The European citizens' initiative enables one million EU citizens from at least seven EU countries to call on the European Commission to propose legislation on matters where the EU has competence to legislate. It is a right that is enshrined in the EU treaties. The rules and procedures governing the citizens' initiative are set out in an EU regulation adopted by the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union in February 2011.

The European Citizens' Initiative allows EU citizens to get involved in EU policy-making and put on the European agenda the issues that matter most to them. A citizens' initiative brings together people from different EU countries to collect signatures and call on the European Commission to propose new laws on issues that are close to their hearts. It is a bottom-up way of starting a political debate and raising awareness of common causes which unite people across borders. The tool was launched in 2012, and is now bearing fruit, with several initiatives leading to concrete legal proposals by the European Commission. To make the process even more accessible and easier to use for organisers and supporters, new rules apply from the beginning of 2020. The European Citizens' Initiative is your tool to get your ideas across and help us build a better Europe.

Making the European Union more democratic and transparent is one of the priorities of the Juncker Commission. It is against this background that the European citizens' initiative is particularly important since it gives them the opportunity to express their concerns in a very concrete way and to influence the European political and legislative agenda. On 31 March 2015, the Commission published its first report on the implementation of this instrument. After only 3 years of existence, the facts show the interest of the general public for the citizens' initiative. In particular, about 6 million citizens have already made use of their new right, and three initiatives have managed to gather more than 1 million signatures. However, we are aware that some aspects can still be improved, and we have started a reflection on possible options for improving the tool and have the intention of involving all relevant stakeholders in this exercise.

Since 2015, Dr. Blasi holds a postdoctoral fellowship at the Department of Public Law and Historical-legal Sciences of the Autonomous University of Barcelona. This book entitled «Handbook on public participation in the institutions of the European Union» explains, in a structured manner, all the rights and actions that EU citizens are entitled to as nationals of one of the EU Member States. It also examines the rights of temporary and permanent residents coming from third countries. It provides clear and accurate information about the subject «Public Participation in the Institutions of the European Union» and it is an essential tool for the dissemination of content and activities during the entire course.