The European Citizens’ Initiative encourages civil society organisations to engage with the public on European issues

The European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) was launched in May 2012 with the aim of allowing EU citizens to participate more effectively in EU decision-making. Individuals can request that the European Commission proposes an item of legislation at the European level, provided that the initiative is backed by at least one million citizens. Luis Bouza Garcia argues that while very few campaigns are capable of attracting one million supporters, the ECI has wider value in encouraging actors from civil society to engage with the public, rather than simply attempting to lobby the EU’s institutions directly.