European Citizens Initiative ECI Implementation Better Regulation REFIT

European Citizens' Initiative (ECI) Implementation & Better Regulation - REFIT Platform Civil Dialogue Barcelona, 1 June 2016

ECI & Better Regulation REFIT Platform • European Citizens' Initiative § Introduction / legal framewok § State of Play § Implementation • REFIT Platform: § Better regulation package – 1 year on § REFIT Platform – ongoing work

European Citizens' Initiative • - ECI allows EU citizens to participate directly in the development of EU policies, by calling on the European Commission to make a legislative proposal. • - 1 st transnational tool of participatory democracy unique opportunity to bring the EU closer to citizens. • - ECI objectives must be in a field where the Commission has the power to propose legislation. • - Obtain support by at least one million EU citizens, coming from at least 7 out of the 28 member states.

Legal framework Introduced by the Lisbon Treaty - Article 11(4) TUE: Ø Not less than one million citizens who are nationals of a significant number of Member States may take the initiative of inviting the European Commission, within the framework of its powers, to submit any appropriate proposal on matters where citizens consider that a legal act of the Union is required for the purpose of implementing the Treaties. Ø Article 24 TFEU: Ordinary legislative procedure to adopt the provisions for the procedures and conditions including the minimum number of Member States from which such citizens must come.

Legal framework (2) - Regulation (EU) No 211/2011 on the citizens' initiative § Adopted by Parliament and Council in February 2011 and applicable since 1 April 2012 § Rules and procedures for the implementation of the ECI - Commission Implementing Regulation 1179/2011 § Laying down the technical specifications for online collection systems pursuant to the ECI Regulation • - Member States competences (e. g. certification of OCS; verification of signatures) - Expert Group on the ECI

State of play The Commission has received 56 requests for the registration of proposed citizens' initiatives: § 36 initiatives registered § An estimated 6 million statements of support have already been collected by organisers of citizens' initiatives § 3 have reached the 1 -million threshold and have been submitted to the Commission § 4 currently open – collecting statements of support

State of play (2) 3 initiatives have reached 1 million statements of support and the minimum thresholds in more than 7 Member States, and have received a reply by the Commission – Article 10 ECI Regulation: § "Right 2 water" - Communication March 2014. § "One of Us" - Communication May 2014. § "Stop vivisection" - Communication June 2015. Information on the follow-up actions: ECI website.

State of play (3) 4 initiatives currently collecting statements of support: § "Fair Transport Europe – Equal treatment for all transport workers" - Deadline for collection: 14/09/2016. § "Stop Plastic in the Sea" – Deadline: 19/10/2016. § "Wake up Europe! Taking action to safeguard the European democratic project"– Deadline 30/11/2016. § "Mum, Dad & Kids – European Citizens' Initiative to protect Marriage and Family"– Deadline 11/12/2016. Information on the initiatives: ECI website.

Implementation 2015: Review of the application of the ECI Regulation • Review clause – Article 22 ECI Regulation: 2015 and every three years thereafter. • Commission first triannual report on the application of the ECI Regulation (March 2015). • Follow-up contributions from other EU institutions and bodies: EP resolution on the ECI; Council; Expert Group on the ECI; Committee of Regions; Ombudsman. • Civil society stakeholders and ECI organisers • Ongoing: EESC own-initiative opinion (foreseen for July 2016); Refit Platform Stakeholders Group.

Implementation (2) • Actions to improve the effectiveness of ECI instrument so that reaches its full potential. • Elements identified in the Commission assessment on the application of the ECI Regulation • And also taking into account the views expressed by other EU institutions, bodies and stakeholders. • Assessments and contributions converge in a set of areas where the instrument can be improved under the current rules.

Implementation(3) • Advice and assistance to organisers § Instruments already in place, but important to increase awareness and use by citizens and organisers. § ECI Official register: practical information available in all EU languages; Europe Direct contact point, also in all countries and EU languages. § Assistance to organisers on technical aspects: free hosting offer. § Online software for the collection of statements of support – developed and maintained free of charge and open source by the Commission.

Implementation (4) • Cooperation with the Member States: § Work ongoing in the ECI Expert Group on improvements within the current legal framework. • Studies for technical assessment: § Online Collection Systems and use of electronic identification (e. ID) § Simplification of technical specifications for OCS § Personal data requirements by the Member States for citizens supporting ECIs. • Improvement of the current OCS: § Integration of social media for campaigning purposes § Mobile version for smartphones and tablet devices § Technical improvements in the ECI Register and OCS

Better Regulation Package adopted on 19 May 2015 - Communication: Better Regulation for Better Results (COM 2015/215) - Inter-institutional Agreement - REFIT Platform - REFIT Scoreboard - Better Regulation Guidelines - Regulatory Scrutiny Board

The REFIT Platform is in place - 2 groups: Stakeholders/Committee of Regions/European Economic and Social Committee + Member States) - Chair: First Vice. President/Chair of RSB - Prompt: "Lighten the Load – Have your say…. "

Ongoing Work: REFIT Platform • 108 stakeholder suggestions examined in the first half of 2016; • 30 suggestions should receive opinions by June; • Priority areas identified in the Stakeholder Group: taxation, internal market, agriculture.

Thank you for your attention http: //ec. europa. eu/citizens-initiative http: //ec. europa. eu/smart-regulation/index_en. htm