Guide to the European citizens’ initiative : a new right for EU citizens : you can set the agenda!
Date: 2014-08-28
Institutions: Directorate-General for Communication
Subjects: EU national, EU policy, European Union, citizens' Europe, civil rights, civil society, participatory democracy, political participation

A NEW RIGHT FOR EU CITIZENS

YOU CAN SET 
THE AGENDA!

Guide to the 
European  
citizens’ initiative

Second edition

European Commission
Secretariat-General  
BELGIUM 1049 Brussels

Manuscript completed in June 2014

Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union

ISBN 978-92-79-32300-3
doi:10.2775/77797

© European Union, 2014

Reproduction is authorised. 

Printed in Belgium 

Printed on white chlorine-free paper

Foreword

With  the  launch  of  the  European  citizens’  initiative 

on  1  April  2012,  the  EU  took  a  big  step  in  promoting 

participatory democracy. Since then, over 20 initiatives 

have been prepared, two of them have already passed 

the  required  thresholds  and  more  than  5000000 

signatures  have  been  gathered  —  which  shows  that 

citizens are using this new instrument.

I believe the citizens’ initiative is bringing Europe closer 

to its citizens. It provides a direct gateway through which citizens’ voices are 

heard in Brussels and fosters real cross-border debates about major EU issues.

The citizens’ initiative is a learning process for all of us — for the Commission, 

for Member States and for citizens. It is still too early to draw any definitive 

conclusions on its success.

The citizens’ initiative will be subject to a first assessment by the Commission 

in  2015.  The  Commission  is  listening  carefully  to  feedback  and  ideas  from 

civil society, stakeholders and citizens more generally on the possibilities for 

improving the procedure.

This updated edition of the guide should contribute to raising awareness about 

the citizens’ initiative and help to make this innovative tool for participatory 

democracy even more effective. Have your say on the EU agenda!

Maroš Šefčovič
Vice-President of the European Commission

1

CONTENTS

WHAT IS IT ABOUT? 
KEY FACTS ON THE CITIZENS’ INITIATIVE 

HOW TO SIGN UP TO AN INITIATIVE 

HOW ARE SIGNATORIES’ DATA PROTECTED?  

HOW TO ORGANISE AN INITIATIVE 
THE PROCEDURE STEP BY STEP 

The procedure at a glance 

Prepare your initiative 

Set up your citizens’ committee 

Register your initiative on the Commission’s website  

Get your online collection system certified  

Collect statements of support 

Get statements of support certified  

Submit your citizens’ initiative to the Commission  

ONE MILLION SIGNATORIES? 
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT? 

HOW TO OBTAIN FURTHER INFORMATION 

2

3

7

11

13

14

16

16

17

19

20

22

23

25

27

 
WHAT IS IT ABOUT?

KEY FACTS ON 
THE CITIZENS’ INITIATIVE

What is the European citizens’ initiative?

The  European  citizens’  initiative  enables  1  million  EU  citizens  from  at  least 

seven EU countries to call on the European Commission to propose legislation 

on matters where the EU has competence to legislate. 

It is a right that is enshrined in the EU treaties.

The  rules  and  procedures  governing  the  citizens’  initiative  are  set  out  in  an 

EU  regulation  adopted  by  the  European  Parliament  and  the  Council  of  the 
European Union in February 2011 (1).

What can be proposed as a European citizens’ initiative?

A  citizens’  initiative  has  to  be  an  invitation  to  the  European  Commission  to 

propose a law in a field where it has the power to do so, for example in the 

fields of environment, agriculture, transport or public health. 

Who can organise a European citizens’ initiative?

All EU citizens (nationals of an EU country) old enough (2) to vote in European 
Parliament elections (18 years old except in Austria, where the voting age is 

16) have the possibility to be organisers of initiatives. However, they first have 

to form a citizens’ committee composed of at least seven EU citizens living in 

at least seven different EU countries.

The citizens’ committee is responsible for managing the initiative throughout 
the procedure.

Citizens’ initiatives cannot be run by organisations. However, organisations can 

promote or sponsor initiatives provided that they do so with full transparency.

(1) Regulation (EU) No 211/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 February 2011 on the 

citizens’ initiative  
(http://ec.europa.eu/citizens-initiative/public/legislative-framework).

(2) Citizens do not need to be registered to vote, just old enough.

4

Who can sign up to a European citizens’ initiative?

Any EU citizen (national of an EU country) old enough to vote (3) in European 
Parliament elections (18 years old except in Austria, where the voting age is 16) 

can sign up to a citizens’ initiative.

Where can I find out what citizens’ initiatives are ongoing?

All the citizens’ initiatives launched across the EU are registered on a central 

website managed by the European Commission:

http://ec.europa.eu/citizens-initiative

(3) Citizens do not need to be registered to vote, just old enough.

5

HOW TO SIGN UP 
TO AN INITIATIVE

You are an EU citizen (national of an EU country) old enough to vote in European 

Parliament elections and you want to give your support to an initiative? 

In  order  to  do  so,  you  have  to  fill  in  a  specific  statement  of  support  form 

provided by the organisers of the initiative, either on paper or online (if the 

organisers have provided a website for that purpose). 

The  form  should  comply  with  the  model  set  out  in  the  regulation  on  the 

citizens’  initiative  and  should  include  all  the  required  information  regarding 

the initiative (title, subject matter, objectives, etc.) as well as the Commission 

registration  number  for  that  initiative.  If  you  wish,  you  can  check  that  the 

initiative has been registered on the Commission’s website.

The personal information you are required to provide on this form depends on 

the EU country which you come from (either your country of nationality or of 

residence). The required data correspond to what each EU country considers 

necessary to verify a statement of support. 

If you live in an EU country but hold the nationality of another, or if you hold 

the nationality of several EU countries, you may have the possibility to choose 
between these countries depending on the data they require. 

However, you may only sign up once to an initiative.

8

Signing up on paper
  › Use the form corresponding to the (or one of the) EU country(ies)  

which you come from.

  › Fill in the required information (depending on the country).

  › Sign the form and give it back to the organisers.

Signing up online
  › Go to the organisers’ website (you will find the link on the initiative’s 

page on the Commission’s website).

  › Check  that  the  organisers’  online  collection  system  has  been 
certified by a competent national authority (organisers must publish 

the certificate on their website). This is important to ensure that your 

data  will  be  protected  and  not  used  for  any  other  purpose,  which 

would be illegal.

  › Fill  in  the  required  information,  making  sure  that  you  provide  the 

necessary data required by your country.

  › You are not required to sign using an electronic signature when you 

submit your statement of support online.

Once organisers have collected the necessary number of statements of support, 

they will send them to the competent national authorities for verification. 

Organisers  and  national  authorities  are  required  to  protect  your  data  and 

cannot  make  the  signatories’  list  public.  For  more  information  on  how  your 

data will be processed, see the section ‘How are signatories’ data protected?’.

9

 
Two examples of statement of support forms (for signing up on paper) 

FINLAND

STATEMENT OF SUPPORT FORM FOR THE EUROPEAN CITIZENS' INITIATIVE:

Unless stated otherwise, all fields on this form are mandatory.

1. All signatories on this form are residents in or citizens of:  FINLAND 

2. European Commission registration number:  
4. Web address of this proposed citizens’ initiative in the European Commission's register: 
5. Title of this proposed citizens’ initiative: 
6. Subject matter: 

7. Main objectives:

3. Date of registration: 

To be completed 
by organisers

8. Names and e-mail addresses of registered contact persons:  
9. Names of the other registered organisers: 
10. Website of this proposed citizens’ initiative (if any):

TO BE COMPLETED BY THE SIGNATORIES IN CAPITAL LETTERS
‘I hereby certify that the information that I have provided in this form is correct and that I have not already supported this proposed citizens’ initiative.’

FULL FIRST NAMES

FAMILY NAMES

COUNTRY OF PERMANENT RESIDENCE

DATE OF BIRTH

NATIONALITY

DATE AND SIGNATURE (1)

To be completed 
by signatories

(1) Signature is not mandatory when form is submitted electronically via an online collection system as referred to in Article 6 of Regulation (EU) No 211/2011.

Privacy statement: In accordance with Article 10 of Directive 95/46/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 October 1995 on the protection of individuals with regard 
to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, the personal data provided on this form will only be made available to the competent authorities for the 
purpose of verification and certification of the number of valid statements of support received for this proposed citizens’ initiative (see Article 8 of Regulation (EU) No 211/2011 of the 
European Parliament and of the Council of 16 February 2011 on the citizens’ initiative) and, if necessary, further processed for the purpose of administrative or legal proceedings relating 
to this proposed citizens’ initiative (see Article 12 of Regulation (EU) No 211/2011). The data may not be used for any other purpose. Data subjects are entitled to obtain access to their 
personal data. All statements of support will be destroyed at the latest 18 months after the date of registration of the proposed citizens’ initiative, or, in the case of administrative or legal 
proceedings, at the latest 1 week after the date of conclusion of the said proceedings.

AUSTRIA

STATEMENT OF SUPPORT FORM FOR THE EUROPEAN CITIZENS' INITIATIVE:

Unless stated otherwise, all fields on this form are mandatory.

1. All signatories on this form hold personal identification document numbers of:  AUSTRIA 

See Part C of Annex III of Regulation (EU) No 211/2011 for personal identification document numbers, one of which must be provided

2. European Commission registration number:  
4. Web address of this proposed citizens’ initiative in the European Commission's register: 
5. Title of this proposed citizens’ initiative: 
6. Subject matter: 

3. Date of registration: 

7. Main objectives:

8. Names and e-mail addresses of registered contact persons:  
9. Names of the other registered organisers: 
10. Website of this proposed citizens’ initiative (if any):

To be completed 
by organisers

TO BE COMPLETED BY THE SIGNATORIES IN CAPITAL LETTERS
‘I hereby certify that the information that I have provided in this form is correct and that I have not already supported this proposed citizens’ initiative.’

FULL FIRST NAMES

FAMILY NAMES

RESIDENCE
(street, number, postal code, city, 
country)

DATE AND 
PLACE OF 
BIRTH

NATIONALITY

PERSONAL 
IDENTIFICATION DOCUMENT 
TYPE AND NUMBER

DATE AND 
SIGNATURE (1)

To be completed 
by signatories

(1) Signature is not mandatory when form is submitted electronically via an online collection system as referred to in Article 6 of Regulation (EU) No 211/2011.

Privacy statement: In accordance with Article 10 of Directive 95/46/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 October 1995 on the protection of individuals with regard 
to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, the personal data provided on this form will only be made available to the competent authorities for the 
purpose of verification and certification of the number of valid statements of support received for this proposed citizens’ initiative (see Article 8 of Regulation (EU) No 211/2011 of the 
European Parliament and of the Council of 16 February 2011 on the citizens’ initiative) and, if necessary, further processed for the purpose of administrative or legal proceedings relating 
to this proposed citizens’ initiative (see Article 12 of Regulation (EU) No 211/2011). The data may not be used for any other purpose. Data subjects are entitled to obtain access to their 
personal data. All statements of support will be destroyed at the latest 18 months after the date of registration of the proposed citizens’ initiative, or, in the case of administrative or legal 
proceedings, at the latest 1 week after the date of conclusion of the said proceedings.

10

HOW ARE 
SIGNATORIES’ DATA 
PROTECTED? 

Throughout  the  procedure,  all  parties  involved  must  comply  with  the 
legislation  in  force  on  protection  of  personal  data  (4).  In  particular,  before 
collecting  statements  of  support,  organisers  may  be  required  to  notify  the 
data protection authority(ies) (5) in the EU country(ies) where the data will be 
processed. 

Furthermore,  the  regulation  on  the  citizens’  initiative  includes  more  specific 

provisions on data protection. 

Organisers must:

  › take  appropriate  technical  and  organisational  measures  to  protect 
personal data against accidental or unlawful destruction or accidental 

loss, alteration, unauthorised disclosure or access, in particular where 

the  processing  involves  the  transmission  of  data  over  a  network, 

and against all other unlawful forms of processing; 

  › ensure  that  personal  data  collected  are  not  used  for  any  purpose 

other than supporting that specific initiative; 

  › destroy  all  statements  of  support  and  any  copies  no  later  than 
1  month  after  submitting  their  initiative  to  the  Commission  or 
18 months after its date of registration, whichever is the earlier6(6).  

Organisers of a citizens’ initiative are liable and subject to prosecution if they 

do not comply with the provisions of the regulation on the citizens’ initiative, 

in particular in case of fraudulent use of data. 

Likewise national authorities must:

  › use the personal data only for the purpose of verifying the statements 

of support;

  › destroy all statements of support and any copies no later than 1 month 

after certifying the number of valid statements of support (6).

(4) Legislation resulting from Directive 95/46/EC.
(5) http://ec.europa.eu/justice/data-protection/bodies/authorities/eu/index_en.htm
(6) Statements of support may be retained beyond these time limits if necessary for the purpose of legal or 

administrative proceedings relating to the initiative. In this event, organisers must destroy all statements of 
support and copies no later than 1 week after the date of conclusion of said proceedings by a final decision.

12

HOW TO ORGANISE 
AN INITIATIVE

THE PROCEDURE 
STEP BY STEP

The procedure at a glance

GET STARTED!

2.

1.

Prepare your initiative 
and set up your 
citizens’ committee.

Register your initiative.  

Commission answers 
within 2 months

3.

You wish to 
collect online? 
Get your system certified.

National authority answers 
within 1 month

8.

If the Commission decides 
to follow your initiative: the 
legislative procedure starts 
once the Commission has 
adopted its proposal.

14

4.

COLLECT!

5.

Collect statements of 
support in at least  
seven EU countries.

Max. 12 months

Get statements of 
support certified by 
national authorities.    

National authorities answer 
within 3 months

SUBMIT!

6.

7.

ECI

1.000.000

You have at least 
1 000 000 signatories? 
Submit your initiative to 
the Commission.

The Commission 
examines your initiative 
and replies, after a 
meeting with you and 
a public hearing at the 
European Parliament.

Commission answers 
within 3 months

15

Prepare your initiative

You first have to decide whether the European citizens’ initiative is the best 

way  to  promote  your  idea.  Remember  that  a  citizens’  initiative  must  be  an 

invitation to the European Commission to propose legislation. It must concern 
an issue where the Commission has the power to act (7). It is recommended 
that you check the existing EU legislation. You may also consider other ways 

of  addressing  the  EU  institutions  that  could  be  more  appropriate  for  your 

request.  These  include  petitioning  the  European  Parliament,  taking  part  in 
public consultations or lodging a complaint with the European Ombudsman (8).

For more details on the conditions for launching a citizens’ initiative, see the 

section `Register your initiative on the Commission's website'.

Set up your citizens’ committee

Prior  to  launching  an  initiative,  you  have  to  form  a  committee  made  up  of 

at  least  seven  EU  citizens  (nationals  of  an  EU  country)  old  enough  to  vote 
in European Parliament elections (9) and living in at least seven different EU 
countries.  The  committee  members  do  not  have  to  be  nationals  of  seven 

different  EU  countries.  Only  the  seven  members  fulfilling  the  above  criteria 

and not being Members of the European Parliament have to be indicated to 

the Commission when registering the proposed initiative and have their names 

published on the Commission’s citizens’ initiative website.

This committee is considered as the official ‘organiser’ of the initiative and is 

responsible for managing the procedure throughout.

The committee must designate from among its members a representative and 

a substitute to speak and act on its behalf vis-à-vis the Commission.

(7)  For guidance on the Commission’s powers, please see:  

http://ec.europa.eu/citizens-initiative/public/competences

(8)  Find out more about alternative ways of approaching or influencing the EU at:  

http://ec.europa.eu/citizens-initiative/public/alternative-ways-eu

(9)  Citizens do not need to be registered to vote, just old enough (18 in all Member States except Austria, 

where the voting age is 16).

16

Commission answers
within 2 months

Register your initiative on the Commission’s website 

Before you can start collecting statements of support from citizens, you have 

to register your initiative on the Commission’s citizens’ initiative website:

http://ec.europa.eu/citizens-initiative/public/how-to-register

In  order  to  register  your  initiative,  you  will  have  to  provide  the  following 

information in one of the 24 official EU languages:

  › the title of your initiative (maximum 100 characters); 

  › its subject matter (maximum 200 characters); 

  › a description of its objectives (maximum 500 characters); 

  › the  provisions  of  the  EU  treaties  you  consider  relevant  for  the 

proposed action (10); 

  › personal details of the seven committee members (full names, postal 
addresses,  nationalities  and  dates  of  birth),  indicating  specifically 

the  representative  and  his/her  substitute,  as  well  as  their  e-mail 

addresses and telephone numbers; 

  › documents that prove the full names, postal addresses, nationalities 

and dates of birth of each of the seven committee members;

  › all sources of funding and support for your initiative (known at the 
time of registration) worth more than €500 per year and per sponsor. 

Optionally, you may provide: 

  › the address of the website for the initiative (if any); 

  › an annex with more detailed information on your initiative;

  › a draft legal act. 

(10)  For more information on the EU treaties, please see:  

http://ec.europa.eu/citizens-initiative/public/competences

17

Conditions

Registration is not automatic. Before your initiative is officially registered 

and appears on the website, the Commission will first, within 2 months, 

check whether: 

  › your citizens’ committee has been formed and the contact persons 

designated; 

  › your initiative does not manifestly fall outside the framework of the 
Commission’s powers to submit a legislative proposal to implement 

the EU treaties; 

  › your initiative is not manifestly abusive, frivolous or vexatious; 

  › your initiative is not manifestly contrary to the EU values as set out 

in the EU treaties (11).

Once your initiative is registered, your representative and his/her substitute 

will  have  access  to  a  secure  account  on  the  Commission’s  website,  where 

they can get information on the next steps in the procedure and manage all 

submissions to the Commission in the context of their initiative.

In particular, you can provide, via this account, translations of your initiative in 

other official EU languages. You should strive to ensure that the translations 

are equivalent to the original. The Commission will not publish them if it finds 

manifest and significant inconsistencies. 

In addition, you should provide, on a regular basis, up-to-date information on 
all sources of support and funding for your initiative worth more than €500 
per year and per sponsor. 

NB: —  A registered initiative may be withdrawn by its organisers at any time before they send 

statements of support to be verified by a competent national authority. Withdrawal is 

irreversible. A withdrawn initiative cannot be resumed, and all statements of support 

collected  become  null  and  void.  Withdrawn  initiatives  —  marked  as  such  —  remain 

viewable on the Commission’s website under the section on obsolete initiatives.

  —  For transparency reasons, the text of the proposed initiatives for which registration 

has  been  refused  as  well  as  the  Commission’s  decisions  containing  the  relevant 

justifications for refusal can also be consulted on the Commission’s website:  

http://ec.europa.eu/citizens-initiative/public/initiatives/non-registered

(11)  Article 2 of the Treaty on European Union: ‘The Union is founded on the values of respect for human 

dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights, including the rights 
of persons belonging to minorities. These values are common to the Member States in a society in which 
pluralism, non-discrimination, tolerance, justice, solidarity and equality between women and men prevail.’

18

National authority answers 
within 1 month

Get your online collection system certified 

If you wish to collect statements of support online, you must build an online 

collection system that responds to certain requirements.

Your system must be capable of ensuring that:

  › only  real  persons  (not  computers)  may  submit  a  statement  of 

support form;

  › data provided online are securely collected and stored;

  › the statements of support can be produced in the format that can be 

verified by the competent national authorities. 

The  detailed  technical  and  security  features  that  your  system  must  comply 

with are set out in a specific regulation (see link below).

To help you build your system, the Commission has developed open source 

software that already complies with all the relevant requirements. 

Before starting to collect statements of support using your online collection 

system, you must have it certified by a competent authority in the EU country 

where the data will be stored. 

Certification  is  required  even  if  you  use  the  Commission  software  since  the 

software  provides  only  part  of  your  online  collection  system.  In  this  case 

however, certification is facilitated.

The national authority has 1 month to respond to your request. Once you have 
the certificate, you must publish a copy on your website. 

NB: —  You can obtain certification either before or after registering your initiative with the 

Commission.

  —  Since  July  2012,  and  considering  the  challenges  encountered  by  the  first  organisers 
to  find  suitable  private  hosting  providers  for  their  online  collection  systems,  the 

Commission temporarily proposes the hosting of organisers’ online collection systems. 

For more information, please see: http://ec.europa.eu/citizens-initiative/public/hosting

19

Useful resources
  › Regulation setting out the detailed technical and security features 
that your system must comply with: http://eur-lex.europa.eu/
LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2011:301:0003:0009:EN:PDF

  › Open source software developed by the Commission: 
http://ec.europa.eu/citizens-initiative/public/software 

  › List of competent national authorities that certify online collection 
systems: http://ec.europa.eu/citizens-initiative/public/authorities-
online-systems 

Collect statements of support

Max 12 months

As  soon  as  the  registration  of  your  initiative  has  been  confirmed,  you  may 

start collecting statements of support from citizens. You have 1 year to do so. 

Statements of support can be collected on paper and/or online. 

In order to collect statements of support, you have to use specific forms which 

comply  with  the  models  set  out  in  the  regulation  on  the  citizens’  initiative 

and  which  include  all  required  information  regarding  your  initiative.  That 

information must be identical to the information on your initiative published 

on the Commission’s website.

In your organiser account, you can download customised and pre-completed 

forms for which you can choose: 

  › the EU country where you want to collect statements of support; 

  › the language for the name fields, among the official EU languages; 

  › the  language  for  the  information  on  your  initiative,  among  the 
languages in which your initiative is published on the website. 

Data protection

During the whole procedure, you must comply with the legislation in force as 

regards data protection. This means in particular that before collecting statements 
of support, you may be required to notify the data protection authority(ies) (12) 
in the EU country(ies) where the data will be processed. For more information 

on data protection, see the section ‘How are signatories’ data protected?’.

20

(12) http://ec.europa.eu/justice/data-protection/bodies/authorities/eu/index_en.htm

Minimum number of signatories per country

You are not required to collect statements of support in all 28 EU countries. You 

will however need to have a minimum number of signatories in at least seven 

EU countries (see the thresholds for each country in the following table).

NB:  Statements of support collected in countries where the threshold has not been reached 

will also be counted to reach the 1 million target.

Minimum number of signatories per country  
for the initiatives registered as of 1 July 2014 (13)

Austria
Belgium
Bulgaria
Croatia
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Denmark
Estonia
Finland
France
Germany
Greece
Hungary
Ireland
Italy
Latvia
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Malta
Netherlands
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Slovakia
Slovenia
Spain
Sweden
United Kingdom

13 500
15 750
12 750
8 250
4 500
15 750
9 750
4 500
9 750
55 500
72 000
15 750
15 750
8 250
54 750
6 000
8 250
4 500
4 500
19 500
38 250
15 750
24 000
9 750
6 000
40 500
15 000
54 750

(13)  For initiatives registered before 1 July 2014, the thresholds can be consulted at:  

http://ec.europa.eu/citizens-initiative/public/signatories

21

Get statements of support certified 

Submit your citizens’ initiative to the Commission 

National authorities answer 
within 3 months

Once you have obtained the certificates from the competent national authorities 

demonstrating that you have collected the required number of statements of 

support  (1  million  overall  and  the  minimum  thresholds  reached  for  at  least 

seven  EU  countries),  you  can  submit  your  initiative  to  the  Commission  for 

consideration. 

  › Don’t  forget  that  you  have  the  legal  obligation  to  destroy  all 

statements  of  support  and  any  copies  no  later  than  1  month  after 

submitting your initiative or 18 months after registering your initiative 

(if you do not obtain enough statements of support to submit it).

Once  you  have  finished  collecting  the  necessary  statements  of  support  for 

your initiative, you need to ask the competent national authority, in each EU 

country where you have collected, to certify the number of valid statements 

of support collected for that country. 

You must ask for certification separately, and one time only, for each country 

where you have collected statements of support. 

You can send statements of support in paper or electronically. You will need 

to separate the statements of support collected in paper form, those collected 

through  an  online  collection  system  and  those  which  were  signed  using  an 

electronic signature. 

Statements of support collected online can either be printed and sent in paper 

form or sent in electronic form via a secure means, such as encrypted files in 

a CD-ROM. XML files could also be used if they are accepted by the national 

authority concerned (you can check that on the Commission’s website). The 

software  developed  by  the  Commission  allows  the  export  of  statements  in 

XML format.

The national authorities have 3 months to certify the number of valid statements 
of support. They will use appropriate checks to verify the statements, which 
may be based on random sampling.

You  may  want  to  collect  more  statements  of  support  than  required,  as  the 

checks by the competent national authorities may lead them to certify a lower 

number of statements of support than have been provided. 

Useful resources

  › List of competent national authorities that certify the number of 

valid statements of support: 

http://ec.europa.eu/citizens-initiative/public/authorities-verification

22

Submit your citizens’ initiative to the Commission 

Once you have obtained the certificates from the competent national authorities 

demonstrating that you have collected the required number of statements of 

support  (1  million  overall  and  the  minimum  thresholds  reached  for  at  least 

seven  EU  countries),  you  can  submit  your  initiative  to  the  Commission  for 

consideration. 

  › Don’t  forget  that  you  have  the  legal  obligation  to  destroy  all 
statements  of  support  and  any  copies  no  later  than  1  month  after 

submitting your initiative or 18 months after registering your initiative 

(if you do not obtain enough statements of support to submit it).

23

ONE MILLION 
SIGNATORIES?

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

Commission answers within 
3 months

In the 3 months following the submission of a citizens’ initiative which 

has received the required number of statements of support:

  › Commission representatives meet the organisers so they can explain 

in detail the issues raised in their initiative; 

  › the organisers have the opportunity to present their initiative at a 

public hearing in the European Parliament; 

  › following  a  careful  examination  of  the  initiative,  the  Commission 
adopts a formal response spelling out what action it intends to take, 

if any, and its reasons. 

This  response,  which  takes  the  form  of  a  communication,  is  formally 

adopted  by  the  College  of  Commissioners  and  published  in  all  official 

EU languages. 

If the Commission considers proposing legislation in response to a citizens’ 
initiative,  the  usual  process  for  the  drafting  of  a  Commission  proposal 

is  launched  (as  appropriate,  public  consultations,  impact  assessments, 

etc.). Once adopted by the Commission, the proposal is submitted to the 

legislator  (the  European  Parliament  and  the  Council  or  in  some  cases 

only the Council), which will need to adopt it for it to become law.

26

HOW TO 
OBTAIN FURTHER 
INFORMATION

Consult the Commission’s website  
and register for the citizens’ initiative:

http://ec.europa.eu/citizens-initiative

On this website you will find:

  › information on all citizens’ initiatives classified according to  

their status (open, closed, obsolete, etc.);

  › a search tool to find initiatives that interest you;

  › detailed information on the rules governing the citizens’ initiative as 
well as the list of competent national authorities, guidance and FAQ;

  › the registration form; 

  › for organisers of initiatives, access to your organiser account 
through which you can manage your initiative once you have 

registered it with the Commission. 

Other questions — contact Europe Direct  

Tel. 00 800 6 7 8 9 10 11 (*)14  

E-mail: http://ec.europa.eu/citizens-initiative/public/contact-form

Chat: http://europa.eu/europedirect/web_assistance/index_en.htm  

You can also contact a Europe Direct centre in your country. To find a Europe 

Direct centre, please consult: 

http://europa.eu/europedirect/meet_us/index_en.htm

(*) Most calls are free though some operators, phone boxes or hotels may charge you.

28

  
Important notice

This publication provides general information on the rules and conditions 

governing the European citizens’ initiative. Its content is not legally binding 

and does not claim to be exhaustive.

The detailed rules are set out in Regulation (EU) No 211/2011 on the citizens’ 

initiative:

http://ec.europa.eu/citizens-initiative/public/legislative-framework

N
A
-
0
3
-
1
3
-
4
2
8
-
E
N
-
C

A NEW RIGHT FOR EU CITIZENS

YOU CAN SET 
THE AGENDA!

Find out about your new right at:
http://ec.europa.eu/citizens-initiative