EU laws at citizens’ proposals

This Wednesday, Hungarian Foreign Minister János Martonyi, and European Parliament President Jerzy Buzek signed the regulation on European Citizens’ Initiative under which any citizen is entitled to propose an EU law after 2012.

The Council of the European Union and the European Parliament (EP) gave green light to the European Citizens’ Initiative, one of the most significant social innovations under the Lisbon Treaty. The decree was signed at a solemn ceremony by János Martonyi (on behalf of the Council) and EP President Buzek at the EP’s plenary meeting.

“The citizens’ initiative enables European citizens to jointly shape their common future for a strong Europe, giving EU legislation a human dimension”, Mr Martonyi declared in his speech. Similarly to President Buzek, the Hungarian Foreign Minister also thanked the Spanish and especially the Belgian Presidency for their untiring efforts to pave the way for the citizens’ initiative.

As Article 11 of the Lisbon Treaty grants it, “no less than one million citizens who are nationals of a significant number of Member States may take the initiative of inviting the European Commission, within the framework of its powers; to submit any appropriate proposal on matters where citizens consider that a legal act of the Union is required for the purpose of implementing the Treaties.”

For more information, please, go to:

http://www.eu2011.hu/news/eu-laws-citizens%E2%80%99-proposals