Organisers of the first eight European Citizens' Initiatives (ECIs) arrived at the end of their period for collecting statements of support. Three ECIs claim to have reached the target of one million signatures. This includes a minimum number of signatures in at least seven Member States, as required by the ECI legislation. They include "Right2Water", who believe 'water is a public good, not a commodity', "One of Us", who seek to end EU financing of activities which presuppose the destruction of human embryos, and "Stop Vivisection", who want to see an end to live animal experimentation.
Vice-President Maroš Šefčovič said: "I am greatly encouraged by the fact that three such diverse ECIs may have passed the threshold of success. It proves that this very ambitious and unique experiment in transnational participatory democracy has captured the imagination of people across Europe.
"I offer my commiserations to the organisers of the other five ECIs. But their efforts and energy were certainly not wasted. They have all succeeded in forging links with like-minded people across the continent, and sparking genuine pan-European debates on issues that are clearly very important to them. These are solid foundations on which they can continue to campaign."
