Why the European Citizens’ Initiative merits radical reform On the 1st of April 2014, the European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) turned two — its unfortunate birthdate determined by EU translation services. Called the first transnational tool of “direct participatory democracy” and “digital democracy” in history, the ECI is a complex procedure by which a million EU …
This article is from the upcoming publication “An ECI That Works!” to be released on 15 April 2014 by The ECI Campaign. In 2010-2011, I campaigned for a citizen-friendly ECI regulation and then left the EU before it went into effect. Below I compare what I and others thought would happen with the ECI to …
What didn’t happen with the European Citizens’ Initiative…and what did Read More »
Several years ago, after a lifetime in the heartland of America, I moved to the heart of the European Union. Having heard Brussels described as the Washington, D.C. of Europe, I expected to see politicians from opposing parties insulting each other, lobbyists bearing checks as they flitted between campaign fundraisers, and legislation to benefit ordinary …
You’ll miss Europe if we kill it: the EU benefits the world more than people appreciate Read More »
A friend recently asked me to sign a petition opposing a soon-to-be-implemented EU directive which will effectively ban many herbal medicines. Putting aside the merits of the topic, my first reaction was “Why so late? The directive was approved in 2004!” It seemed a perfect example of how citizens typically first learn about EU decisions: …
Putting EU citizens before lobbyists: is the ECI the tool? Read More »
If the first election in which a young voter participates is a European election then that voter is less likely to vote in any kind of election for the rest of their life compared to their first electoral experience being a national election. This finding from Professor Mark Franklin of the European University Institute in …
Warning: EU elections may be dangerous to your democracy Read More »
The European Union (EU) is moving quickly to clarify and enforce the rights of its citizens, driven by the very senior, results-oriented Commissioner Viviane Reding. The Commission’s focus is the rights of individuals when engaging in cross-border activities, such as purchasing products from another country or obtaining social services when living abroad. However, it is …
Europe will begin the first-ever experiment in transnational participatory democracy later this year with the launch of the European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI). This participatory agenda-setting tool allows one million European Union (EU) citizens to ask the European Commission to propose new legislation. Very simple in theory. Not so simple in practice. The ECI was created …
Who’s afraid of the world’s first transnational participatory democracy tool? Read More »
Back in 2008, with the EU stalled pending ratification of the Lisbon Treaty, the European Council appointed a high-level independent Reflection Group, headed by Felipe González, to propose solutions to numerous challenges facing the European Union in coming years – from economic coordination to foreign policy to reaching out to EU citizens. The recently released …
Reflection group offers few new ideas to engage EU citizens Read More »
Since surveys alone cannot provide a complete or nuanced view of public opinion, they are best preceded or complemented by qualitative research. Samples are small and not necessarily random. So, opinions may not be representative of the broader public. But, since questions are open-ended and flexible, a range of opinions can be expressed and unexpected …
One way the “voice of the ordinary European” currently reaches EU policy makers is via opinion polling. The European Commission’s Eurobarometer surveys measure what Europeans know and how they feel about many topics. Sample sizes are large. Respondents are chosen randomly. Theoretically, this means that responses are representative of all Europeans. But, is this really …