European Movement Ireland launched the Citizens’ Initiative Campaign in January 2010 with the intention of tracking the development of the European Citizens’ Initiative, the new democratic tool introduced by the Lisbon Treaty in December 2009.  While relatively straightforward on paper, the Citizens’ Initiative has proved much more difficult to implement on a practical level and faced countless institutional and practical hurdles as the European Commission, Parliament and Council have struggled to agree the terms of the new legislation.   

One of the first campaigns of EM Ireland’s new strategy ‘Making the Connection 2010-2012’, the Citizens’ Initiative Campaign was a return to the original objectives of European Movement Ireland and saw the organisation establish itself once more in the field of advocacy.   This campaign had four clear intentions:

• to track the development of this new democratic instrument

• to influence key institutions regarding its implementation

• to gauge the level of public awareness of the Initiative

• to lobby key government departments on how to communicate the legislation.  

The final report on European Movement Ireland’s Citizens’ Initiative Campaign is now available for download from the publications page of the EM Ireland website.

This report outlines each of the above aims and details the organisation’s actions and outcomes in each area.  These outcomes include the findings of the Europe Day poll; a survey conducted across Ireland asking people what they know about the Citizens’ Initiative, and details of the influence this organisation had on the Irish government’s submission to the European Commission on the Initiative.

EM Ireland welcome feedback on the report and look forward to hearing your views on their findings.