From 2010 Year for Combating Poverty and Social Exclusion to 2014 Year of European elections
giovedì, March 31st, 2011The full text of the E.M.E.R.G.E. publication can be read here:
European Union between defense of the Treaties and electoral consensus
The transnational research staff at work
lunedì, March 21st, 2011The E.M.E.R.G.E. partnership has realized the volume European
The publication gathers the results achieved by the trans-national staff of Italian, Bulgarian and Romanian researchers. It focuses on the activities held by the European Parliament and other EU institutions in relation to the main social problems in
This publication enables to deepen the new tool of democratic participation that from April 2012 will allow the citizens to directly begin the European legislative process: the "European Citizens’ Initiative".
For further information and for a copy of the book, plaese email: g.fiaccarini@sturzo.it.
More details about the new European tool of democracy
mercoledì, March 16th, 2011The Regulation of the "European Citizens’ Initiative" was approved on February 16th and published on March 11th 2011.
It can be read and downloaded here:
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2011:065:0001:0022:EN:PDF
New participatory instruments to ask for new European law. Citizens, stakeholders, Ngo's and political parties will be able to use another tool to stand up their voice inside the EU institutions
mercoledì, November 17th, 2010
"Freedom is involvement" Italian folk-singer Giorgio Gaber used to sing. Involvement could also mean freedom and wish to play an active role within the public European sphere thanks a new participatory democracy tool. Our vote to the European Elections won't be anymore the exclusive way to participate to the European institutions’ life. The Lisbon Treaty (article 11 TEU and article 24 TFEU) introduces a new form of public involvement in European Union, the so called "European citizens initiative". This tool enables at least one million citizens who are nationals of a still undetermined number of Member States to call directly on the European Commission to bring forward an initiative of interest to them in an area of EU competence. The right to petition to the European Parliament differs substantially to the new "initiative". European citizens will be able to sign a political document to urge European Commission to prepare a law proposal.
It is now necessary to wait that European Institutions will define the operational aspects of this new instrument. Considered the importance of this new tool for citizens, civil society and stakeholders, the Commission carried out a broad public consultation on the basis of a green paper in order to seek the opinions of all interested parties on how the citizens' initiative should work in practice. The Commission adopted a proposal on March. This is the basis to begin negotiations with the European Parliament and the Council. The goal is the adoption of a specific Regulation. The effectiveness will also depend on the answers of this Regulation to various points that are still object of negotiations: minimum number of EU countries, minimum number of signatories per country, minimum age of signatories, form and wording, rules on collecting, verifying and authenticating, time limit for collecting, rules on transparency and a possible time limit for Commission response. The citizens initiative system should become operational during the first six months of 2011.
“Europe will not be made all at once, or according to a single plan. It will be built through concrete achievements which first create a de facto solidarity.”
venerdì, May 7th, 2010
On 9 May 1950 Robert Schuman, french foreign affairs Minister, laid the foundations of the European Union calling for a Europe built on concrete results, starting with solidarity. A few years later, Schuman became the first president of European Parliament.
In spite of all the efforts that the European Union, its institutions and the stakeholders involved in the construction of a European identity (Member States, national regional and local authorities, political parties, NGO’s and organised civil society) have made throughout the years to involve European citizens and to stimulate «feelings» of belonging, the Europe of today cannot yet consider itself the Europe of the citizens.
