Participatory Democracy
Changes under the Lisbon Treaty in 2009 now enable much greater potential engagement of civil society in EU institutions. This section highlights some of the new initiatives and programmes aiming to foster a participative democracy in Europe.
European Citizen’s Initiative
The Lisbon Treaty in 2009 introduced a new mechanism to enable better public participation in EU law-making, called the European Citizen’s Initiative (ECI), where 1 million citizens from at least one quarter of the EU Member States are able to petition the European Commission to bring forward proposals for legal acts in areas where the Commission has the power to do so.
How the ECI works:
- ECI organisers form a committee of at least 7 EU citizens who are resident in at least 7 different Member States and have one year to collect the necessary statements of support
- Competent authorities in the Member States must certify the number of statements of support
- The Commission has 3 months to examine the initiative and decide how to act on it.
In April 2011, the regulation for the European Citizens‘ Initiative entered into force and will be applicable in one year. This means that starting on the 1st of April 2012, citizens’ initiative committees can register an ECI with the European Commission and start collecting signatures.
Visit the EU Commission's website for more information about ECI.
What does this mean for civil society organisations?
- stronger campaigning platform
- better connections with EU counterparts
- promotion of work and organisations
Civil Dialogue
The other major change in the Lisbon Treaty recognises the ongoing role of civil society dialogue in a healthy democracy. In reponse to the calls for greater engagement from major civil society bodies in Europe, the Lisbon Treaty included an explicit requirement for the European Commission to go further in opening up its decision-making process to citizens and associations.
Article 11 of the Treaty develops participatory democracy, with opportunities for citizen engagement, it explicitly provides the legal basis for ‘an open, transparent and regular dialogue’ between the EU institutions and ‘representative associations and civil society’.
NCVO and many of our key partners in Brussels have been working through key recommendations to the European Commission on the application of this article to establish a Civil Society Charter or Agreement that would build on existing practice of engagement with national governments through Compacts and framework agreements.
- Read more about our work developing a European "Compact".
The European Year of Volunteering 2011
The European Year of Volunteering 2011 (EYV 2011) has been promoting the voluntary sector to citizens and policymakers across Europe since the beginning of the year.
This is an exciting opportunity for volunteer involving organisations across the EU to join together in a celebration of volunteering, and start a discussion on the importance of volunteering on a local, national and international level.
Objectives of the Year
The EU will use the Year to work towards four main objectives:
- To create an enabling and facilitating environment for volunteering in the EU
- To empower volunteer organisations and improve the quality of volunteering
- To reward and recognise volunteering activities
- To raise awareness of the value and importance of volunteering.
Who will benefit and how?
- The European Year of Volunteering 2011 will enable volunteers all over Europe to meet and learn about best practices in each European country
- Public authorities, volunteer organisations and businesses will learn more about volunteering and how to make it easier for people to contribute
- People who have never heard about volunteering will learn to appreciate what volunteers do and might become volunteers themselves one day.
In England, EYV 2011 is being administered by Volunteering England and the Office for Civil Society to help deliver the EU objectives nationally, through a series of toolkits, events and workshops on volunteering.
Visit Volunteering England’s website to learn more about EYV 2011 in England.
