The European Citizens’ Initiative comes into force — an instrument established by the Lisbon Treaty that allows citizens to directly influence the EU’s political agenda.
Europeans gain the right to greater participation in shaping the policies that affect their lives thanks to a new initiative, which gives them the opportunity to propose legislation to the European Commission. If an initiative gathers 1 million signatures, the Commission decides what actions to take. The first ever European Citizens’ Initiative, “Right2Water”, which collected 1.6 million signatures, led to a proposal for new rules on drinking water. Depending on the country, the minimum age to support an initiative can be 16 years old.
