| EU to kick off citizens' initiative with tougher rules |
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The European Commission is preparing proposals on defining the way in which the Lisbon Treaty’s provision for a citizen’s initiative can be pursued. However there are growing concerns that this procedures that will be put in place, and the amount of personal detail required from those signing on to proposals will constitute an almost insurmountable barrier. According to Article 11 of the treaty, "not less than one million citizens who are nationals of a significant number of member states may take the initiative of inviting the [European] Commission, within the framework of its powers, to submit any appropriate proposal on matters where citizens consider that a legal act of the Union is required for the purpose of implementing the treaties". The proposal was adopted as a major innovation to strengthen the democratic fabric of the European Union. The European citizens' initiative would therefore enable European citizens and civil society organisations to directly influence the political agenda of the EU for the first time in history. The Commission is likely to propose that the one million signatories must come from at least one third of EU nations with a minimum number of signatories for each participating country. This number "should be degressively proportional to the size of each member state," the draft regulation states. Each citizens' initiative would also need to be first registered and then subject to an admissibility check by the Commission, once the organisers have collected at least 300,000 statements of support. Each signatory of a statement of support will have to provide a variety of personal data, including name, street address, email address, date and place of birth, nationality and personal identification numbers (passport; ID card; and social security). It is expected that the draft regulation will be adopted by the Commission on 31 March. Sources: 
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