On 24 August 2022 the Commission registered a European citizens' initiative entitled ‘Call to achieve a tobacco-free environment and the first European tobacco-free generation by 2030’.

It calls on the Commission to propose legal acts that promote the first tobacco-free European generation by 2028, ending the sale of tobacco and nicotine products to citizens born since 2010. The initiative also calls for specific measures to achieve tobacco-free and butts-free beaches, riverbanks and national parks, as well as to extend outdoor vapor-free spaces and to eliminate tobacco advertising.

This is the fifth initiative registered in 2022. Its organisers have six months now to choose the moment to start the collection of support.

This year, the European Citizens’ Initiative will be present in several festivals across the EU with an information stand, activities such as a quiz or expression wall, participation in debates and more!

The festivals where you can meet and greet the ECI are:

• Political Festival of Europe, a four-day democracy festival held in Mariager (Denmark), on 25-28 August
• PrinsjesFestival, a democracy festival held in The Hague (Netherlands), in September – and particularly at the PrinsjesMarkt (17 September)
• Cyprus Forum – annual conference for change (Nicosia, 29-30 September)

ECI activities are also planned in Belgium (Level up! Festival in Brussels at the end of October), Greece (Thessaloniki Film Festival in November) and Czechia.

Minimum age to support European citizens’ initiatives corresponds to the age to be entitled to vote in elections to the European Parliament. Belgium has lowered the minimum voting age for these elections from 18 to 16 for all EU citizens living in the country. This measure will enter into force on 1 May 2023. As of this moment, young people aged 16-18 will also be able to support European citizens’ initiatives.

New features have been recently added to the Central Online Collection System to improve its functionality for the ECI organisers: now, the sample social media messages have more formatting options, and the initiatives’ logos can be displayed in Facebook messages. The organisers can easily download the latest metrics, find user feedback in the original languages as provided by the citizens and there is better guidance for citizens entering a wrong postal code.

Moreover, feedback shared in a survey by people supporting the initiatives will allow the Commission prepare other future improvements. The majority of open initiatives use COCS, and all new initiatives registered from 1 January 2023 will be required to use it.

How to get heard when people’s attention is focused on something else?

Register for this webinar on 6 July (12:30 – 1:45 CET) and learn about campaigning in difficult circumstances and how to make your citizens' initiative feature when these external events deter attention from it.

Communication expert, John Holland, and ECI organiser from the "Stop Finning - Stop the Trade" European citizens' initiative, Nils Kluger, will share their expertise and experiences on the subject.

With 7 episodes released in season 1 and production for season 2 kicking off, we invite you to share your views on the 'CitizenCentral' podcast. This survey takes approximately 8-10 minutes and closes on 23 June.

Calling all civil society organisations: share your experience and perspective regarding the European Citizens’ Initiative! How do you choose to support, or not support, an initiative? Let us know by taking part in this short survey, deadline: 31 July.

The results of this survey will feed into the periodical review of the ECI rules, to be published by the end of 2023.

If you ever wondered about the age and nationality of ECI organisers, number of signatures per country, also in relation to their population, check out the latest data and figures on European citizens’ initiatives in the ECI infographic (updated in May 2022) on the ECI Forum.

The 2022 edition of the ECI Day, organised by the European Economic and Social Committee and its partners on 2 June 2022, focused on the theme "European Citizens' Initiative 10 years on: ready for the future?".

The workshop on the Central Online Collection System (COCS) allowed to present new features of the COCS and to collect feedback from users and stakeholders for the continuous improvement of the system.

The workshop on 'Successful initiatives: when NGOs across the EU unite for a common cause' gave several insights into civil society's engagement with the ECI.

Read more in the press release published by the European Economic and Social Committee.

The online course on Essential Skills for European Citizens’ Initiative Organisers is available on the EU Academy.

It focuses on practical aspects of the European Citizens’ Initiative and gives users an opportunity to learn about the process and practice of developing successful European citizens’ initiatives, under the guidance of established experts. Upon completion of the course participants receive a certificate. The course is offered for free.