mr president as somebody who has campaigned twice for a yes vote to lisbon and promoted the citizens initiative as positive i disagree with my colleague
i think it is not just a fig leaf
yes there are constraints but it has potential and it is a real meaningful step towards facilitating participatory democracy
i have discussed this matter with citizens
i have facilitated citizens to participate in the commission's consultation and in the hearings in the petitions committee
however we must not just consult with citizens we must listen to what they say and we must ensure that their views are taken on board in any legislation we produce
this is an opportunity for the eu institutions to clearly show that the citizens initiative will reflect the views of european citizens from start to finish
this legislation must be citizen-friendly and it must be highly visible
there must also be easily accessible assistance and help given to citizens who wish to organise a petition
it should be made clear where the commission can act and where the commission cannot act
it would simply lead to further accusations of a democratic deficit and cynicism and anger on behalf of citizens if a million signatures were to be gathered for a petition and then it were deemed to be outside the competence of the eu
so we need absolute clarity on this and we need to be proactive
while we need to squeeze every possibility out of this legislation we must not promise more than we can deliver
the citizens initiative is like a newborn baby
it has unlimited potential but it must be handled with care when it takes its first tentative steps
