How the European Citizens' Initiative Works: 1 Million Signatures Explained
The European Citizens' Initiative (ECI) is the only tool that lets ordinary EU citizens put an item directly on the European Commission's agenda. Collect a million signatures across enough countries, and the Commission must formally respond. Here is how the thresholds, the deadline and the process actually work – and when a regular petition is the better choice.
What the European Citizens' Initiative is
The European Citizens' Initiative is a formal instrument of participatory democracy in the European Union. It allows citizens to invite the European Commission – the only EU body that can propose new EU laws – to put forward legislation in an area where the EU has the power to act.
It is not an ordinary petition. It is a structured legal procedure, governed by Regulation (EU) 2019/788 (in force since 1 January 2020), with strict rules on who can sign, how signatures are collected, and what happens afterwards. Understanding those rules before you start saves a great deal of wasted effort.
The headline numbers
- 1,000,000 signatures. You need at least one million valid statements of support from EU citizens.
- At least 7 countries. The signatures must come from a minimum of seven EU member states – a quarter of the current twenty-seven – each meeting its own country threshold (see below).
- 12 months. Once collection opens, you have one year to reach the target. You may set the start date up to six months after your initiative is registered.
How the per-country minimum works
Reaching a million signatures is not enough on its own; the support has to be spread across Europe. In each of the seven (or more) countries you count towards the threshold, you must reach a national minimum.
That minimum is set by a simple formula: the number of Members of the European Parliament elected in that country, multiplied by 750. Because larger countries elect more MEPs, their thresholds are higher:
- Highest: Germany, with the most MEPs (96), needs roughly 72,000 signatures.
- Lowest: the smallest member states (such as Malta, Luxembourg and Cyprus, with 6 MEPs each) need around 4,500.
The exact figure for every country is listed in Annex I of the Regulation and is updated whenever European Parliament seats are reapportioned, so always check the current official table on the European Commission's ECI thresholds page before you plan your campaign.
Who can sign
A statement of support is more tightly controlled than a signature on a normal online petition. To sign an ECI you must be:
- An EU citizen – a national of an EU member state.
- Old enough to vote in European Parliament elections. That is 18 in most countries, but some allow younger signers: a few member states permit signing from age 16 or 17.
The full journey, step by step
Form an organising group and register
You need a citizens' committee of at least seven EU citizens living in seven different member states. You submit your proposed initiative to the Commission, which decides whether to register it. You receive an answer within 2 months (occasionally up to 4). The Commission can only refuse on narrow legal grounds, such as the request falling clearly outside its powers.
Collect signatures for up to 12 months
Statements of support are gathered through the Commission's free central online collection system, through your own certified system, or on paper. The clock runs for a maximum of one year. Signatures must be collected and presented according to each country's data rules.
Get the signatures verified
If you reach the thresholds, the national authorities of each member state verify the statements of support and certify how many are valid. Only certified signatures count towards the million.
Submit to the Commission
With certified totals in hand, you formally submit the initiative to the European Commission.
The Commission responds
A successful initiative triggers a fixed sequence:
- Within 1 month: the Commission meets your organisers.
- Within 3 months: you present the initiative at a public hearing in the European Parliament.
- Within 6 months: the Commission publishes a formal reply setting out what action, if any, it will take and why.
The honest limit: a response is not a guarantee
This is the single most important thing to understand before pouring a year into an ECI. A successful initiative obliges the Commission to examine and respond – it does not oblige it to propose the law you asked for. The Commission can decline, as long as it explains its reasons publicly.
Even so, a million-signature initiative is far from symbolic. It forces an issue onto the European agenda, secures a parliamentary hearing and a reasoned public answer, and has repeatedly pushed the Commission towards new legislation. It is a heavy, slow, high-bar instrument – powerful when an issue genuinely belongs at EU level.
Is the ECI the right tool for your cause?
For most campaigns, the answer is no – and that is not a criticism. The ECI only fits a specific kind of goal:
- Use an ECI when your aim is genuinely EU-wide legislation, you can build an international committee, and you can sustain a year-long, multi-country drive to a million verified signatures.
- Use a regular petition for almost everything else: a local, regional or national issue, a company, a school, a council, or any decision a specific person has the power to make. It is faster, simpler, open to non-citizens and minors, and needs only as many signatures as it takes to move that one decision-maker.
If you are weighing it up, start with the realistic question of how much support your specific target actually needs – see How Many Signatures Do You Need? – and make sure you are aiming at the right person with How to Choose a Decision-Maker. For the bigger picture on what petitions can and cannot achieve, read Do Online Petitions Actually Work?
Whatever the scale of your goal, the work is the same in spirit: a clear ask, the right target, and enough visible, verified support to make ignoring you costly.