Have your say: Help shape the future of the ECI instrument

The European Commission has launched a survey on the European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI), inviting EU citizens and civil society organisations to share their experiences and views on how the instrument is working and where it needs to improve.

The survey is open until the end of 2026. Its results will feed into the Commission’s next review of the functioning of the ECI, which is due to be published by the end of 2027. Under the ECI Regulation, the Commission is required to carry out this review every four years. The ECI Campaign and other civil society actors advocated for such a regular review when the ECI framework was developed. This makes the current survey a rare opportunity for civil society to help shape the future development of the ECI and its role in the democratic future of Europe.

We encourage all ECI organisers and civil society organisations, as well as citizens and others with practical experience of the ECI, to make use of this opportunity and contribute to the review. We particularly encourage organisers of ECIs that have reached the threshold of one million signatures to openly share their experience of what happened afterwards. Their experience is especially important for understanding whether the current follow-up to successful ECIs enables citizens’ initiatives to achieve meaningful political and real-world impact.

For The ECI Campaign, effective follow-up to successful ECIs and their political and real-world impact should be at the heart of the forthcoming review debate.

Reaching one million signatures across Europe is an extraordinary democratic achievement. Yet too many successful ECIs have produced little or no tangible impact. If citizens invest enormous amounts of time, energy and resources in an initiative, mobilise people across Europe and reach the demanding threshold of one million signatures, there must be a meaningful political process afterwards. Otherwise, confidence in the ECI as an instrument of participatory democracy is inevitably undermined.

The forthcoming review should therefore be more than a technical assessment of the existing rules. It provides an opportunity to examine whether the ECI is fulfilling its fundamental purpose: enabling EU citizens to effectively participate in shaping the future development of the European Union.

Take part in the European Commission’s survey before the end of 2026 and help shape the next chapter of the European Citizens’ Initiative.

Fore feedback & questions please contact:

Carsten Berg
berg@citizens-initiative.eu
+49-17643064365