Ongoing ECIs in the Wake of the 2024 EP Elections

While the European Parliament has launched its emotional mobilization campaign “ Use Your Vote Or Others Will Decide For You” to increase voter turnout in the 2024 European elections on 6-9 June, several ECIs are using the momentum of the elections to make their case – some of them even being carried by MEPs. Get an overview of the leading ECIs with more than 100,000 signatures and consult our statistics on all ongoing ECIs.

ECI “Tax the Rich” Currently Leading Among Ongoing ECIs

The ECI “Taxing Great Wealth to Finance the Ecological and Social Transition” – in short “Tax the Rich” – is currently the leading ECI with more than 171,000 signatures. It was co-initiated by Socialist MEP Aurore Lalucq and former Prime Minister of the Walloon Region Paul Magnette. Supporting organisations include Oxfam and “Tax Me Now” – an NGO founded by philantropists such as Marlene Engelhorn and Antonis Schwarz who are campaigning for the taxation of large fortunes and the democratic redistribution of their own wealth. What unites the organiser’s group is their demand for a “European wealth tax to finance the social and climate transition and help countries hit by climate change”. The organisers warn against the extremely fast-growing and excessive concentration of capital in the richest parts of European societies and the increasing impoverishment of the already poor. In their view, this trend poses a significant threat not only to democracy, as disenfranchised citizens tend to disengage from existing democratic structures, but also from necessary political actions against climate change and the ecological transition. The ECI “Tax the Rich” is still open for signing until 9 October 2024

ECI “My Voice, My Choice” for Access for Save Abortion

The ECI “My Voice, My Choice” calls for women’s reproductive rights, especially” for the more than 20 million women in Europe who do not have access to safe abortion because of restrictive laws or problematic practices” as the organizers say. In particular, this ECI calls on the European Commission to present a proposal for financial support to Member States that would be able to provide “to perform safe termination of pregnancies for anyone in Europe who still lacks access to safe and legal abortion”.

This ECI, which is being driven by feminist movements in different Member States across Europe, particularly in Eastern Europe, has already collected more than 100,000 signatures in just one week. While the collection of signatures is open until 24 April 2025, the organisers of the ECI have set themselves the ambitious goal of reaching the one million mark by the time of the European Parliament elections beginning of June. This would be a record time that no successful ECI has ever reached before. More on first institutional and media reactions to this latest ECI can be found here.

For a full list of all nine ECIs that are currently open for signatures, please see our overview. If you are considering to launch your own ECI reach out to us and consult our independent ECI Help Desk.