EU-SIGN-DAY - Citizens still do not know their rights of codetermination in EU politics

9th of May = Europe Day = EU-Sign-Day

New survey: Citizens still do not know their rights of codetermination in EU politics

A European alliance of 17 European Citizens' Initiatives and organizations is calling for the official extension of Europe Day on 9 May to "EU Sign Day" in order to strengthen citizens' participation in European Union policies, see: https://eusignday.eu/

With a level of awareness of 2.4%, the European Citizens' Initiative (ECI) as an instrument of political codetermination in the European Union is almost unknown among the population, according to a current representative YouGov survey in Germany, Italy, Finland and Portugal.

If one million valid signatures are obtained across the EU, citizens can submit their proposals for new laws directly to both the EU Parliament and the EU Commission. In addition to the hearing, both institutions are obliged to submit a written statement.

An ECI must be registered by a group of at least seven organizers across the EU. The collection of signatures is limited to one year, is also possible online and must meet a minimum quorum in at least seven EU states.

"There also needs to be sufficient financial support for European Citizens' Initiatives for infrastructure and professional support. Citizens cannot do this on a voluntary basis if there is no large organization behind it," explains Ronald Blaschke from the EU organizing team of ECI UBI and coordinator for Germany, see https://eci-ubi.eu

Since its introduction in 2012, only six European Citizens' Initiatives have been able to clear the high signature hurdles. "If the EU Commission takes people's participation opportunities seriously, it must take much stronger measures to ensure successful implementation and to raise awareness of the ECI as an effective instrument of political co-determination in the EU", demands Klaus Sambor from Austria, one of the initiators of the ongoing ECI for Unconditional Basic Incomes (UBI) throughout the EU , which has collected around 117,000 signatures since September 2020, see: https://eci-ubi.eu/

The EU-wide alliance, which as an immediate measure calls for the establishment of 9 May as “EU Sign Day” consists of:
ECI Unconditional Basic Incomes throughout the EU, ECI StopGlobalWarming, ECI Voters Without Borders, ECI Freedom To Share, ECI Save Bees and Farmers, ECI Reclaim Your Face as well as 11 other civil society organizations in the EU.

Results of YouGov survey: https://eci-ubi.eu/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/YouGovSurvey-Summary.pdf

ECI-Organizer-Group "Start Unconditional Basic Incomes (UBI) throughout the EU"
c/o Netzwerk Grundeinkommen, Schönhauser Allee 163, 10435 Berlin, Germany
Klaus Sambor, klaus.sambor@aon.at, + 43 664 73 43 73 08
Ronald Blaschke, blaschke@grundeinkommen.de, + 49 177 89 41 473

European Citizens' Initiative (ECI) "Start Unconditional Basic Incomes (UBI) throughout the EU" is a EU-wide network of EU-citizens, who have started an ECI.
Our aim is to establish the introduction of unconditional basic incomes throughout the EU which ensure every person’s material existence and opportunity to participate in society as part of its economic policy. This aim shall be reached while remaining within the competences conferred to the EU by the Treaties.
We request the EU Commission to make a proposal for unconditional basic incomes throughout the EU, which reduce regional disparities in order to strengthen the economic, social and territorial cohesion in the EU.
This shall realize the aim of the joint statement by the European Council, the European Parliament and the European Commission, stated in 2017, that “the EU and its member states will also support efficient, sustainable and equitable social protection systems to guarantee basic income” in order to combat inequality, see: https://eci.ec.europa.eu/014/public/#/screen/home or https://eci-ubi.eu/

This release was published on openPR.