A New Right for Democracy and Development in Europe : The European Citizens' Initiative (ECI)

This volume analyses the problems and instruments of European citizens' political participation and focuses in particular on the "European Citizens' Initiative" (ECI) right. Introduced by the Lisbon Treaty, the ECI enables European citizens to propose legislative measures to the Commission by collecting one million signatures in at least seven EU countries. The European federalists were the first to initiate one of the most important applications of this instrument with their proposal for a "European Special Plan for Sustainable Development", aimed at addressing the ongoing serious economic and social crisis. The essays collected in this volume by authors from different disciplines, backgrounds and nationalities offer reflections on citizenship rights and themes relating to the European crisis, as well as on the necessary steps to revive development in Europe. The informative and functional documentation proposed in the Appendix constitutes a user manual for the potential and concrete application of this new right by European citizens and their various associations.