The European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) celebrates its 10th anniversary this September at two Festivals in Cyprus.

The European Citizens’ Initiative allows EU citizens to directly participate in European democracy. Join us in Nicosia, Cyprus at the Up to You(th) festival (in Acropolis Park) on 24 September and at the Cyprus Forum (Nicosia Municipal theatre) on 29 and 30 September, to celebrate ten years of this tool of democratic participation in the EU.

At a dedicated ECI stand, the Cypriot ECI Ambassador will help visitors understand what the European Citizens’ Initiative is. You can also learn about the latest citizens’ initiatives, take part in a quiz, share ideas via activities, and have all your ECI-related questions answered.  A member from NGO Support Centre (which is the ECI Ambassador organisation) will take part in a session on "Inclusiveness through innovation and entrepreneurship actions” on 30 September.

More than 800 EU citizens have already started 93 European Citizens' Initiatives in the past ten years. In total, more than 17 million signatures for initiatives have been collected from across the EU. Over 3,800 of these were from Cyprus. (Click here for other countries).

Currently, there are 11 European Citizens’ Initiatives collecting signatures on various topics, including climate change, rules on animal protection, sports, EU trade policy or banning fossil fuel advertising. The most recently registered initiatives include: ‘Call to achieve a tobacco-free environment and the first European tobacco-free generation by 2030’, ‘Every European house equipped with 1 kw photovoltaic and 0.6 kw wind turbines’  and ‘Protect the EU’s Rural Heritage, Food Security and Supply’.

Initiatives currently collecting signatures can be found on: Home | European Citizens' Initiative (Europa. EU)

Background

First deployed in 2012, the European Citizens’ Initiative is the first tool enabling citizens from all EU countries to come together and call for legislative change at the European Union level on issues they find important. The ECI allows EU citizens to engage across borders on issues of common concern.

The scope of this tool covers policy areas where the European Commission has the power to propose legislation. This includes the environment, agriculture, transport, consumer protection, social rights, and other areas that impact people’s lives. Once an initiative has received 1 million signatures and been verified by national authorities, the College of Commissioners adopts an official reply to the initiative deciding what action to take or not, and why. The initiative is then labelled ‘successful’. Visit the website for any additional information.

Myrto Zambarta, Head of the Representation of the European Commission in Cyprus, said, ‘uniting people to be more directly engaged in setting the policy agenda at European level on issues that are close to their heart is what the European citizens’ initiative aims to achieve. We are therefore pleased to have the opportunity at the Cyprus Forum to make people more aware about this unique instrument’.

More details on the European Citizens’ Initiative

To learn more about the European Citizens’ Initiative, you can listen to the CitizenCentral podcast.

Learn about the European Citizens' Initiative in key figures.
Discover and engage with the local ambassadors or the National Contact Point in Cyprus.
The Communication materials available in all EU languages: Communication material to spread the word.