On 4 October, the EESC’s Ad hoc Group on the European Citizens’ Initiative (AHG ECI) held a debate on The European Citizens’ Initiative – State of play in Croatia in Zagreb. The aim of the debate was for ad hoc group members to engage with local stakeholders to discuss their experiences, views and ideas. They focused in particular on the visibility and awareness of the European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) in Croatia, as well as lessons learned and best practices identified so far. The ECI is a tool that allows citizens of the European Union to directly influence EU policy by proposing new legislation.

The Zagreb debate on The European Citizens’ Initiative – State of play in Croatia was the first such event that the ad hoc group organised outside Brussels. Hosted by the Croatian Chamber of Trades and Crafts (Hrvatska Obrtnička Komora), the EESC’s ad hoc group members had the pleasure of welcoming Margareta Mađerić, State Secretary in the Croatian Ministry of Labour, Dino Zorić from the Ministry of Justice, representatives of the European Commission and the ECI Forum, and many participants representing Europe Direct centres, universities, local authorities and national economic and social councils, as well as Croatian ECI Ambassadors, ECI organisers, university students and other ECI stakeholders.

The debate was followed in the afternoon by a regular AHG ECI meeting and a walk in the centre of Zagreb during which the ad hoc group members engaged with Croatians directly by handing out the EESC’s popular European Democracy Passport.

With its 2023-2025 work programme, the ad hoc group aims to further increase the EESC’s active participation in the European Citizens’ Initiative process. It plans to organise further meetings outside Brussels, as they provide a good opportunity to debate with local ECI stakeholders and raise awareness about the ECI at national and local level.

Currently chaired by EESC member Violeta Jelić, AHG ECI was set up in 2013 to provide political guidance on the ECI and monitor developments in this area.

Introduced by the Lisbon Treaty, the European Citizens’ Initiative came into existence in 2012 as the very first instrument for participatory democracy at a transnational level. It allows at least one million EU citizens from at least seven Member States to call on the European Commission to propose legislation and is thus the closest equivalent we have to a citizens’ legislative initiative. 

The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) has played a very active role in developing and promoting the European Citizens’ Initiative from its very beginning. (ep)