European Citizens’ Initiative

European Year for Citizens - moving to a Union for Citizens

On 23 April 2013 the European Ombudsman, P. Nikiforos Diamandouros, organised a high level event to help focus on European citizens and how they can contribute to shaping the European Union. The Ombudsman was joined by, among others, Martin Schulz, President of the European Parliament, Viviane Reding, Vice-President of the European Commission, and Maroš Šefčovič Vice-President of the European Commission. EPHA congratulates the European Ombudsman for addressing the (...)

EU long term budget- two months to go and negotiations still crawling

The Cyprus EU Presidency has been given the mandate to finalise negotiations on the EU Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF). The main discussion will take place at the November European Council convened by President Herman Van Rompuy on the 22nd and 23rd of November with the aim of reaching a political agreement. Despite the fact that a decision on the EU Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) will have to be concluded in November, EU Member States (MSs) Ministers have yet to have an (...)

Citizens Initiative to repeal climate change package

In early August the European Commission admitted an European Citizens Initiative (ECI) proposal to “Suspend the 2009 EU Climate & Energy Package- the EU’s plans for cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 20% and to increase the use of renewable energy by 2020. The objective of the initiative aims to halt “further climate regulations until a climate agreement is signed by major CO2 emitters - China, USA, and India. The organisers can now start collecting the one million (...)

Transparency Register - EU Civil Society Contact Group Statement

In view of the Consultation on the Transparency Register during the first year of the implementation, the Civil Society Contact Group (CSCG) issued a Statement on the Transparency Register. The members of the CSCG have intensely discussed the Transparency Register, agreeing to commonly express their concerns and highlight recommendations to enhance transparency. Civil Society Contact Group Statement on the Transparency Register The public consultation, launched by the joint European (...)

First EU one million signature petitions released for signatures

The European Commission registered the first EU ’petitions’ (European Citizen’s initiative) for Europe’s Day - including the EPHA supported petition on the Right to Water. The right to ’petition’ (European Citizen’s Initiative) was introduced in the Lisbon Treaty. A European registry will be available with all information. Among the six petitions that were approved last week, a quarter are health-related already. It will be interesting to monitor (...)

World Water Day: Join the campaign to defend our right to water and sanitation

EPHA has joined the campaign to defend our right to water and sanitation as a public good and a Human Right. Led by the European Federation of Public Service Unions, a coalition of unions and civil society will launch the first European Citizen’s Initiative hoping to receive one million signatures in support of the right to water on the 2nd April 2012. "Water is a public good, not a commodity!" The European Citizen’s Initiative (ECI) on Water and Sanitation as a Human Right (...)

2013: European Year of Citizens

The European Commission proposes 2013 as the European Year of Citizens. The objectives of the European Year will be to inform and raise awareness about European citizens’ rights, but also to engage into deeper debates to explore the societal dimension of European citizenship as a broad concept. In August, the Commission officially proposed that 2013 becomes the European Year of Citizens. More specifically, the aim of the Year is to: raise citizens’ awareness of their right (...)

2014-2020 EU Budget: over a trillion Euros to be spent - and Health?

The European Commission has released the Multi-Annual Financial Framework for 2014-2020, which outlines the financial priorities of the EU and presented the financial mechanisms that will be used to finance the EU activities duignt seven years. The draft Communication on the Multi Annual Financial Framework was released by the European Commission on 29 June 2011, after intense debates within the European Commission The Commission released the proposal together with ’policy (...)

Civil Society Organisations disappointed with European Parliament vote on European Citizens’ Initiative

Following the European Parliament plenary vote on an agreement between the European Parliament, the Council of Ministers and the European Commission regarding the implementing rules for the European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI), the Civil Society Contact Group (CSCG) - of which EPHA is a member - has expressed its disappointment that the rules regarding the implementation of the ECI will not allow citizens to use their right of initiative. The Lisbon Treaty introduces a new form of (...)