Press Release: ECAS Welcomes Timmermans’ Announcement to Revise the ECI Regulation

In a speech at the annual European Citizens´ Initiative Day (ECI Day) on 11 April 2017, European Commission Vice-President Frans Timmermans announced the Commission´s plans to revise the ECI Regulation this year.

A public consultation will be launched before the summer which should culminate in a proposal to revise the ECI Regulation this year. This follows the continuous requests made by a number of civil society organisations, including ECAS, to make this instrument for participatory democracy fit for purpose.

ECAS´Advocacy to Revise the ECI

As part of its mission to empower citizens to exercise their rights in the EU and using its participation in the stakeholder group of the REFIT platform for Better Regulation, ECAS submitted an evidence-based opinion that was adopted by the REFIT platform in June 2016 and called for a thorough revision of the ECI Regulation.

ECAS welcomes the Commission´s commitment to the ECI as an instrument that enables citizens to engage more actively in EU policy-making, and Timmermans’ announcement is a welcome surprise after the Commission concluded a year ago that it was still “too early” to launch a legislative revision of the ECI Regulation in response to a European Parliament’s resolution on this instrument.

For more information, please contact:

Elisa Lironi
elisa.lironi@ecas.org

Read the full press release here