What Triggers the use of the ECI? The Role of Benefits, Values and Efficacy

The European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) aspires to encourage citizens to participate in shaping European Union (EU) policy. Nonetheless, scholarship has repeatedly pointed out that due to its weakness as a direct democratic instrument and the distant character of the EU the ECI lacks potential to engage the public. Against this background, it is surprising that only isolated studies have examined the factors that shape the willingness of using the ECI from the perspective of the citizens. Literature on attitudes towards the EU indicates that both utilitarian and value-based considerations related to democratic norms drive support. This study discusses the applicability of these theories to the case of the ECI and additionally considers the role of political efficacy in motivating its use by citizens. EU scholarship shows that perceptions of efficacy indicate sentiments of system legitimacy, while the literature on political participation and activism accentuates the role played by beliefs that one’s voice is heard in triggering action. The paper develops a model that identifies value-based considerations, personal benefits from EU membership and political efficacy as key determinants of the willingness to use the ECI. The model is tested with survey data from two Eurobarometer waves (May 2012 and November 2013) for all Member States. The study uses a two-step approach. Firstly, it explores the extent to which these predictors are associated with the willingness to use the ECI. Secondly, ordinal logistic regression modeling is used to investigate their explanatory power when the battery of ‘standard’ determinants of political participation and EU support is held constant. Results indicate a strong tendency of EU citizens to be driven by interests in using the ECI and confirm that perceptions of efficacy motivate participation.