Reforming the Legal Framework of the European Citizens’ Initiative: best practices from comparative law

Considering the dramatic decrease on the number of new European Citizens’ Initiatives submitted to the Commission and the lack of legislative impact, the European Parliament has recently recognized “significant deficits which need to be tackled and solved in order to make the ECI more effective”. Accordingly, in its Resolution of 28 October 2015, the EP has demanded a revision of the Regulation (EU) 211/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the ECI and the Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 1179/2011. This paper will attend to the suggestions made by the EP focusing on essential aspects of the ECI legal framework such as the guidance to the organizers offered by the EU institutions; the collection and management of personal data; the transparency and accountability of the admissibility check made by the Commission; the possible alternatives to the refusal of the Commission; the age for supporting and participating in an ECI; the financial support for the organizers; the beginning of the collection period; the follow-up to a successful ECI and the possible deadline to submit a legal act by the Commission; and the structure of the public hearings in order to ensure dialogue with the MEP. In order to provide some recommendations for the revision of the ECI Regulation, the paper will identify some of the best practices offered by the popular initiatives of the Member States, Switzerland and the more significant states of the USA.