Due to the challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Commission decided on 3 June to grant a further 3-month extension to six citizens' initiatives that are currently in the process of collecting statements of support. Six other initiatives for which the collection is also still ongoing have already benefitted from a total maximum extension of 12 months with the previous extensions that were granted in July 2020, December 2020 and February this year. Organisers of the initiatives concerned have been notified by the Commission. Read the text of the Commission implementing decision.

The 10th edition of the European Citizens' Initiative Day will take place online on 3 and 4 June. It is organised by the European Economic and Social Committee in cooperation with institutional and civil society partners.

Thursday 3 June will be a full day of debates on the ECI instrument, focusing on aspects key to making the ECI more powerful and strengthening participatory democracy at EU level.
The programme will also include workshops geared to the organisers of initiatives, and will cover matters such as online campaigning and fundraising.
On 4 June, the organisers of ongoing initiatives will be given the floor to present their initiatives.
For more information on the programme, speakers and workshops, please check the regularly updated event webpage. Register before 30 May!

The European Commission kicked off its 2021 series of 10 online events on the European Citizens Initiative with a successful event focused on Germany on 28 April. On 20 May we are inviting Danish citizens to discover this unique instrument of participatory democracy and on 25 May it will be Sweden’s turn. You will meet engaged citizens, EU institutions' representatives and stakeholders passionate about participatory democracy. Current and former organisers will also participate to give their insights.

Join the webinar 'The ECI step by step’ on 18 May to get practical guidance on the different procedural steps of a European citizens’ initiative - from the
preparation and registration to the signatures collection and the verification and submission phases. Learn more on the webinar webpage.

The Commission has registered today two new European citizens' initiatives.

The organisers of the ‘Civil Servant Exchange Program’ initiative invite the Commission to launch a scheme offering civil servants from EU countries professional experience in a similar service in another Member State for a period of 2 to 12 months.

The organisers of the ‘Green Garden Roof Tops' initiative call on the Commission to propose a framework to facilitate the creation of green gardens on companies’ rooftops.

The European Parliament will hold a public hearing on the sixth successful European Citizens’ Initiative ‘End the Cage Age’ on 15 April from 9.00 to 12.00. Due to current COVID-19 constraints, the meeting will be held partly remotely with limited physical presence in the room, but will be fully webstreamed for the public.

Today, the Regulation on the transparency and sustainability of the EU risk assessment in the food chain becomes applicable. The Commission's proposal for this Regulation was adopted in 2019, following the European citizens' initiative ‘Ban glyphosate and protect people and the environment from toxic pesticides'. A celebratory event, with participation of ECI organisers, will be held on-line on 30 March. 

Follow the webinar on 30 March 2021 to get practical guidance on how to successfully collect statements of support for a European citizens’ initiative.

Due to the challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Commission decided on 19 February to grant a further 3-month extension for citizens' initiatives that were in the process of collecting statements of support on 1 February 2021. Organisers of the initiatives concerned have been notified by the Commission. Read the text of the Commission implementing decision.

The European Commission published its response to the European citizens' initiative ‘Minority Safepack – one million signatures for diversity in Europe', the fifth successful initiative supported by over 1 million citizens across the EU. Read the Commission communication.