April 1st, 2012 is the official day after which a million citizens from at least a quarter of the EU Member States have the right to invite the European Commission to bring forward proposals for European legal acts in areas in which the Commission has the authority to do so. Regulation (EU) No 211/2011, which regulates the European Citizens’ initiatives, was adopted on February 16th, 2011. However, a request from the Member States demanding a technical period of time for the establishment of mechanisms for the certification of signatures delayed the launch of the initiative until the beginning of April, 2012.
The Committee on European Affairs and Oversight of the European Funds has placed the topic of the European Citizens’ Initiative at the center of its activity on several occasions not only within the framework of the Annual Working Programme of the National Assembly for 2010, but also at the sittings of the Council for Public Consultations held before the adoption of the ECI Regulation. CEAOEF’s Chairperson, Ms. Monika Panayotova, has also expressed her firm belief that the European citizens need a stronger instrument for direct participation in the decision-making processes at European level. According to Ms. Panayotova, citizen participation in the active European policy not only during elections, but also through mechanisms such as the ECI is a crucial factor that enhances the legitimacy of the European institutions because the increased role of National parliaments and the European Parliament should not happen at the expense of the European citizens’ interest in them. It is important to attract the interest of the citizens in order to overcome the existing barrier between national policies and the European agenda. European citizens should feel important and actively insist to have their voice heard, because this is completely possible and directly applicable through the European Citizen’s Initiative.
In order for an initiative to begin in Bulgaria, 13 500 Bulgarian citizens need to express their will to support it. The European Commission has already created a web platform where citizens can keep track of open initiatives, trace closed ones, and download software for online gathering of statements of support. The site also specifies the areas in which citizens can start initiatives as well as the temporal framework of the different phases of the process. Furthermore, the platform identifies the institutions responsible for the certification and the verification of the gathered statements of support for each initiative in each Member States. For Bulgaria, these organs will be the Ministry of Transport, Informational Technologies and Communications and the Directorate General “Civil Registration and Administrative Services” at the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works. The modifications and additions to the Law for the Direct Citizen Participation in State and Local Government are expected to be adopted at a second reading by the National Assembly in a due course.
After the technical part has been perfected, it remains to be seen where the European citizens’ creativity will take us.