The European Citizens' Initiative (ECI) Explained

The European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) lets one million EU citizens from at least seven member states ask the European Commission to propose a new EU legal act in an area where the Commission has the power to do so. If an initiative reaches the threshold and passes verification, the Commission must respond publicly. It is not obliged to legislate, and there is no EU-wide vote. The ECI is therefore an agenda-setting instrument, not a referendum.

Important: initiatives are registered, signed and tracked only on the European Commission’s official portal, citizens-initiative.europa.eu. Referendum Lab is an independent guide, has no connection with the EU institutions and does not collect signatures or promote individual initiatives.

Legal basis

• Article 11(4) of the Treaty on European Union creates the right of initiative.
• Article 24 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union provides for the implementing rules.
• Regulation (EU) 2019/788 sets out the current procedure and has applied since 1 January 2020. It replaced the first ECI regulation, under which the instrument started in 2012.

The idea goes back to the Constitutional Treaty of 2004, which never entered into force; the Treaty of Lisbon took it over.

Step by step

Step	What happens	Time frame
1. Form a group	At least seven EU citizens living in seven different member states form an organisers’ group	–
2. Registration	The Commission checks whether the initiative is admissible	Decision normally within two months
3. Collection	Signatures are collected on paper or online	Up to 12 months, start chosen by the organisers
4. Verification	National authorities check the signatures	Up to three months
5. Submission	The organisers submit the initiative to the Commission	–
6. Meeting	The Commission meets the organisers	Within one month
7. Hearing	Public hearing in the European Parliament	Within three months
8. Reply	The Commission publishes a communication with its conclusions	Within six months

Time frames as set out in the regulation; details and any changes are published on the official portal.

The thresholds

• One million valid statements of support in total.
• From at least seven member states (a quarter of the member states).
• In each of those seven countries, a minimum number of signatories, which depends on the number of Members of the European Parliament elected there. The current figures are listed on the official portal.

What can an initiative ask for?

The Commission registers an initiative if it is not manifestly outside its power to propose legislation, is not manifestly abusive, frivolous or vexatious, and is not manifestly contrary to the values of the Union. An initiative cannot, for example, ask for a change to the EU treaties themselves, because the Commission cannot propose treaty changes through ordinary legislation. Since 2020, the Commission can also register an initiative partially if only some of its parts are admissible.

What happens after a successful initiative

The Commission must explain in a formal reply what action, if any, it intends to take and why. Replies range from new legislative proposals to commitments to review existing rules, or a decision not to act. The European Parliament may also adopt a resolution on the issue.

According to the Commission, 14 initiatives had reached the one-million threshold by early 2026. The full list, with each initiative’s status and the Commission’s replies, is on the official portal.

How the ECI differs from other instruments

Instrument	Who can use it?	Result
European Citizens’ Initiative	EU citizens, one million from seven or more states	Formal Commission reply, no obligation to legislate
Petition to the European Parliament	EU citizens and residents, individually or in groups	Examined by the Petitions Committee
European Ombudsman complaint	Anyone in the EU	Investigation of maladministration
National referendum	Voters of one country	Depends on national law

For the general difference between initiatives and referendums, see referendum vs. initiative vs. plebiscite. There is no EU-wide referendum; votes on EU questions take place under national law, as the timeline of EU treaty referendums shows.

Strengths and criticisms, briefly

Supporters see the ECI as the first transnational instrument of participatory democracy, which forces the Commission to engage with citizens’ proposals in public. Critics point to the high organisational effort, the small number of successful initiatives and the fact that the Commission is free to decline. Both assessments appear in the academic literature; we do not take a position.

Related forms of participation, such as randomly selected citizens’ panels, are explained on citizens’ assemblies.