Choose the outcome before the campaign
A European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) lets EU citizens ask the European Commission to propose EU legislation. One million valid statements of support, with national minimums reached in at least seven EU countries, secure examination and a reasoned response. They do not enact a law. Start by deciding whether you want to support a registered proposal, organise a new one or solve an individual problem: those are three different jobs.
Match the route to the result
| Your aim | Use this route | What success means |
|---|---|---|
| Support an EU legislative request | Sign an open registered ECI | One valid statement of support |
| Build a shared proposal | Organise and register an ECI | Qualifying support, examination and reasoned response |
| Choose elected representatives | Register for the appropriate election | A vote under the applicable election rules |
| Correct an individual administrative refusal | National remedy; SOLVIT if eligible | An operative correction or formal decision |
Federal Europa explanatory synthesis, checked 7 November 2026. See linked official sources for the operative rules and methods.
Signing is the lightest commitment. Read the registered objectives, check that collection remains open and follow the official collection link. A campaign's slogan can be broader than the legal request it registered. Supporting that request is a political choice; verify what action it asks the Commission to take before providing identity details. The official signing FAQ explains that EU nationality is required and electoral registration is not.
Who can sign, and where does support count?
Check the current age and data table for your nationality rather than assuming everyone must be 18. The rules follow European-election voting age, with some countries permitting support from 16. Required identity details also differ. Use the proper statement of support, whether online or on paper. A newsletter subscription, social-media endorsement or signature on a general petition platform is not automatically a valid ECI statement.
Nationality determines where support is counted, not the country from which a person clicks. Consider a Lithuanian citizen living in Ireland: their statement counts towards Lithuania's total. Living abroad does not itself disqualify an EU citizen. A person with more than one EU nationality still signs an individual initiative only once. Residence matters differently for the organiser group, which must span countries. Keeping those two tests separate prevents a campaign from mistaking an international audience for a qualifying signature distribution.
The official threshold table supplies the national minimums. Two tests must pass together: a million valid statements overall and the required minimum in at least seven countries. Valid support from a country below its minimum still contributes to the overall million; it simply does not make that country one of the qualifying seven. A large total concentrated in six countries therefore cannot substitute for geographic breadth. Build a country-by-country dashboard alongside the total.
What organisers must prepare
Organising starts before signature collection. The Commission’s organiser overview requires at least seven EU citizens living in seven different member countries; they need not have seven different nationalities. Organisers must meet the applicable European-election voting-age requirement. Establish who will represent the group, document residence and citizenship, and divide responsibility for legal drafting, translations, outreach, records and personal-data handling. A country contact with no capacity to run a campaign is a fragile foundation for a year of collection.
Test the requested action against the Commission’s powers to propose a legal act. An ECI is not a general constitutional override. Separate the social problem, the proposed EU action and the Treaty basis for that action. The Commission can refuse registration or register only eligible parts; registration does not endorse the policy. The ECI Forum’s practical guidance can help a group examine its proposal before investing in a campaign.
Plan resources around the formal collection window. Under the official process, collection begins no later than six months after registration, with at least ten working days’ notice, and runs for at most twelve months. Online collection uses the Commission’s system; paper collection uses the prescribed forms. The limit concerns the collection period, not the entire political campaign. Work backwards from the chosen start: which languages, local partners, accessible materials and verification checks must already be ready?
From collection to a response
Do not confuse a website counter with a certified result. After collection, organisers have up to three months to send statements for national verification; authorities have another three months to certify valid support. Submission to the Commission follows within three months of the last certificate. Read the official process before setting the calendar, including the practical transfer arrangements. Allow a margin above minimums because mistakes or ineligible statements can reduce the validated count. Never describe unverified supporters as a completed legal threshold.
After valid submission, the Commission meets organisers within one month, a European Parliament public hearing follows within three months, and the Commission gives its formal response within six months. These are different milestones with a new starting point at submission. A positive reply may lead to a proposal or other action; legislation still needs the applicable EU adoption procedure. The Commission’s results and follow-up register is the place to distinguish promises, proposals and subsequent legal changes.
For a concrete planning example, imagine a group advocating a common product rule. Before launch it needs a legally eligible request and a team across seven countries. During collection it needs both the overall total and seven national minimums. After certification it needs a public explanation of the response, including any gap between the original demand and the action proposed. This is an illustrative campaign, not a claim that a particular proposal has registered or succeeded.
Participation and personal remedies
Choose another route when the outcome is different. A refused residence document needs an administrative remedy, potentially supported by SOLVIT. An election requires the correct electoral registration. An ECI can organise a shared legislative demand, but cannot replace an appeal or suspend its deadline. Use our EU citizen-rights hub to find the underlying personal right.
The democratic achievement is the ability to organise an agenda across national borders under one public procedure. The remaining constitutional question is who controls legislative initiative and how institutions answer citizens. Our analysis of European Parliament legislative initiative explores that reform separately. A democratic federal Europe should make participation effective and accountable. For an ECI today, judge success in stages: valid participation, institutional consideration, proposed action and implemented change.
If your aim is parliamentary examination of a directly affecting EU matter, a petition to the European Parliament has a different eligibility test and no minimum signature count. Its preparation file helps distinguish scrutiny from an individual remedy.