THE CITIZENS' INITIATIVE.
A PROCEDURAL DECODING
LUCICA MATEI
Prof. Dr., National School of Political Studies and Public Administration, Bucharest, Romania
CRISTINA CIORA
PhD Candidate, National School of Political Studies
and Public Administration, Bucharest, Romania
One of the most important innovations of the Lisbon Treaty, the European Citizens' Initiative (ECI) marks not only a milestone in the consolidation of a transnational participatory democracy, but also a huge stake in influencing the European legislative process. Even before the entry into force of its implementing rules, the ECI had raised controversies at European level following the invalidation of one million signatures in support of a moratorium on genetically modified organisms. Thus, the very adoption of the Regulation on the Citizens' Initiative (RCI) represents an interesting case study from a procedural point of view. In this context, the paper highlights and analyzes the main developments in the decision-making process (both formal and informal) on the adoption of the RCI and outlines the role of the financial support in determining the success of a ECI.
