizers of the European Citizens' Initiative. The data is entered into an online form. Mandatory components of the proposal are:
- full names, postal addresses, nationalities and dates of birth of seven members of the group residing in seven different EU Member States,
- in the case of a representative and a deputy, the same personal data and their e-mail addresses and telephone numbers,
- the representative and alternate may be part of the above seven members of the group (residing in seven different countries) or two additional members of the group,
- documents proving the full names, postal addresses, nationalities and dates of birth of each of the seven members of the group and the representative and alternate if they are not part of the seven members of the group,
- names and surnames of other members of the group,
- name of the initiative (maximum 100 characters without spaces),
- objectives of the initiative (maximum 1 100 characters without spaces),
- Articles of the Treaty that you, as the organizers, consider relevant to the proposed initiative
- all sources of funding and support (known at the time of application) in excess of € 500 per sponsor,
- if applicable, documents proving that a legal entity has been established to lead the initiative and that a representative of the group is authorized to act on its behalf.
Optionally, the following may also be submitted:
- the address of the website hosting the initiative, if any (maximum 100 characters);
- an annex giving more details on the content, objectives and background of the initiative (maximum 5,000 characters without spaces);
- additional information (document in the form of DOC, DOCX, XLS, XLSX is uploaded to the website, maximum 5 MB);
- a draft legal act dealing with the topic (a document in the form of DOC, DOCX, XLS, XLSX is uploaded on the website, maximum 5 MB);
- logo or image of the initiative (in the form of JPG, JPEG, BMP, maximum 250 KB).
The proposal is then submitted to the European Commission, which decides on the appropriateness of the proposal (fulfillment of basic conditions, legal criteria, competence of the Commission). The Commission decides on the proposal for a citizens' initiative (approval, partial approval or rejection):
- within two months, or
- within 1 month, if the proposal meets all the conditions but does not fall within the area of competence of the Commission. The Commission then invites the organizers of the initiative to amend the proposal accordingly within 2 months. If the organizers of the initiative amend the proposal accordingly within the open deadline, the Commission will give its decision within 1 month (the whole procedure takes 4 months).
Against the Commission's decision to reject or partially report an initiative, the organizers of the initiative have the option of using legal and extrajudicial means - the EU Court of Justice or a complaint to the European Ombudsman. An insight into rejected application initiatives is also available on the website. The website also offers the option of subscribing to the newsletter.
III. Collectioning of signatures
The European Citizens 'Initiative must be signed by at least one million EU citizens (at least 10% more than a million are recommended, due to possible invalid signatures) within twelve months of the Commission's positively approved citizens' initiative proposal, with a minimum of number of signatories.
The minimum number of signatories from an EU Member State must be equal to the elected number of Members of the European Parliament of that EU Member State multiplied by 750. The place of signature of the signatory of the initiative is not legally relevant. Signatures may be collected electronically or in writing. The electronic form for collecting signatures is provided free of charge, technically and securely by the European Commission. In some EU Member States, in addition to signatures, some other information (address, citizenship, etc.) must be collected.
The collection of signatures must begin no later than 6 months after the notification of the initiative or after approval by the European Commission. The Commission must be notified at least ten working days before the chosen date of collection of signatures so that it can publish the start and end dates of collection of signatures in the online register. The collection of signatures takes a maximum of one year, or even less if the prescribed minimum number of signatures is reached. The collection of signatures must take place on the mandatory prescribed special forms available in Annex III. in the Regulation on the European Citizens' Initiative. The forms are used according to the nationality of the signatories, which means that one form must contain all signatories from the same EU country. The signature collection form can be in any official EU language, not bound to the signatory's language.
The organizers use only one signature collection system - either the Commission's free system or their own, individual system. In the case of using the Commission's system, a joint data management agreement needs to be concluded with the Commission. In the case of own, individual system, which must comply with the rules of the Regulation on technical specifications for individual online collection systems (2019/1799), the system must be approved by the authorities responsible for certifying individual collection systems. In Slovenia, the certification body is the Ministry of Public Administration. If the Ministry does not issue a certificate of approval of the system within one month, the organizers may use the available national remedies, and a complaint may be lodged with the Commission for violating EU law.
As supporters of the initiative, we can sign a statement of support in online or physical form. Initiatives currently available to express support are presented in the online database.
An entity that expresses support for the initiative by signing must reach the prescribed age limit and does not need to be entered in the electoral roll. Dual nationals choose only one nationality when expressing support for an initiative and can only support the initiative once. The initiative can be supported by people who are EU citizens, even if they do not live in the EU. The information to be provided by signatories in the statement of support varies from country to country (see table below). The information to be provided by signatories in the statement of support varies from country to country (see table below).
Table: Requirements for the data of the signatories of the initiative - by individual EU members
Source: https://europa.eu/citizens-initiative/data-requirements_sl
The organizers of the initiative must process the data only for the purpose of the initiative when collecting signatures, in accordance with data protection legislation. The organizers of the initiative are data controllers, so they are responsible for breaches of data protection rules and all damages incurred. Regarding the protection of personal data, the organizers take into account:
- Regulation on the European Citizens' Initiative (Article 19),
- General Data Protection Regulation.
IV. Verification of statements of support
After reaching the target of at least one million signatures collected (due to possible invalid signatures, it is recommended to collect at least 10% more), the signatures will be submitted for verification and validation to each of the EU Member States concerned within three months. In Slovenia, the body for verifying and certifying signatures is the Ministry of the Interior. The national signature and verification body is obliged to issue certificates within three months of receiving the request for validation, otherwise the organizers of the initiative have available national remedies and may also lodge a complaint with the Commission for breach of EU law.
If the signatures were collected electronically, they must be sent to the Ministry of the Interior in accordance with the prescribed electronic scheme. However, if the signatures were collected under the Commission's system, the Commission will be the one to forward the signatures to the national signature verification body.
The Commission's file transfer system (collected statements of support in paper and electronic form) can also be used if we have used our own, individual system to collect support.
V. Submission of a valid initiative to the European Commission
When the national body for the verification of signatures (in Slovenia - the Ministry of the Interior) issues certificates on the verification and validity of signatures, the organizers must submit an initiative to the Commission within three months. Not all of the millions (or more) of signatures collected are attached to the Commission via the Organizers' website, but only copies of the certificates of validity of the signatures, together with the submission form. The Commission shall inform the European Parliament, the Council of the EU, the European Economic and Social Committee, the Committee of the Regions and all national parliaments in the EU of the initiative.
Within one month of the registered initiative, a meeting is organized between the Commission and the organizers of the initiative, where an argumentative discourse on the content of the initiative takes place.
VI. The European Commission will keep the Citizens' Committee informed of the progress of the matter, and everything will be made transparent and public. The Commission is obliged to respond to the current valid initiative within six months.
The Commission is not obliged to propose legislation pursued by a citizens' initiative. However, if it decides to propose legislation, the proposal must follow the prescribed legislative procedure. In order to be valid, it must be examined and then adopted by the European Parliament and the Council of the EU, in some cases only the Council.
If the European Commission decides not to act on the basis of the notified initiative (it will not propose legislation), the organizers of the initiative do not have any legal remedies available. The Commission is obliged to examine the proposed initiative, but not to act on it. The Commission must also explain the latter (its inaction).
The organizers and the Commission (both with the status of data controller) must destroy all signed statements of the initiative and its copies by the earliest of the following deadlines:
- within 1 month of submitting the initiative to the Commission,
- within 21 months of the beginning of the collection period.
If the organizers withdraw their initiative, the statements and copies must be destroyed within one month of withdrawal.
All records of e-mail addresses must be destroyed by the organizers and the Commission:
- within one month of the withdrawal of the initiative,
- within 12 months after the end of the collection period,
- within 12 months of the submission of the initiative to the Commission.
If the Commission responds positively to the initiative with a notification, the retention period of e-mail addresses shall end three years after the publication of the notification.
The differences between the petition and the European Citizens' Initiative are shown in the table below:
Table: Differences between a petition and a European Citizens' Initiative
| PETITION | EUROPEAN CITIZEN'S INITIATIVE |
|
| Minimum number of proponents | 1 | mandatory 7 (who must meet the conditions) |
| Content | refers to existing EU activities, a new proposal for an EU legislative act cannot be required |
a new EU legislation may be proposed |
| Submission to the competent institution |
European Parliament | European Commission |
| Minimum number of signatures | not prescribed | million, confirmed valid |