madam president the launching of the citizens initiative is unquestionably one of the most important developments in the process of european integration
it constitutes a qualitative redistribution of power within the european union and has the potential to generate significant innovation in european politics
the placing of citizens at the same level as parliament and council by offering citizens the right to call on the commission to bring legislation forward has far-reaching implications
for one the new institution creates space to question one of the fundamental features of the way in which the entire integration process has been designed namely that from the outset it has been elite-led
in many respects this has been very successful but there is equally little doubt now that without the active support of the citizens the integration process runs into obstacles
indeed there is growing evidence that citizens see the eu as remote complex and impenetrable
they have had very little reason to engage with the eu because the means of doing so have been absent
this is what the citizens initiative will remedy
it sets up an instrument that has the capacity to bridge the gap between the eu and the demos
it is in everyone's interest that the instrument should now work and should work as effectively as possible
