MEPs to back simpler petition rules

Proposals would increase use of direct democracy; MEPs want to ease age, geographical restrictions

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The European Parliament’s constitutional affairs committee is expected to back user-friendly rules on Tuesday (30 November) that would smooth the path for EU citizens to seek changes or innovations in EU laws.

Diana Wallis, a UK Liberal MEP and one of four MEPs responsible for guiding the European Citizens’ Initiative through the Parliament, said she expected the committee to recommend procedures that would make it easy for citizens to launch and file formal requests to the EU for legislative change.

The Parliament’s petitions committee voted on Monday (22 November) in favour of easy-to-use rules for the initiative.

December compromise

According to Wallis, informal negotiations with the Council of Ministers are already under way on the operating rules. The aim is to be able to put a final compromise accord to a vote during the Parliament’s 13-16 December plenary session. She said that MEP demands for simplified procedures “send a strong signal” to citizens that their views count.

The direct-democracy tool was introduced by the Lisbon treaty. To meet EU requirements, at least one million citizens must sign up to a request from “a significant number of member states” before it can be assessed by the European Commission.

MEPs are pushing the Council to agree that petitions should be considered valid if the signatures come from five member states, while the Council and the Commission maintain that signatures should come from at least nine. MEPs also want citizens to be eligible to sign if they are 16 years old.

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